CHAPTER 10
JUMPS, DROPS, AND CURVES
Will did qualify for the final round. He, Essa, and a pair of ten-year-old riders would race in the final that afternoon.
After they got the results, Will and Essa went to join the spectators at the bottom of Magician’s Goblet, a blue square trail on the east side of the mountain. The trail was taped off to be a bit narrower than normal. Blue lines had been painted at the peaks of several small jumps so the riders would see the drops as they approached.
Jasper and Eli would be racing that course.
“There they are!” Essa said. She pointed and waved enthusiastically toward the top of the slope.
Will squinted to see the top, shielding his eyes with one gloved hand. He saw two riders at the starting gate.
“How can you tell?” Will said.
“Trust me,” Essa said. “I can tell.”
The whistle blew, and the pair of riders pushed off. Both seemed to leave the ground for an instant as they came over the first drop and nose-dived down the slope.
Each kept his speed up, riding hard into the first curve. It was a wide right, and the riders seemed to hold on by a thread as their toe edges cut like knives into the packed snow.
The racers were neck and neck as they disappeared into a section hidden by woods.
“That’s the best part,” Essa said. “Remember the woods part on Apprentice?”
Will nodded.
“Well, on this trail,” Essa said, “it’s even better. Jumps, drops, sharp curves. It’s super fun.”
“You’ve done this trail?” Will asked, impressed. “I thought you were a beginner.”
“I am,” Essa said. “I didn’t say it was easy. But it will be someday. For you too.”
Will smiled. He turned his eyes back to the race just as the two riders appeared out of the woods. One rider had a small lead now—it looked like Jasper.
“Go, Jassy, go!” Essa shouted, jumping up and down and waving her arms. “Woo!”
Jasper crouched at the top of the last descent. Eli was right behind him. Halfway down the last drop, they reached a series of small jumps. They both got air.
Jasper came out of the jumps first. He crouched even lower and zoomed across the finish line just a second before Eli.
Jasper skidded to a stop right in front of Essa and Will.
“Nice going, Jassy!” Essa said. She threw her arms around her brother.
“Please don’t call me Jassy,” he said as he pulled off his goggles. “It sounds like gassy. I’ve told you a million times.”
Eli swooshed up next to him. “I’ll get you next time,” he said.
“No doubt,” Jasper said. They high-fived.
Before long, the intermediate qualifier was over. Jasper and Eli came in first and second place. They’d both be in the final round.
“Top four riders from each division,” the finishing judge announced through her megaphone, “head over to Knight’s Trail. The races will begin in fifteen minutes, starting with the intermediate final.”
* * *
In the final intermediate race, all four riders started together.
“Remember,” Essa said to Will as they watched from the bottom of the Knight’s Trail, “Jasper is wearing the green helmet, and Eli is wearing the black one.”
The other two riders were both high school age, one girl and one boy.
The whistle blew, and all four riders launched off the edge together.
Eli took an early lead after the first drop. He led the racers into the first curve, a wide right under the chairlift. Jasper stayed close to Eli. The bigger kids took the sharp curve neck and neck. As the riders reached the narrow section, the high schoolers took over the lead.
Jasper cut across the face of the hill and rode with the tree line close to his heel edge. At the entrance to the wooded trail, he took the sharp turn and the lead.
The high school kids took the turn a bit wider and kept Eli at the back of the pack.
“They’ll come out over there,” Essa said, pointing to a spot on the lower section, where it became Squire’s Fall. Will remembered that trail well.
A moment later, Jasper shot out of the woods. One of the high schoolers was right behind him. The other came out a few seconds later, neck and neck with Eli.
On the last drop, Jasper almost wiped out on a patch of bad snow. His shoulder scraped the snow. He dragged one hand and pushed up to get back up on his board, sending up a spray of icy powder. He lost a little speed, and the high schooler passed him.
Trailing, Eli crouched and took the descent at superspeed, barely passing the other high schooler in the last few instants.
As the four riders swooshed into the finish area, the crowd cheered. The high schooler who had overtaken Jasper came in first.
“Jasper got second!” Essa said.
He and Eli popped off their back boots and pushed over to Will and Essa.
“Nice race, guys,” Will said.
“Not for us,” Eli said. “We didn’t win.”
Jasper shrugged. “I did pretty well,” he said. “Might have won if not for that icy patch at the end.”
“For sure,” Essa said.
“You two better get ready for your race,” Jasper said. “One of you might be the new beginner champion at Sorenson Resort.”