Snowboarding on a sunny, snow covered slope, sliding down
a hill on a rickety cardboard box, and strutting around in a bikini
while on skis in the freezing cold for a cash prize of $300 sounds
like any snow lovers usual weekend, right?
Participants step up and
dress down for the Beech Winterfest Bathing Beauty Ski
Contest. Photo
by Tiffany Allison
Wrong. These are the aftershocks of Beech Mountain’s Winterfest,
and attendants said it was exactly what they hoped it would be
– a weekend full of snow and fun.
The famous Winterfest favorite, the cardboard box derby, drew
a crowd into Beech’s play yard. Families watched as the contestants
slid or tumbled to the finish line in hopes of attaining the fastest
speed. The winner of the speed category for the derby in his silver
shark was Mike Cole and John Taylor of Coles Lawn Care. Erin Ohara,
sponsored by Jackalope’s View, came close in her golden stallion
winning second place. Tyler Sultenfuss of Beta Omega Kappa tagged
behind with his blue rocket taking third place.
As far as originality and sweetest ride, Shawn Stricklen from
View Haus dominated, winning first place in both categories with
his Red Baron plane, complete with plastic gun and propeller.
However, his ride’s beauty won him no favors during the race
itself, as he crashed down the track into the finish line.
The bathing beauty contest lacked no beauty, though contestants
had to combat cold temperatures while wearing bikinis. But with
a $300 cash prize for first place dangling before their eyes,
frostbite would be ignored until victory (or the finish line)
was in sight.
Ski patrol attendants Brie Young, Amanda Holson, Lindsay Strohschein
and Jason Powell stole first prize for “saving the day”
with their naughty version of their ski patrol rescue. “I
got roped into it,” Strohschein said.
The group donated the $300 to Todd Rice, a fellow ski patroller
who broke his neck while on the slopes.
“He is a really awesome guy, and the ski patrol is like a
family,” Holson said. “We just wanted to help him out.”
They also took donations after the event during the cookout and
raised $160 extra to help Rice recover and get back on the slopes.
Liz Lotts gave them a run for their money with her whipped-cream-covered
white bikini, but not close enough, winning only second. Robin
Adams with her flower powered suit captured third place. Prizes
from Brick Oven Pizza, Extreme, Alpine Ski Center, Jackalope’s
View, Char, Los Arcoiris, Bella’s and Sledgehammer Charlie’s
were given to the winners as an extra incentive to come back next
year.
It was a tough call for most of the judges. The contest was judged
on beauty, poise and outrageousness.
“I had Liz rated higher,” one of the judges said. “The
whipped cream didn’t hurt.”
At the end of the day, the prizes were handed out, and the adventurous
contestants warmed up with grilled hot dogs and hamburgers from
the cookout.
“We had a great turnout,” Talia Freeman, event planner
for Ski Beech, said. “I really liked the ski patrol’s
skit. The best and heartwarming part was the girls giving their
money to their coworker.”
The weekend also featured a Village Rail Jam, allowing freestyle
boarders and skiers to earn some prizes while catching some air.
“Overall, we had a great turn out for the weekend,”
Freeman said. “We are really thankful for the local business
who helped us put this together.”
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