Archive for February, 2009

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11

An Olympic Skier from Hyak in Snoqualmie Pass

Posted by Thomas Wolter No Comments »
Did you know that we have a future Olympian who grew up skiing in the Hyak Area of Snoqualmie Pass?
The 21-year-old Cle Elum resident is a rising star on the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team and has his sights locked on the 2010 Olympics.

He was rookie of the year on the world tour last season, and while he hasn’t skied quite as well this season, according to his coach, he finished fourth in Saturday’s World Cup on the course that will be used in next year’s Olympics, in Vancouver, BC.

Patrick’s dad, Pat, was the first to see his son’s talent.

When Pat was the general manager at Hyak, now Summit East on Snoqualmie Pass, his son started skiing at 11 months of age.

When Deneen started racing, he won almost every junior race he entered. While he was always fast, he said he was best at the technical events like slalom.

But it wasn’t long before Deneen fell in love with skiing moguls.

And as with ski racing, Deneen proved to be a natural in freestyle, which consists of ballet, moguls, and aerials.

Last winter he and his dad built a kicker on a slope in their backyard so he could practice his jumps. After each run his dad would tow him back up the hill with a snowmobile so he could go again.

Deneen finished third in three World Cup events last season. This year he is eighth in the World Cup standings, better than any of his teammates.

The strength of his game is his speed.

However, in moguls, speed is just part of the game. You also have to look good.

Scoring criteria are 25 percent speed, 50 percent turns and 25 percent performance on two jumps.

For the Deneens, just being in position to make the team 369 days before the games open is a dream come true.