Look where we find ourselves, at another race report. Against all odds our athletes traveled to Arizona and not only kicked ass, but took names too. The drive to Arizona was a long one, the bathrooms in the Air BnB was minimal, and oh loooord did we smack The Claremont Colleges in laser tag. All this and more in race report 3. As I mentioned earlier; holy cow was that drive long. The mission out east was a trek but it was completed by everyone and the weekend was off to a wild start. The mountain and location our athletes traveled to was Snowbowl in Flagstaff, AZ. Usually for our race weekends, we will get to enjoy a multitude of events, but not this time. We got a double dose of the perhaps the spiciest race: Skiear/BoarderX. While we got a full 2 days of heat (races and also the weather), only the results for the first day were posted, so for the second day I will focus on the overall levels of shred our athletes were experiencing. Day one started bright and early with only a few minor/major issues. Boots, jackets, snowboard, and a helmet were among the many things that somehow did not make it into the car for a number of unknown reasons, but nonetheless, our athletes prevailed. The course that was set up was a wild one. Our athletes had the pleasure of sharing the course with the groms from USASA (United States of America Snowboard and Freeski Association) which might have had some influence on the overall quality of the course, but who are we to complain about a couple days of some sweet, sweet cross. The first day was a blast and we had a solid showing across the board. Unfortunately, our female boarders had a tough showing and none were able to crack the top 10. The lady skiers had quite the turnout in the top 10 with Mia making the final and locking in at 3rd and Kathy and Sammy getting 5th and 6th in the Petite Finals. The male boarders had the veteran Amir slot into the petite final and snag an 8th place. The male skiers almost had a back to back SkierX win but fell just short with Tobin sneaking into a 2nd place finish. With the races complete and the slopes a slush-fest, it was time for the night shift. Due to the location of Flagstaff, a few groups of folks traveled to the beautiful Grand Canyon and got to scope a cracker of a sunset. While those folk were out enjoying nature, the other athletes competed in the ultimate showdown between colleges: a game of laser tag. Because the drive to Arizona was so long, the league decided to comp teams with a few free games of laser tag, and with some newly acquired companions hailing from the Claremont Colleges, the stage was set for a true duel of fates. With a team made up of the likes of Boba Fett, Jar-Jar Binks and Mace Windu, we were unstoppable. Larger brains and bigger muscles is what ultimately divided the two teams, and fortunately we were far superior in both regards. An absolute annihilation of the enemy, UCSD walked away with a victory that wasn’t even close. We may not have won the cross event, but boy oh boy did we put on for our city in laser tag. The second day of racing was quite similar to the first with the exact same course, similar weather, but fortunately much less forgotten items. Sadly, the results of the race have not been posted yet but I do recall seeing a number of carcasses being thrown down the course, ready to put their body and soul on the line for their team. A solid weekend of riding on the mountain and off the mountain, our athletes looked forward to returning from the Mordor to our Gondor, back into the light. Arizona wasn’t the worst, but man am I looking forward to the return to Mammoth. Catch you in a few once our athletes shoot some hoops out at regionals in Tahoe. Stay wise.