Mariel Gorsuch Nabs NASTAR Nationals Title

Local Aspenite Mariel Gorsuch won last week's NASTAR Nationals race in the Platinum division at Snowmass ski area. The FIS-ranked 23-year-old repeatedly pushed faster and faster times through the finish to beat defending champion Melanie Schwartz.

It was one heck of a spectacle.

Gorsuch's victory was the final highlight of a day that included racers from more than 40 states beating the elements and each other on six ever-warming courses.

There were numerous crashes, knocks, and spills—some quite spectacular.

Others who won in the various categories included:

Platinum Juniors winner Hansen Shepherd , a Steamboat Springs lad whose father is a former Olympian; Gold Seniors winner Hans Schroeder ; Gold Juniors winner Natalie George ; Silver Seniors winner Bill Tomcich ; Silver Juniors winner Evie Bishop ; Bronze Seniors winner Steven Evangelist ; Bronze Juniors winner Daniel Joseph ; and the Adaptive Winner Tanner Jadwin .

Congrats to all. (Tables are below; scroll down.)

The event was spread across the entire week. Racers in each division (Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum) had an entire day for their color to race.

The camaraderie was high, as most of the racers know each other—some have been squaring off at meets for decades.

I had the fun jobs of being course maintenance, scorekeeper, and course-setting helper, depending on the day.

Bill Madsen, Snowmass Village's mayor and the Director of NASTAR, kept the weeklong event moving with entertaining and colorful descriptions of the racers—nearly all of whom he knows personally—as they tore the Snowmass ski area NASTAR courses apart.

Warm temperatures were a challenge and there were several salt breaks in the latter days of the contest.

A personal highlight for me was meeting 14-year-old racer Mackenzie Blizzard and her family. I ended up doing a separate story about this amazing young woman .

Lunch was provided by the sterling Guest Services Crew at Snowmass, many of whom have been there for years.

The event's pacesetters were Tommy Ford and Wiley Maple.

Ford is a three-time Olympian (2010, 2018, 2022), Ford got his first World Cup victory at the Birds of Prey, Beaver Creek. Ford continued his strong giant slalom skiing in the 2021 season with another podium, a second place in the Santa Caterina, Italy giant slalom World Cup.

He showed us his stretching regimen.

Aspen local Maple—whom we all thought was destined to be a hockey player—placed 17th in the Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria downhill in February 2015.

His Olympic debut in Pyeongchang in February, 2018 showcased his prowess, but it wasn’t the end of his story. Following a challenging 2018–19 season and struggling with injuries, Maple announced his retirement. However, he couldn’t resist the call of the sport he loved, and he made a surprising return to the U.S. Ski Team to compete in Bormio on December 28th, 2023 finishing as the best American in 12th place.

He showed us his big smile.

Thank you NASTAR, thank you Snowmass Village, and thank you racers.

That event was a hoot.

Can't wait until next year.

A few more images from the races are below:

The Tables