Beautiful. We have several beds of Iris in different areas of our yard.

Thanks Jules, good thought.

These are not horrible. How much did you crop in photoshop? Suggestions first I would look at your shots in the camera to see how.......

Good thoughts Jules, most appreciated. I am attaching two of the original shots prior to editing so you can see the degree to which I impacted them.

My major problem this year was that it was snowing basically all the time, sometimes heavier than others; this shows up in the cropping and especially in the midtone adjustment necessitated to bring out the detail of the participants (you are correct that shooting against such a bright background, especially with what light there was being from slightly left and behind) as being able to identify the participant and catching them in action were my primary goals. I considered upping to 1/2000 and well may next year, though I did not feel there was any blurring due to motion (note that in many cases you can literally see the snow curling off the bottoms of the skis), also these are older individuals moving at a fast pace but not what a competitive skier would be moving at, plus I am at a slightly oblique angle so it is not as if I were shooting a racer from a full on side angle. As you suggest, I definitely intend to take my ISO up a notch or two so as to gain a bit more latitude on my fstop thereby gaining a bit more DOF. As to practice I attempt to do a bit of photography in the area all along; however, this is about my sixth year doing this event and each year has presented its own unique challenges.
I will say that one of the other photographers that day (at a different event at the base of the mountain) was amazed at the clarity I was able to achieve given the conditions on the mountain that day.
Thank you so much for you thoughts, I can assure you that I will use them in my future planning for this event.

Back at the end of March I ran this series in the General category. Got some comments; but, only one idea. I am hoping that perhaps by running it here in Sports there will be more orientation toward action photography.
In my quest of clear, sharp focus in my photos I seem to constantly put myself at disadvantage; these photos and the conditions under which I shot them being a case in point.
Each winter we have the 50+ Senior Games in Summit County Colorado (Breckenridge, Keystone, ABasin, etc.), it has become a serious fund raiser for the Senior Center and its associated programs. All of the participants are obviously over 50, with most being in there 60's and 70's with a few in their 80's. Two of my friends and I do volunteer photography of the Games, my major contribution being to photograph the Giant Slalom competition. This entails my skiing part way down the course, then standing on the tilt of the slope (in whatever conditions) in my ski boots for approximately 2 to 3 hours (no small accomplishment at 74 yo). For the 2019 Games we had temps in the teens, moderate wind, frequent snow showers ranging from light to heavy, and sunlight varying from non-existent to occasional bright. Under these condition I felt certain to achieve my desired tack sharpness (definite sarcasm).
I have selected 9 out of hundreds of photos to share below.
These were shot with my Nikon D610, with a 28-300, on S priority at 1/1000, ISO 100, Aperture and lens were variable. Images were edited in PSE 15. All comments and suggestions for improvement are appreciated.

Outstanding photo. I am looking forward to some time like this with my grandsons in the near future, though I do think I will start them with .22's (must admit their grandmother has been known to shoot one of our .44 Mag's).

Beautiful photos, great clarity and fantastic color.

You do not give an actual measurement of the length you require so it is a bit difficult to judge. That said, due to an increasing amount of equipment I was dragging around I found myself in need of a larger bag; since I am always using my "accountant brain" to evaluate between cost, quality, and utility I arrived at the Amazon Basics bag (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CF5OGP8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1). This bag has an interior height of 16.5" which is more than sufficient for my purposes and I have found its construction to be excellent. At a price tag of $31.84 it will not be beat.

Amazing colors, thanks for sharing.

Fantastic photos, especially love the first one.
I spend my winters (Jan & Feb) in Summit County skiing each year, sorrowfully we never get an opportunity to see birds like these; mostly Magpies and crows.

What a fantastic image; right place, right time, right equipment, most of all right eye.

Excellent composition and tonal qualities.

Thank you Paul, as usual you provide a very interesting/informative narrative with excellent photos. The last time I visited the fort was as a child (back in the mid '50's); however, it will be included in one of our frequent trips to Florida (my wife is from there and still has family there). Can't wait to do some photography there myself.

Your comments/critique are most appreciated. I welcome all thoughts that could result in improvement.

For some reason the posting seems to not be on the site today, sorry I will not be receiving the input from others.

I have a D610 with which I am very pleased. It is providing all of the power needed for any application I request from it.
If you are considering it I would suggest Ken Rockwell's review, https://kenrockwell.com/nikon/d610.htm.

I appreciate your analysis and comments, totally agree; however, my major issue during this shoot was the snow between me and the subjects. Additionally during the editing process as I cropped the images and attempted to decrease the mid tones (used to bring out a bit of the details for the individuals as they were shot against the extreme white snow background) the white in the falling snow flakes was increased (especially against dark colored clothing).