Lahey, G-Spot snatch booty in Dash for Cash
Aspen Times Staff Writer
Expectations for a good ol’ fashioned brawl between men in skin-tight racing suits clawing their way to the feet of bikini-clad snow bunnies holding $5,000 cash were running high in this year’s Dash for Cash at Snowmass.
But Team G-Spot and Vince Lahey ruined it all.
There was no wrestling, kicking, fighting, cursing, pulling, blood or knocked out teeth on Saturday. Instead, Lahey ” who lately seems to win almost every ski competition he enters ” scrambled to the top of the infamous snow mound in a meager 15 seconds to collect the booty (pun intended) and seal his team’s victory.
“There were plenty of people there for a battle,” Lahey said. “But what we were able to do was implement our plan, which was … oh, I’m not going to tell you that.”
Team G-Spot is comprised of Christian Messner, Mike Sladdin, Billy Poole and, of course, Lahey. Sladdin and Lahey have won the race three of the last four years.
Six teams of four and eight individuals competed in the event, which is not your average, conventional ski race. Beginning with a mass start at the top of Sam’s Knob, racers sprinted 20 yards while carrying their skis. After clicking in, it was a free-for-all dash down Slot before entering a series of gates and the finish, near the halfpipe.
Once racers stepped out of their skis, the real battle emerged, as a 10- to 12-foot-tall steep mound of snow was all that separated them from the bikini girls and $5,000. In year’s past, though, it typically took several minutes for anyone to summit the mound, what with all the wrestling and kicking going on, as racers can use any means necessary to reach the top.
“The end was a lot quicker this year,” said Adam Rothsberg, a race coordinator. “What usually happens is a fight at the bottom that lasts for 10 to 15 minutes.”
But it appears Lahey and Team G-Spot have mastered the clash, and the climb.
Explains Lahey: “It’s just like any war ” you have your fighters, destroyers and the mother ship. That’s Messner, he’s the mother ship, he’s an aircraft carrier.”
As a growing collection of racers stood at the bottom of the mound, waiting for someone to make their move, Lahey sprung like a cat off Messner’s shoulders to the top, taking down an unsuspecting Rothsberg (who was also commentating over a microphone) by the ankles before falling into the arms of the bikini girls.
“Messner basically hoisted him up and threw him over his back,” Rothsberg said.
“It was a riot, it was a lot of fun,” Poole added.
Poole, who was visiting family in Montana last week, got a call from Lahey Thursday night.
“He said, ‘Do you want to win a guaranteed $1,200?'” Poole said.
So Poole hopped in his car and made the drive down.
“I needed a strong man and that’s Billy Poole,” Lahey said. “He’s a state champ wrestler from Massachusetts.”
Team Vail was the first foursome to the bottom of the course, claiming the skiing segment of the race and $2,500.
Steve Benson’s e-mail address is sbenson@aspentimes.com
