Hudson Grabos competes at Whistler

HOOD RIVER — Hood River eighth grader Hudson Grabos of the Cooper Spur Alpine Team competed at the 33rd Annual Whistler Cup April 6–12 at Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia.

Grabos earned his invitation by ranking No. 1 in the Pacific Northwest U14 division and No. 6 across the Western Region (10 states, including Colorado).

Gorge News caught up with Grabos’s U14 Cooper Spur Alpine Team coach, Ben Webster, who spoke very highly of his dedication to the craft.

“We started training at Sun Peaks, British Columbia, in November with our Race Prep Camp, and over the course of the season, Hudson, and many of his CSAT teammates, will have raced or trained at 10 different mountains,” said Webster. “It was pretty limited with training due to the low snow, but it was very obvious at the beginning of the season that he’s quite a natural talent. He clearly listens to instructions and was able to make some pretty amazing adjustments in terms of his use of gravity and moving down the hill, and making speed, and it’s shown.”

He continued, “his results have just been phenomenal this season, and going to the western region champ and being in that group and getting invited to the Whistler Cup, that’s the proof.”

At Whistler, Grabos had two runs in the Slalom race on April 11. He finished 19th in the first run but was unable to finish the second. Webster said Grabos’s invitation to the Whistler Cup is a sign of what’s to come as he continues to develop at a young age.

“For Cooper Spur, I think the last time we qualified anyone was Peyton Wells, and he’s still racing division one collegiate (University of Nevada, Reno),” said Webster. “He’s had quite a success story moving out of Cooper Spur and onward from there. So, I kind of see that connection, and I think it’s important to emphasize too that you know these are 12- and 13-year-old athletes, so they’re still very young.”