by Chuck Gleason (Dallas, Tx)

The 1999 Dam-to-Dam Race, put on by the Austin Barefoot Club has come and gone.  If you missed it, you missed the most exciting event to end the millenium.  Each year the race grows bigger, and the competition gets tougher.  Sixteen teams competed in this years race, with some teams driving over 15 hours to attend this grueling event. Anyone who has ever competed in the Dam-to-Dam will tell you it is one of the toughest, but most exhilarating events they have ever done.

Half the fun of the Dam-to-Dam is trying to figure out who's skiing with who and what tricks someone might have up their sleeve cause a rules controversy.   Would Phillip Damuth return on the same team as last year, or would he get recruited by Paul Stokes or Keith St. Onge.  And what about the two Kansas Teams from the 98 Dam-to-Dam?  The boys from Kansas came to the 98 Dam-to-Dam with a great concept for skier transitions, but mother nature and Phillip Damuth ruined it for them.  We were all waiting to see what those guys would think up for this year's race, and noone left disappointed.   The 1999 Dam-to-Dam had everything we expected, starting off with the surprise entry of Matt Wright skiing with Team Four Chicks and a Stick; then a controversy over Tim Brown's boat having a racing engine on it instead of your standard 200hp Mercury.

And if I wasn't there to see it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe it.  Heath Copper from Mobile, Alabama did a long-line back deep "Butt Naked".  For that he definitely gets the honor of being Skier of the Month.  You don't believe me, well just click here and see for yourself.

To get the real story on the Dam-to-Dam, and to see some great pictures, just click on the menu items to the left.