Saturday, March 27, 1999 -- Snowshoe
Psychocross Mountain Championships

[Coverage/Recap w/Pics] [Pic Set 1] [Pic Set 2] [Results]

Sans poles and sans fear, Mike DeLuca was the fastest down the hill

With the sun shining and the temperatures well above freezing, the Psychocross Mountain Championship at Snowshoe was the place to be on March 27 for some late season competition on the slopes. The format for the race is simple; boardercross rules for the races, but skiers were welcome as long as they left their poles behind. The conditions at the terrain park were surprisingly good, and there was an abundance of snow to pad even the nastiest of landings. The yurt was rockin' with its usual selection of great tunes, and everyone seemed to have a smile on their face waiting for the competition to begin.

Thurston Willis is airborne at the Psychocross Championship

The snowboarders were the first out of the gates, and it was Thurston Willis winning the Mens 7-12 age group, and much to no ones surprise, Adam Cumashot took first place honors in the Mens 13-16 age group. However, in the Mens 17-20 category, it was skier Brian Eisman winning out over snowboarder Aaron Bryson to take 1st place. Once again in the Mens 21-30, it was skier Dave Walker edging out snowboarder Shannon Boehmer to be the first across the finish line. The Mens 31+ saw Mike DeLuca glide to a 1st place finish in his group, giving the skiers a slight majority for the king of the hill final.The womens open category came down to one skier verses two snowboarders, and in the end it was skier Landon Nowlin winning.

"you take the high road, I'll take the low road"

What makes Psychocross unique is the King-of-the-Hill final that simply puts the fastest people on the slopes that day in a head-to-head race for the win. Skier Mike DeLuca seemed to be in total control as he winded his way through the terrain park on his way to a 1st place overall finish and to earn the title of King-of-the-Hill.

Afterwards, all the competitors, along with some family and friends, gathered above the Bear's Den for the award ceremony. The folks at Snowshoe always have great prizes, along with a raffle that gave away three snowboards and lots of killer shwag just for entering the race. Endless pizza and drinks provided by Snowshoe made sure everyone went away with a full stomach, and one could already hear the rumors and whisperings about who was going to be back next year. WVOutside will be there, and we will be looking for you.