By Chrissy Prichard

Express News Staff

McCauley Mountain in Old Forge will play host to one of three Kandahar Festival ski races to be held across New York State on Saturday, Feb. 25, and Sunday, Feb. 26. The Kandahar race series began in 1974 at Greek Peak with about 80 racers participating. It was held at Greek Peak each year through 1991. The festival now changes venue every two years and will be held at McCauley in both this year, and again in 2013.

It has been the goal of the local Polar Bear Ski Club to hold this race at McCauley for many years. McCauley Mountain has a history rich in ski racing, and has been hosting races for the past 50 years. Generations of ski racers have grown up and trained on McCauley Mountain. “This is

a great race hill. Our history and heritage stems from our racing programs. To be selected to have this race here is a real honor,” says McCauley’s General Manager, Steve Uzdavinis.

In order to be considered to host the race, a lot of work had to be done by the Polar Bears and the staff at the mountain. The biggest undertaking was moving and widening the race trail to meet USSA and NYSSRA homologation standards for giant slalom. These regulations require race trails to meet specific width and safety requirements.

The race course has been moved from the narrow “Race Trail” over to “Skyride”, which was further widened to accommodate the course. Timing equipment from the start and finish lines also had to be moved. These changes were completed before the 2010-2011 race season, so a winter’s worth of races have already been held in this new location.

In preparation for hosting such a large number of racers, coaches, family members and spectators, the McCauley staff and Polar Bear Ski team have been working on a number of improvements to the facilities. The Polar Bears have added a yurt at the mountain, creating additional space to accommodate racers and registration. A committee of community members and town board members have completed enhancements and updates to the chalet to maximize space and make it more user-friendly. These improvements also serve as an investment in McCauley Mountain that will benefit the facility for years to come.

Besides advance preparations, a lot of manpower will be spent the weekend of the festival. Polar Bear members and volunteers work hard to make sure things go smoothly at the ski races that they hold. A race of this size will put their skills to the test.

“The Polar Bear Ski Club is an unbelievable organization. The amount of people they get on the hill to put on a race and the knowledge of the group helps me sleep at night,” says Uzdavinis. “This is the biggest race we’ve had here in a long time, but I’m confident they’ll do a good job.”

On race day, McCauley Mountain staff will work in conjunction with the Polar Bears to be sure all the bases are covered. Extra hands will help maximize parking space, help in the cafeteria, and man the ticket booth. Extra lift operators will ensure lifts run smoothly and extra ski patrol will ensure the safety of everyone on the hill.

Uzdavinis is looking forward to this opportunity to show many new visitors how great McCauley Mountain is for skiing, as well as showing off Old Forge as a winter sports destination.

“This will be great for the facility, great for our town, fun to watch, and just a great weekend. And, we get to do it again next year, which is even better,” he says.

He takes a lot of pride in the mountain he grew up skiing on and the town he grew up in, and loves sharing it with other people.

“We really want to put our best foot forward. We know they’ll enjoy it here,” he says.

The Kandahar is a giant slalom event with racers participating in two runs each day.

The event is open to JV, JIV and JIII racers ages 7-14, and is expected to draw around 200 competitors from around central New York. The New York State Ski Racing Association (NYSSRA) provides for racing statewide, with New York being divided into six geographic councils. For most of the season, racers compete only against the teams within their own council.

The Kandahar festival gives racers the opportunity to compete with teams from other councils and to qualify for state level competition. At McCauley Mountain, Polar Bears will race against the other four teams in the Adirondack Council, the five teams from the Central Council, as well as the Hunt Hollow and Bristol Ski Clubs. The same weekend, the Mountain and Rip Van Winkle Councils will have their Kandahar Festival at Gore Mountain, and the Genesee and Niagara Councils will will have theirs at Holiday Valley.

After two days of racing, top finishers at each festival will qualify for the Kandahar Championships, to be held March 4, at Whiteface Mountain. Top finishers at the Kandahar Championships will qualify to represent New York State at the Francis Piche Invitational held at Gunstock, N.H.  

The Polar Bear Ski Club is grateful to the Town of Webb, the McCauley Mountain staff, and all the businesses, organizations, and individuals who have supported their efforts to bring this event to the area. Mike Farmer, local artist and Town of Webb Publicity Director, has donated his original oil painting of McCauley Mountain to be raffled on Feb. 26, with all the proceeds going towards the event. Tickets are $10 each and are available at McCauley Mountain.

Racing will begin around 9:30 a.m. each day. Spectators can watch the from alongside the Skyride trail, which can be accessed by hiking a short distance from the chalet.

For more information please contact Polar Bear Ski Club President, Diane Heroux, at (315) 369-6061.