Sliding to glory: Angel Fire’s Championship Shovel Races sees more than 100 participants test their mettle

ANGEL FIRE — As another ski season winds to a close at one of northern New Mexico’s most popular winter resorts, another set of champions has been crowned the kings and queens of what might be one of the world’s most curious snowsports: shovel racing.

More than 100 participants turned out for Angel Fire’s Championship Shovel Races this weekend, with finalists flying down the hill in speed suits atop shimmering aluminum shovels Saturday, reaching speeds of 60 mph or higher.

This year saw two returning champions on the women’s podium as sisters Nadia and Paloma Gonzales claimed the first- and second-place trophies in their category, respectively.

Nadia Gonzales, whose family is from the high-altitude Moreno Valley where the village of Angel Fire sits, set the fastest time of the day in either the men’s or women’s competitions, crossing the finish line at the end of the straight-line course in 16.99 seconds.

Noelle Comtois, another Angel Fire native, came in third with a time of 18.79.

“I’ve been racing since I was a little scoop,” she said as she celebrated at the finish line on Saturday. “I love it out here. I love how dedicated everyone is. I just placed third. I can’t wait for tonight at the awards ceremony.”

Rob Tibljas topped the men’s podium in the finals with a time of 17.00, just a hair under Nadia Gonzales record-setting time on the day. Gavin Millette and Boots Heffner came in second and third, respectively, logging times of 17.25 and 18.12.

Onlookers who gathered in the sunshine on the unseasonably warm, 60-degree day alternated between gasps and cheers as the racers zoomed across the finish line — or didn’t, sometimes spinning like tops as they lost control of their shovels and sent slush flying.

“It's been around since the ‘70s in different formats,” Angel Fire Marketing Director Wolfe Ashcraft said of the event. “It started out with the lift operators riding their shovels down at the end of their shift. It turned into a competition in the ‘80s and ‘90s, with modified shovels that would go like 75 miles per hour. We took a bit of a hiatus and then brought it back with regular shovels.”

Angel Fire Resort, which claims to have invented the sport, reinstated the annual event last year after a five-year hiatus, partly due to the dangers it poses to contestants.

Shovel racing was a featured event in the 1997 Winter X Games, but was removed from future events after racer Justin Williams died in competition.

But Ashcraft said shovel racing is also unique, given its accessibility to nearly anyone and was important to restore as part of the resort’s claim to fame.

“It’s part of our history and to be able to do something unique like this that’s just us is really fun,” he said.

John Miller is the Albuquerque Journal’s northern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at jmiller@abqjournal.com.