Kiwi Fruit Dominate NZ Freeskiing Open Big Mountain

J Dogg — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:28:50 -0400

Rating

New Zealanders Alastair Eason and Janina Kuzma made good on their home turf, taking out the men’s and women’s Big Mountain titles of the Volkl NZ Freeski Open by the Royal NZ Air Force today at Treble Cone.

Eason, who breezed through qualifying round in first place at The Remarkables yesterday, secured his victory today by edging out freestyle skier Dane Tudor (USA/Aust) and third-place finisher Luke Potts (UK).

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Eason’s gutsy line choice brought a roar of applause from the crowd as he put down the smoothest run of the day, highlighted by a series of stomped landings off 15-metre cliffs inTreble Cone’s Mototapu Chutes.

“I’m really happy to have finally nailed it,” said Eason. “I’ve placed second once, and third twice over the past few years, so I’m stoked!’

Kuzma’s run, in which she scored 80 out of a possible100 points, featured spectacular cliff drops that most of the other women weren’t attempting. Fifteen year-old Mikayla Austin skied beyond her years into second place, and Lorraine Huber (Aust) took out third.

“So stoked to win again," Kuzma said. "In the morning the snow was super firm, but the sun was shining and the weather was fantastic.”

The Big Mountain competition brought together some of the world’s top competitors, including Canadian IFSA World Tour Champion Brett Crabtree and former world champion and Wanaka local Geoff Small, who bowed out during qualifying after falling during his run in difficult conditions at The Remarkables on Tuesday.

Head competition judge and current president of the International Freeski Association, Jim Jack, made the trip to the South Island of New Zealand to be a part of one of the sport’s leading events.

“I have a huge amount of respect for the competitors,” said Jack. “They shied away from nothing, kept their composure and showed fantastic technical skiing. I’d sure hate to be one of the girls on the tour right now, competing against the female athletes you have coming out of NZ.”

The Volkl NZ Freeski Open was organised and hosted by Snow Sports New Zealand and the Freeski Association New Zealand, with support from the Royal New Zealand Air Force.

Event footage from the Halfpipe, Slopestyle and Big Mountain competitions will be screened at the final event party on Friday, 29 August at Mint Bar in Wanaka.

To visit the event promotion and full results, go to www.freeskiopennz.com.

Big Mountain Finals at NZ Free Ski Open

J Dogg — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 01:28:55 -0400

Rating

Sam Smoothy (NZE) was last night crowned king of the mountain, taking out top place in the Icebreaker Big Mountain heli-accessed finals as part of the Volkl New Zealand Free Ski Open in front of over 450 spectators at the public judging session in downtown Wanaka.

In an impressive field of international extreme skiers, Smoothy impressed his peers in the rider-judged event with an exposed line down the steep slopes of the Lake Hope region of The Remarkables. Conditions were outstanding with a bluebird day, gentle breeze and spectacular scenery overlooking Lake Wakatipu. The snow was varied, adding to the challenges of the day but Smoothy was the stand-out skier of the day, skiing by far the most technical line in an area not tackled by other competitors earning first prize of $1,000. Alistair Eason (NZE) took second just fractionally ahead of 16-year-old Fraser MacDougall (NZE) who skied beyond his years into third place.

The women’s Big Mountain title was a more closely fought affair with Australian Janina Kuzma just beating Jacobina Home (SCO) into first place by less than a point.

“All competitors skied strongly considering the varied conditions,” said head judge, Dion Newport, who oversaw the rider judging process. “They all appreciated the rider judging which helped give the less experienced riders a better understanding of what they need to do to improve their standing in future competitions.”

The finals took place over two runs each with a vertical drop of approximately 1,000 feet. The first run was over steep but rolling terrain with competitors able to inspect the course. The second was more intimidating with options for couloirs and cliff drops as well as steep open faces. Competitors could only sight their line from the helicopter before dropping in, adding to the technical challenge.

Snow sports enthusiasts filled BaseCamp Wanaka to capacity to watch the extreme skiing action on a giant screen suspended from the climbing wall and judge their favourite riders Kuzma also took out the People’s Choice Award while Smoothy missed out to local rider Frazer MacDougall. For further information, visit www.freeskier.co.nz

Doglotion.com - Freeskiing Community - Janina Kuzma

Kiwi Fruit Dominate NZ Freeskiing Open Big Mountain

Big Mountain Finals at NZ Free Ski Open