A Williams Lake ski cross racer is well on his way to a potential season championship following the first race of the Western Ski Cross Series.
Austin Boehm, 15, competing against skiers from B.C., Alberta and a pair from the U.S., raced to two silver medals this past weekend at Edmonton’s Sunridge Ski Area.
Boehm, who started skiing when he was five years old and has raced for the past four years, amassed 80 points both Saturday and Sunday for a 160-point season total, putting him in good position for a top finish in the five-race series.
“The races go by process of elimination,” Boehm explained.
“There are heats, semifinals and finals. Four people go down the course at once and the top two advance, and the bottom two are eliminated.”
Each day, Boehm raced roughly three or four courses in a field consisting of eight other skiers.
“Every race, you accumulate points and the person with the most points at the end of the season wins the championship.”
Last season, Boehm, who trains with the Prince George ski cross team, was one race away from capturing the top 14-year-old male in the series when he crashed hard during a practice run at a race in Fernie and broke his collar bone. He finished the season in fourth place.
The course at Sunridge Ski Area, Boehm said, was very short, however, added he enjoyed it.
“It was good,” he said. “Kind of technical.”
Boehm noted all in all, he was pleased with his racing during the weekend.
“I thought I did quite well,” he said. ‘It was good. Could’ve went a little harder but it all comes down to practice.”
Thursday, Boehm was already back on the slopes travelling to the NorAm Western Canadians at Tabor Mountain in Prince George where, although he was too old to compete, wanted to get in a few fun runs.
His next Western Ski Cross Series race is slated for the following weekend, Jan. 21-22 at Tabor Mountain in Prince George.
“I hope to do well,” he said. “Hopefully I can win. It’ll be against different people from different areas.”