SWANVILLE — Brothers Lake, 13, and Jett Lindelof, 11, of Swanville wrapped up another exhilarating season of ski racing this year. Since 2011, the Lindelof brothers have been part of the Penobscot Valley racing development program, a junior ski racing program at Hermon Mountain, where the boys learned to ski at the young ages of three and five. This year, they continued to train and race through Hermon Mountain's racing program and also joined the Camden Snow Bowl's mid-winter racing program, where Lake become a member of the Camden Snow Bowl middle school racing team.

This team became the 2016-2017 Class A boys alpine skiing state champions. For the second season, the boys also trained at Sugarloaf Mountain, participating in Carrabassett Valley Academy's Friday alpine training days.

This past winter, as recommended by a Camden Snow Bowl coach and encouraged by family, Lake also became an elite-level USSA skier, which enhanced his season by attending additional competitions throughout the state with some of the best ski academy skiers in the country.

"We are so grateful for Hermon Mountain, the Camden Snow Bowl and CVA" said the boys' mother Tracey Lindelof. "It is because of these racing programs, particularly by joining the Snow Bowl's middle school racing program this year, that our sons have developed into the skiers that they are now. It's a wonderful sport that we are happy to be a part of."

The month of January kicked off the brothers' season with racing excitement at Sugarloaf Mountain for Lake and at Hermon Mountain for Jett.

During that month, Lake also raced at Spruce Mountain in Jay, Kent's Hill, in Readfield, Mount Abram, in Greenwood, and at Titcomb Mountain, in Farmington.

The brothers joined up for the J.P. Parisien Memorial race at Lost Valley in Auburn  Jan. 16, which this year was attended by well over 200 racers.

At that race, the morning's slalom course was technical with Jett handling the tight turns and producing consistent times of 31.42 and 31.03 for a sixth place finish, just beneath three Gould Academy skiers and two Carrabassett Valley Academy skiers.

Lake did not finish his first run, then followed with a second place run with a fast time of 24.70.

The racing season then continued and on Jan. 22 at Hermon Mountain Jett took home two bronze medals from the Chip Chochrane Invitational, a race well-attended by the fast and fierce Valley Racing Team of Fort Kent.

The brothers finished up the month Jan. 29, with both attending a Maine Alpine Racing Association skills quest training event at Titcomb Mountain, where Jett placed third and Lake seventh in the morning's technical-skills judging, followed by an afternoon of dual slalom racing.

February began with both boys racing at the Camden Snow Bowl on Feb. 4, a beautiful, bright, but frigid day.

Lake had two solid runs at 29.39 and 30.08 placing him second out of 83 total middle school skiers and Jett had times of 38.17 and 42.19, placing him 24th out of the 55 middle school boys racing that day.

After that, Lake travelled to Sugarloaf Feb. 5 for a USSA qualifier placing him 28th out of 63 boys, followed by both boys racing a paneled slalom course on Feb. 12 in Farmington just before an intense blizzard rolled in that evening, dumping nearly three feet of snow statewide making the skiing conditions amazing for the rest of the season.

For Lake, mid-February was a time of skiing excitement particularly due to the success of the entire Camden Snow Bowl Middle School Team, who all excellently represented the Camden Snow Bowl.

The Class A Alpine middle school state meet was a two-day, back-to-back event, that due to a snowstorm early in the week required rescheduling of the giant slalom event at Sugarloaf to Feb. 17, followed by the slalom event the next day at Titcomb Mountain.

At Sugarloaf, Lake skied the GS course with skill and fast times of 24.25 and 25.78, which placed him eighth out of 145 racers.

The slalom event. however, was not successful for Lake, who did not finish either run due to skier shin pain that caused him to miss gates.

Several other skiers on the team skied slalom well, all of which helped propel the boys' team into an exhilarating first place finish, capturing the alpine team giant slalom and slalom combined Class A Boys Middle School State Championship title.

The end of February reunited the brothers at familiar races including Big Rock Mountain, in Aroostook, Big Squaw Mountain, in Greenville and again at the Camden Snow Bowl.

The boys took home three gold medals at the Weyerhauser Timber Classic at Squaw Mountain Feb. 25.

The next day they were back in Camden for the Snow Bowl's Seacoast Kombi Classic where Jett finished fourth with times of 58.99 and 101.99. At this race Lake captured the U14 second place silver medal for his stellar performance with times of 49.34 and 50.50, with many skiers from the Valley Racing Team of Fort Kent skiing that day at the Camden Snow Bowl for the first time, making it a day of excellent racing competition due to both teams' incredible skill and comparable ability.

In March and April, there was a continuation of the exciting ski season for the brothers. On Mar. 4 and 5 Lake attended two MARA events, both during sub-zero degree arctic wind chills; a slalom qualifier at Sunday River and a giant slalom qualifier at Shawnee Peak. This was followed by another race on Mar. 12 at Big Rock Mountain in Mars Hill where Lake earned a third place bronze medal and Jett sixth. Then on Mar. 19, the last race of the season was held at Hermon Mountain for the annual Family Fun Race. On this beautiful, warm, pure blue-sky day, with pristine snow, the Penobscot Valley Ski Club hosted a morning of fantastic dual slalom racing for racers, family members and coaches. This was followed by lunch and awards where Lake and Jett were declared "speediest" of the day in their U14 and U12 divisions, along with their younger sister Skye who raced along with them on what was a gorgeous winter day.

To conclude the season on Mar. 25, Lake, four other Camden Snow Bowl USSA skiers and their coaches, marched in the "parade of athletes" at Sugarloaf Mountain and escorted the U.S. Ski Team into the opening ceremonies of the U.S. Alpine Championships, followed by an impressive fireworks display.

This was a four-day national alpine ski racing event, which has occurred only six times in Sugarloaf's history.

It was an exceptionable and honorable opportunity to be a part of, one that will surely be remembered by all the young aspiring ski racers and their coaches in attendance.

Following that, on Apr. 15 the boys wrapped up their season once again at Sugarloaf, attending the action-packed East Coast Pond Skimming Championships, which brought lots of splashes, smiles and much laughter to all those who participated and watched.

The ski racing brothers took home a total of 16 medals and ribbons this season. They are sixth and seventh graders at Cornerspring Montessori School, in Belfast, and at Islesboro Central School. They are also members of the Waldo County YMCA Bluefish Swim Team, the Islesboro Sailing Team, the Islesboro Track Team, the Midcoast Cal Ripken Baseball League and are the sons of Jeff and Tracey Lindelof of Swanville.

Reach the sports department at: sports@penbaypilot.com.