Alpine Skiing PIAD in Maine

Army West Point Alpine Ski Team conducted a PIAD at Sunday River, Maine. This was an opportunity for the Army Alpiners to tune up for their league competition in the Atlantic Highland’s Conference. The team enjoyed three days of rigorous on-snow training under the Direction of Gould Academy, Coach Bob Harkins, and Robert McIntee (Head Coach of the Army Alpine Ski Team). The Army Ski team got a glimpse of, as well as educated the new members, to the art of downhill racing. New members of the team include CDTs Blaise Paulo ’18, Sophia Grohs ’19, Galvin Felch ’19, Will Mueser ’19 and Jack Young ’19. Veteran racers CDTs Aryne Riley ’16, Patrick Kearney ’17, Sawyer Harkins ’18, Richard Trust ’18, and Team Captain CDT Joach Ische ’16, led the way for the new recruits and fine-tuned their own skills for the season. The team met with several of the Maine Adaptive Snow Sports athletes and their staff on the final day of training, exchanged gifts and shared their experiences in the joy of skiing and downhill racing. They recently conducted training at the Windham Ski Resort in Windham, NY, in preparation for their first Atlantic Highlands Conference Race. Windham Alpine Ski Director, Steven Mergenthaler set up a great training venue for the cadets and Coach Bob McIntee to take advantage of and hone in on their technical skills, primarily the Giant Slalom event. A full day of training Saturday unfortunately was followed by a complete washout Sunday. However, cold weather has ensued and the cadets continue their preparation and hope to get on the home hill soon.