More MS news articles for February 2004

Heuga Snow Express Raises $25,000 At Boyne Mountain

http://www.onthesnow.com/news/midwest/020304-10967.html

Tuesday, February 03, 2004
Mike Terrell
OnTheSnow.com

Single digit temperatures and snowy conditions greeted skiers in Jimmie Heuga's Snow Express for MS as it rolled into Boyne Mountain late last month. Presented by Columbia Sportswear and RSN, the 17th Annual Snow Express attracted ten teams of three racers each, and raised close to $25,000 to benefit The Heuga Center, a nonprofit organization now celebrating twenty years of promoting health and creating hope for people with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Skiers and snowboarders of all ages and abilities compete in a dual giant slalom and mountain challenge marathon. At the end of the day, places and prizes are awarded based on a combination of on-snow results and amount of money raised.

The Flying Heugateers, for the ninth year in a row, raised $10,000, winning the Snow Express and earning themselves Columbia Champion jackets and an all expense-paid trip to Vail, Colo., March 31-April 4 for the International Snow Express Finals. The team consisted of ten-year-old Davis DeKorte, his mother, Susan DeKorte, and close friend, Ron Feret.

The Three Amigo's, making up in speed what they lacked in fund raising, smoked the competition, placing first in both races. Team member Andrea Erratt skied a record breaking 42 runs in 2.5 hours. In all, the ten teams skied 516,000 vertical feet, the equivalent of 98 miles. "If we could just get a little better at fundraising, we'd beat those Flying Heugateers," Erratt, sporting a huge smile, told OnTheSnow. “It was a great event and always a worthy cause.”