Elaine Supp, Plattekill Rider, Rocks the Boardercross

Elaine Supp is like a Plattekill fairytale. Her dad (my ski hero) could be called the mascot on the mountain with his long skis and excellent style, and Elaine on her snowboard is bringing fame to our little hill.

She is ranked third in the nation in boardercross (it’s like motocross on snow with jumps berms and 3 other racers on the course with you going gangbusters). And this is a sport she only started competing in last year. As you might recall, she got her start when she saw a boarder cross race on TV and thought, “Hey I could do that.”

For most people that kind of idle idea dies away – or should. Not for Elaine. She entered a race the next weekend. And won. Now talking about it on the lift recently she says she stayed up late reading and re-reading the rules, and they said there was an inspection at nine AM. “So, I thought that just meant they wanted to make sure I had the right bib and helmet and board since you need specific ones,” she laughs. “No it meant we got to ride the course. I had no clue.”

She went from no clue to medal stand. She kept racing and winning, wining and racing and went to the Nationals and placed third. Now having won pretty much every race she’s entered this season she’s about to go back to the Nationals in Colorado in early April. And she even has sponsors. There’s SPY, Swany, Sno Life, Berma, sending her gear, but skiers at Plattekill have  (and still are) to make sure she can make it to Colorado and represent the little mountain that could…