Saturday, March 6, 1999 - Sunday, March 7, 1999 -- Winterplace Ski Resort
Cardboard Box Race

[Coverage/Recap w/Pics] [MTB Slalom Race] [Cardboard Box Race]
[MTB & Box Race Results] [MTB Pictures] [Box Pictures]

Lined up and ready to "Box"

Saturday afternoon the competitors that challenged Highland Run couldn't use any fancy contraptions fashioned out of wood, rubber, steel, plastic, or high-tech accessories. The Cardboard Box Race has simple rules for creating race vessels; anything constructed using only cardboard, tape, and paint, with some allowance for decorative ornamentation is permissible. When it comes to racing, again the rules are fairly simple, have a lot of fun! The winner in this hillarious event is determined based on the best combined score in two areas: form and funtion.

Jesse Anderson displays his "Rental Case"

First came the cardboard box judging where each "box" design was judged purely on it's aesthetics. The big winners here were the team of Josh Bunting, Trina Skaggs, and Brett Skaggs with their "Bar Hopper". Their rig was an elegant display of recycled beer cartons outfitted with stylish NOSTAR "flags". Coming in a close second was was the sleek "QuickSilver" machine of pilot Shane Dragan. Constructed with enough duct tape to make even Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor proud, this looked to be a formidable weapon out on the slopes. All the boxes brought smiles to everyone with creativity ranging from the quickly constructed "Punk Mobile" (Your usual Generation-X slackers), to the very basic design of April Henderson's "Speed Box" (Oh the controversy, what substance was it that put the speed in the "Speed Box"?), to the styrofoam peanut decorated "Sweet Ride" of Kim Dearing, Lydia Ingrassia, and Jamie Basham (three smiles that would make any piece of cardboard look good!)

Letting the cardboard fly

Next came the speed half of the competition. No timing necessary here as all the machines were launched down the the designated hill in a mass start. One run, first to the finish is the winner. In keeping with the single "Have Fun!" rule, a few guidelines were necessary. Everyone starts behind the line and within a foot or two of it (no running starts). A starting push from teammates is okay, but no assistance once past the starting line.

The gun sounded (okay, there was no gun) and a mass of cardboard and bodies headed downhill. Sliding out to the lead was the "Rental Case", a nicely painted rig piloted by Jesse Anderson. Even as Ken Perkins did his best to hang on to the leader, Jesse sped to the finish line in commanding fashion. For many of the other competitors, navigating a straight line down the hill proved to be a difficult task. The other big challenge for many was keeping the boxes in one piece. But, with incredible enthusiasm, the teams and their boxes ran back up the hill for an unofficial run number two, and run number three, and some snowball battles, and a whole lot of laughter.

Looks like happy hour is over for the "Bar Hopper"

When the snow and cardboard finally cleared, the judges had to declare a winner. With a third place finish in the speed competition, "Bar Hopper" now had a 1st and 3rd. But, the "Rental Case" had earlier been awarded third in the style judging portion to give it a 1st and 3rd, as well. The judges pondered briefly, but when it came down to performance, Jesse Anderson's snow racer was a notch above the others. The overall top award was his, while the "Bar Hooper" crew graciously took second place honors. Now, if a good time was the prize, then everyone finished a winner.