BRECKENRIDGE – Ever dream of coming off the hill and boarding the lift without waiting in line?

That was the idea behind the E Chair Challenge at Breckenridge Ski Resort Wednesday.

Thirteen two-person teams battled to log the most laps around a challenging course in seven hours.

The course followed 15 trails which had to be ridden in succession.

The catch: Each team was required to ride the lift together or be disqualified.

If they didn’t stay together on the way down, the faster team member had to wait for the other to catch up. That rule resulted in a few racers jumping off the lift before they left their partners behind.

The winning team, consisting of event organizer Tommy Halmos and his partner Alex Wilson, logged 53 laps. They narrowly edged second-place finishers Matt Bellville and Gary Fondl, who also completed 53 laps but finished seconds behind Halmos and Wilson.

“Last year we got beat by the guys that finished second today,” Halmos said.

“It was as close as it could be. If only my legs would stop shaking, I’d be in business.”

The race winners in both the men’s and women’s categories received 2004-05 season passes to Breckenridge, which were provided by the resort.

Jen Locsh and Jen Wilson won the women’s division with 48 laps.

Halmos said the event, in its second year, was inspired by a similar event at Arapahoe Basin.

“Rich Bannach and I did the Enduro Challenge a few years ago,” he said.

“We wanted to have an Enduro-style event at Breck.”

Halmos and Bannach are co-owners of Avalanche Sports in Breckenridge, which sponsored two teams and the event itself.

The weather on Peak 9 wasn’t ideal, with cold winds and nearly constant flurries interrupted only momentarily in the morning by a few rays of sun.

The snow near the bottom of E Chair, which supported nearly 600 tight, 180-degree turns, seemed to suffer the most.

The hard, icy snow often sent the competitors sliding into a mesh fence. The difficult transition resulted in a few crashes, but no serious injuries at the bottom of the course.

The top of the course was another story, however.

Two teams were unable to finish the race due to injuries.

Guy Walker suffered a broken wrist on the second or third run of the day, according to teammate Nick Livingston, who finished the race solo even though he couldn’t win.

“I know it probably doesn’t count, but I wanted to do it anyway,” he said.

The proceeds from the E Chair Challenge benefited the Little Red Schoolhouse, a day-care center.

Funds donated to the charity came from entry fees as well as a post-race raffle. This year’s fundraising total was unavailable at press time, but the event raised $1,500 last year, according to Halmos.

Dan Kelley can be contacted at (970) 668-3998, ext. 231, or atdkelley@summitdaily.com.