The Sipapu Pond Skim: A test of bravery and balance
The season is close to an end at the Sipapu Ski and Summer Resort. With the warm weather of spring, ski clothing can be reduced to a tank top and a good pair of snow pants. The more adventurous mountain goers can omit a top and wear tutus or any kind of garment that exposes skin to snow.
As is tradition, this is the time when skiers and snowboarders sign up to participate in the annual Sipapu Pond Skim. The manmade lake, titled “Lake Sipapu,” is approximately 96 feet long and 3 feet deep.
The temperature of the water can range from 30-40 degrees Fahrenheit — enough to startle and shock someone, and also leave them cold and soaking wet for a few minutes. One of the judges for the event said that the people who crash in the lake typically don’t do a second run.
Those who sign up for the pond skim are expected to do two runs across “the lake” and then are judged based on the two runs. This year, a skier veered toward the sides of the lake and managed to puncture the liner that was holding all the frigid water in place. As a result, contestants were only able to complete one run instead of two.
All things being equal — scorewise — the deciding factor in the event of a tiebreak situation comes down to style, which is based on the creativity of a contestant’s costume. Anyone in plain clothes is essentially eliminated from contention.
At stake was a black Monster Energy drink branded mountain bike for first place, a pair of Spy Marshall ski goggles for second place, and a Sierra Nevada schwag bag for third place.
One of the competitors dressed up as the Mad Hatter. He wore a two piece suit and a hat big enough to fit four ten-gallon hats within it. “Yeah, the Mad Hatter comes out every year in the springtime,” he said. “Last day you’re not going to find a powder day but you can sure find a fun day. And this is my little busy bee [points to his daughter dressed up as a bee].”
The Mad Hatter is not tied specifically
to the pond skim. When asked if he brings out the Alice and Wonderland garb on other occasions, he responded, “I mean I wear it when I wanna be the Mad Hatter.”
Did the Mad Hatter expect to clear the length of the pond?
“It’s 96 feet, man. I don’t know, man. I think the winner is gonna be with the most style. It’s gonna come down to the most style ...,” he said.
A total of 50 contestants lined up to test their bravery and balance — with the goal of staying dry and looking cool in the process.
One of the judges gave a friendly reminder to all the contestants on how to react if they should fall into the cold lake. “Enjoy being in the pond. Don’t flip out and freak out and try to grab and pull the liner down.”
The snowboarders were the first group to descend down the
hill with hopes of making it to the other side. A man in a chicken suit proved to the crowd he was, indeed, not a chicken, as he bombed the hill and went into the pond at full speed. Once his board made contact with the water, he made too many side-to-side movements to maintain his balance and came to a stop within a few feet of the finish line.
The next three snowboarders handled the pond skim with aplomb. Manika, who went after the chicken man, kept the nose of her board up and straight lined the lake, ending the run with a stylish 180 for good measure.
Next up, a man named Sascha, who wore a Hawaiian shirt and a flamingo helmet, negotiated his balance midway through the run but found enough momentum to cross the finish line.
After the third person in a row crossed the lake, that’s when people started to struggle.
Skiers and snowboarders alike would speed check and approach the lake at too sharp of an angle instead of head-on. You could anticipate the carnage before it ensued. Instead of gliding through, they would belly flop or faceplant, with their board or skis still attached. Then, it was a matter of falling with gusto or doing the defeated rollover. Some struggled unstrapping from their gear underneath the water.
Some of the costumed standouts included: a young lad dressed as a stormtrooper, a construction worker, a guy with a NASA jet pack strapped to his back, a whip
persnapper dressed as a pirate with a parrot on his shoulder, and Anthony “Baby Gorilla” Alvarez in his sherbet orange tutu, lumberjack flannel and suspenders with a tiny handheld Stihl chainsaw in his left hand. It was a very on-brand costume in direct relation to his tree service company.
Once the water started to leak from a puncture in the liner, the pond skim was declared over, and the judges would have to reach a decision on who the top three contestants would be.
Eight people had perfect scores of 30. Those without costumes were automatically eliminated, reducing the field to four. To decide the champion, names were thrown into a hat, and then three young girls took turns pulling a name out of it.
As the kid dressed as a pirate waited to hear the results with his arms crossed, the names were called out.
Tim Lovell, who wore a red cape and a superman shirt won first place. Sascha Seebeck, the flamingo helmet guy, won second place. Owner of Baby Gorilla Tree Service, “Baby Gorilla” Alvarez, won third place.
What exactly was in that Sierra Nevada schwag bag?
The bag itself is a disc golf bag and inside of it was a T-shirt, sunglasses, a mini carabiner and a gaiter.