Skiing

Coach Walter Prager's Dartmouth ski team members have been giving a good account of themselves both individually and collectively so far this season and from all appearances this winter should be one of the brightest in the Big Green winter scrapbook. Dartmouth got away to an auspicious start on December 22 in a two-day meet sponsored by the Franconia Ski Club. In the Franconia slalom five Dartmouth men swept to victory, with a Dartmouth freshman from Norway, Egil Stigum, navigating the 35-gate course in 58.2 seconds. Trailing Stigum by .4 of a second was Dartmouth's Ralph Miller, with Bill Beck in third place and Captain Brooks Dodge and Toni Spiss, Austrian freshman, tying for fourth.

Dartmouth's first team meet came on January 5, against eight other collegiate teams at a four-event meet sponsored by the Lyndonville Ski Club. The Big Green barely nosed out a strong Middlebury Club, 392.65 to 390.02, while the University of Vermont finished third and New Hampshire fourth. Ralph Miller took first place in the cross-country event and Wally Ashnault placed third for Dartmouth. In the slalom, Tom Corcoran placed second to Doug Burden of Middlebury, but third place by Brooks Dodge, fourth by Bill Tibbits and sixth by Bill Beck gave the Big Green a lead in both these events. Beck took top honors in the downhill race with Tom Corcoran and Brooks Dodge tied for fourth place, while in the jump, Ralph Miller took second place and Skip Carey finished eighth.

A week later, at the Louise Orvis Giant Slalom on Big Bromley near Manchester, Vt., the Green again won team honors, although the 40-gate slalom was won by Othmar Schneider of the Mt. Mansfield Ski Club. With a field of 69 racers, Dartmouth's Bill Tibbits took fourth place followed by Ralph Miller, Bill Beck, Brooks Dodge and Tom Corcoran for a clean sweep of fourth through eighth places.

At the same time that the Orvis slalom was being run, the balance of the Dartmouth ski team were busily engaged in the USEASA cross-country championship relay in Hanover. Competing against eight college and ski club teams, the Dartmouth No. 1 cross-country team of Skip Carey, Gus Hullman, Wally Ashnault and Jake Stewart won top honors in the relay with a combined time of 171:42, while a surprisingly strong Lebanon High School team finished second. Top individual runner for the cross-country trek was George Kurronen of the Finnish Ski Club who navigated the 10-kilometer course in 40:36, while Skip Carey of the D.O.C. placed second and Gus Hullman fourth. Sunday's invitational jump on Dartmouth's 40-meter hill saw no Dartmouth entries in the Class A competition which was won by Jon Riisnaes of U.N.H. with leaps of 115 and 108 feet. In the Class B jump, however, Ralph Miller won first place with leaps of 110 and 114 feet, while Skip Carey placed fourth.

In the Vic Constant Trophy Race held at Stowe, Vt., on the weekend of January 17-18, the Big Green skiers once again did themselves proud. The downhill and slalom events were won by Othmar Schneider, Olympic gold medal winner, skiing for the Mt. Mansfield Club. In the downhill run, however, Ralph Miller took second place for Dartmouth, Brooks Dodge placed fourth, Bill Beck fifth, and Pete Kirby eighth. In the slalom, Dodge took third place followed by Ralph Miller with Corcoran ninth and Beck nth. The combined standings showed Miller second, Dodge fourth, Beck eighth, and Kirby tenth.

At the same time a local four-event meet between the Dartmouth Outing Club and Lebanon Outing Club was held in the Hanover-Lebanon area. The Dartmouth team won by a 391.1 to 384.9 score despite a clean sweep by the Lebanon Club of the jumping event.