Colo. Buffalo Bill Downhill Race shortened by copter crash: A fan’s look – Yahoo! Sports
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The annual Buffalo Bill Downhill race was formed as an idea in 2007 for skateboarders to have a slick downhill race on Lookout Mountain in Colorado. This is the third annual event as one of the premier skateboard races in Colorado, if not the United States.
The 2011 event got an extra participant when a helicopter suddenly lost power and had to make a hard landing just dozens of yards from spectators. No one was hurt, thankfully. There were three people in the helicopter taking aerial video of the race from above. Video and eyewitnesses state rotors from the chopper hit trees on the way down before landing nose-first on a hillside close to the Lookout Mountain Road.
An urban skateboarder.Wikimedia Commons
Racers were competing on the 1.1-mile downhill course with top speeds of 40 mph. Saturday, May 7, featured the preliminary races to determine seeds for the finals to be held the next day. The helicopter was filming Sunday’s events when it went down around 2:30 p.m. local time. The finals were canceled because of the crash and the NTSB will investigate to determine the cause.
The downhill race features 120 competitors who compete all day for two days in various heats down actual roads. Racers stand upright on long boards twisting and turning through seven turns and four hairpins on the way down the mountain. The turns are fantastic as skaters lean over and put their hands on the pavement to maintain balance going into a turn.
Rules are simple—try not to make contact and be the first down the mountain. Safety is a priority as hay bales line the route and racers wear protective gear at all time. If you get to see an event like this live, it is something to behold.
It’s almost like skiing or bicycle racing as racers feel the wind in their faces as they compete with others to be the fastest downhill. It’s a cross between luge, downhill skiing and skateboarding all into one. Bottom line is that racers experience an absolute thrill ride through the course.
Lookout Mountain is southwest of Golden, Colo., just off Interstate 70.
William Browning’s son has been a beginning skateboarder since the summer of 2010. His observations on his son’s hobby choice have given him a new appreciation for the skating sports. His family lives in Branson, Mo .
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