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Red Mountain Junior Freeskiing Comp

J Dogg — Tue, 9 Jan 2007 23:16:41 -0500

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Fifty-nine Junior competitors this week (Jan 8th, 2007) completed the first leg of the 2007 Canadian Open Freeskiing Championship presented by Ledcor in harsh weather conditions.

High winds and snow didn’t curb the enthusiasm of this new generation of Freeskiing athletes. The skiers charged in steeps on Red Mountain Resort’s Link’s Line run with excellent snow conditions. The tunes were cranking, the spirits were high and the skiing was spectacular.

The top qualifiers had two competition runs and the scores from both runs were added to determine the final score.

Female 12-14 Age Category:

1st Kerry-Anne Hamilton Whistler, BC 39.00

2nd Brittany Stefaroi Canmore, AB 33.00

3rd Meghan Gunning Calgary, CB 32.67

Female 15-18 Age Category:

1st Erin Kerr Whistler, BC 38.33

2nd Tamara Stefaroi Canmore, AB 37.00

3rd Kara Fitzgerald Sagle, ID 36.00

Male 12-14 Age Category:

1st Brodie Evans Rossland, BC 51.00

2nd Todd Loukras Rossland, BC 47.33

3rd Keegan Capel Banff, AB 45.00

Male 15-18 Age Category:

1st Phil Hudec Vancouver, BC 58.00

2nd Dane Tudor-Olds Rossland, BC 57.67

3rd North Parker Sumner, WA 57.33

The Open competition for Seniors nineteen years and older kicks off this Thursday January 11th on Link’s Line followed by the semi-finals Friday and finals on Saturday on Mount Roberts.

For registration forms and more event information, please visit www.canadianfreeskiing.com or phone Red Mountain Resort at (800) 663-0105.

Huge Crowd for NZ Free Ski Open

J Dogg — Fri, 1 Sep 2006 01:36:25 -0400

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NZ Free Ski Open wrap up.The NZ Free Ski Open concluded a few nights ago with a huge crowd turning up to watch skiers and snowboarders show off their skills at the BASE Down-town Rail Jam. Some 2500 people packed out the Bullock Bar car park to see the rail jam, where 30 riders slid down the BASE rail that was part of a 3m-high, 6m-long structure, performing their tricks, slides and rotations. One snowboarder, who had not officially entered the competition, was brave enough to take on the challenge by MCs to do a back-flip off the kicker, which he successfully achieved on his second attempt.

Kiwi Pip Simmonds, who last week won the Open’s K2 Superpipe event at Snow Park NZ, took first place in the women’s ski event last night after hitting the rail back-side on, switch out. Maia Stier (NZ) won the women’s snowboarding prize after hitting the rail switch to board slide, coming out 180 (half a rotation).

Patrick Goodnough (USA), won the men’s ski title with a 630-on (hitting the rail after one-and-three-quarter rotations). James Hamilton (NZ) took first place in the men’s snowboarding field with clean spins on to and off the rail.

Judges were impressed with the standard of tricks the riders were performing off the rail. “We finished the NZ Free Ski Open with a great night. Everyone rode to a super-high level, and we couldn’t have asked for a better rail set up,” head judge Jake McCleary said.

The NZ Free Ski Open is the southern hemisphere’s largest event of its kind. It began with the K2 Halfpipe on Tuesday August 15, followed by the Slopestyle on August 16, both held at Snow Park NZ. The Volkl Big Mountain finals were held at Treble Cone on Wednesday August 23.

World-Class Park At Cardrona

J Dogg — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 00:21:34 -0400

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Cardrona Alpine Resort’s new terrain park is now complete with the last big features put into place, and the world-class facility is expected to more than meet the demands of the growing professional ski and snowboard industry. At almost 1km long, the park is the longest terrain park in Australasia. It includes 21 rails, six jumps and two halfpipes, which cater for beginners to the most advanced riders.

A staircase feature completes the course with different rails and stairs. The huge 150m-long, 6m high Johnny Superpipe has been cut to perfection by the Cardrona Cutter, a revolutionary new halfpipe shaper that provides a smoother transition for riders, thanks to its 5.7m elliptical blade. The halfpipe is FIS standard-approved.

The terrain park was designed by Park and Pipe Manager, John Melville, who also developed the Cardrona Cutter. Melville has recently returned from building the terrain and pipe park for the FIS Junior World Snowboarding Championships in South Korea.

“We are thrilled to have a terrain park of such a high standard at Cardrona,” sales and marketing manager Bruce McGechan said. “Riders can now enjoy using a facility that is a stand-alone training ground for high-level international skiers and snowboarders.”

NZ Free Ski Open - Streamed Live

J Dogg — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 00:12:06 -0400

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Snow sports enthusiasts will be able to catch this week’s extreme action of the NZ Free Ski Open live, without even having to be on the mountain. New Zealand’s leading ski and snowboard website, www.snow.co.nz, will be streaming coverage from the Open live via satellite to several websites, including www.snow.co.nz, www.freeskier.com, www.freeskier.co.nz, www.snowparknz.com, www.tv3.co.nz and to Vodafone 3G cellphones.

It is the second time that this cutting-edge technology has reached thousands of people all over the world from the slopes. Snow.co piloted the live streaming at the Burton NZ Open, held at Snow Park NZ, on August 3 to 5, where the website received more than 4500 page impressions each day. “Given that this was our first winter-based event that we streamed which happened during a working week, we are very happy with it, but obviously it’s something we are keen to grow and make people more aware of. We are hopeful for similar successes at the NZ Free Ski Open,”

Snow.co content manager Martyn Davies said. Snow.co hoped the live streaming would become a routine way of providing information. “The web lends itself to these sorts of events. We can deliver content to a niche audience in a far quicker way than mainstream media can,” Davies said.

Two cameras will shoot live footage at Snow Park NZ, which hosts the K2 Halfpipe event on Tuesday August 15, and the Slopestyle event on August 16. Because access to the Volkl Big Mountain event at Treble Cone’s Motatapu Chutes would be more difficult to stream live from, Snow.co will be creating a highlights package at the end of each day’s competition. The big mountain prelims run on Friday August 18, with the finals on the first following fine weather day.

NZ Free Ski Open - Rail Jam

J Dogg — Mon, 7 Aug 2006 16:53:24 -0400

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TOP-LEVEL SKIERS AND SNOWBOARDERS TO COMPETE AT NZ FREE SKI OPEN’S DOWN-TOWN RAIL JAM

A selection of national and international snowsports superstars will display the art of street rail riding at this month’s inaugural NZ Free Ski Open Base Down-town Rail Jam on Friday August 25. The invitational competition will feature 10 elite free skiers and snowboarders, who will take on the massive BASE rail and perform their slides, rotations and big air in front of a panel of judges, all vying for the $2000 cash prize. Several truck loads of snow will be brought down into Wanaka courtesy of Snow Park NZ, who will ensure this impressive rail meets the exacting standards of the international competitors.

The event is a first for Free Ski Association of New Zealand, and provides an ideal opportunity to highlight the sports of free skiing and snowboarding at the highest level off the mountain, FSANZ CEO, Fraser Grieve said. “It’s huge for FSANZ to have a down-town rail jam. It celebrates the end of the Free Ski Open, which is the Southern Hemisphere’s biggest free ski event involving the world’s best free skiers. By opening it up to snowboarders as well gives it even more depth as an event to promote snow sports.”

The free rail jam will take place in the Bullock Bar car park, on Ardmore St, from 7pm. Live music and MCs will also be there to keep the public entertained. The Free Ski Open prize giving will take place after the rail jam, followed by the Base Final Stand Party, at Canteen (tickets $10), featuring award-winning hip-hop artist DJ Shan.

US Freeskiing Nationals '04

J Dogg — Fri, 4 Aug 2006 14:15:30 -0400

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Doglotion's video from the 2004 US Freeskiing Nationals.

Snowbird 2006 Coming Up

J Dogg — Tue, 1 Aug 2006 02:10:35 -0400

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The Freeskiing World Tour is here once again... who's ready for Snowbird? The Subaru U.S. Freeskiing and Skiercross Nationals will return to Snowbird, UT, February 1-5, 2006, to kick off the Freeskiing World Tour, the Subaru U.S. Skiercross Series, and the inaugural Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series.

Now in its ninth year, the U.S. Freeskiing Nationals is the oldest event on the tours and has achieved legendary status for its level of competition, spectator draw, and rowdy Aerial Tram after-parties. Athlete enthusiasm continues to grow with registration for the big mountain qualifier reaching capacity in just ten days. With over a hundred of the world's top skiers competing for a $20,000 overall prize purse, the U.S. Freeskiing Nationals are not to be missed.

Last year witnessed the triumphant return of skiing great Brant Moles after years of injury, as well as the crowning of Snowbird local Ben Wheeler as U.S. Freeskiing Nationals champion. They will be up against three-time World Freeskiing Champion Manu Gaidet, who returns in pursuit of an unprecedented fourth-consecutive World Title. Kit DesLauriers will also be back, gunning for her third World Title against past Snowbird winners Jamie Burge and Jessica Baker. Finally, the U.S. Skiercross Nationals will feature skiercross greats Christian Questad, Corley Howard, Brett Buckles, and Libby Bittner competing against two-time champions Eric Archer and Anik Demers.

Along with U.S. Freeskiing and U.S. Skiercross Series title sponsor Subaru of America and host mountain Snowbird Ski Resort, strong support from tour partners The North Face, Amstel Light, Sportsinsurance.com, POWDER Magazine, and Nordica have allowed for a $2,500 prize purse increase for 2006, as well as expanded coverage of the competition. New for 2006, MSI is excited to present online, video-on-demand footage of all events, which will be uploaded daily to www.usfreeskiing.com and www.skiercross.com. In addition, MSI has secured television coverage on OLN and Rush HD for the event.

For more information, check www.usfreesking.com

storm hits kirkwood

J Dogg — Sat, 1 Apr 2006 00:00:00 -0500

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North American Freeskiing Championships - Kirkwood California, 2006

Words by Holly Walker. Photos by Re Wikstrom & Holly Walker.

With the North American Freeskiing Championships in its 10th year, the Kirkwood qualifier went off like clockwork on the "Lookout Vista" venue. Never before have conditions been so filled in due to a ridiculously stormy March. Almost 100 competitors explored new terrain features with past year's ones looking like moguls.

The winds were blowing hard, blinding the female competitors first few turns out of the start. Alaina Huestis of Snowbird dropped in first, charging a fast and fluid line. But only after four more female competitors, the bar was set high by none other than veteran competitor Kirsty Exner. After stomping her top airs and following up with a long straightline - Kirsty made big turns to the finish and first place.

The snowboard women and men followed, with both Brandon Reid of Vail and Shannon Yates of Snowbird taking first in their categories. Kirkwood is the only skiing competition with snowboarders, though a separate division.

The wind died down and the sun came out for the men who ran last. The Jackson competition's Sick Bird Award winner, Justus Meyer, skied solid and threw a front flip. Several other competitors threw backflips - including local boys OJ Abben and Zaq Rosenbloom. Jackson comp winner Tyson Bolduc skied aggressively, hitting several big airs. But the leader of the day was Telluride Sick Bird Award winner Chris Tatsuno of Brekenridge, CO for going big instead of home.

Shout out goes to local Doug Severn, the only tele guy to qualify to ski his resort's permanent closure "the Cirque." The Stupid Bird Award goes to Jonny Manwaring for sending the biggest spread eagle of the day. I had the chance to ask Jonny how he felt about it over an Amstel Light, "Well Holly, its not so much a trick as it is a calculated tactic, with my legs spread I can spot my landing better."

Unfortunately, Kirkwood local and first time competitor Jacob Daiek took a hard crash and was heli-lifted out. He is back home and recovering from some broken ribs. We hope Jacob a quick recovery!

The men finished early and as the MSI Team packed up the operation, the weather began to roll in. A winter storm watch is in place for the Tahoe area over the next three days. As the competition moves to the 1500ft permanently closed vertical drop called "The Cirque" for Day 1 of the World Tour event, weather will play a big role with visibility being a challenge for both competitors and judges.

The meeting came next, the Amstel Light flowed and a cut was made. 36 men and 9 women joined the World Tour prequalified athletes and registered for their chance to show their stuff on looker's right side of "The Cirque" on Day 1 of this year's last World Tour
competition. As athletes headed to bed, event organizers headed off to celebrate event announcer John "Dak" Williams Birthday. Happy Birthday Dak!!

Jackson Hole Freeskiing Open

J Dogg — Sun, 26 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0500

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Words & Photos by Holly Walker

Attack of the Tetons

I picked up Alpine Meadows local Lynn Kennen at the Salt Lake City Airport at 5pm and headed north to Jackson Hole. It was my first time to the Teton Range. Unfortunately with a bum knee, I knew the exploring would be limited. But heck, I had Jackson's first freeskiing comp in ten years to check out and Lynn was in first place on the U.S. Freeskiing Tour - so plenty of stoke to share.

We arrived late after one deer encounter and met up with local Jessica Baker, who graciously provided us with accommodation. The next morning competitors registered and headed to Casper Bowl for inspection.

I rode the Tram. And then again and again and then one more time. Hell, if it's really its last year, I wanted to get my fill. I looked over the edge of Corbet's Couloir. Crap, that hard pack landing can't be good for my knee. I skied around, tail between my legs. In the tram line I saw Kina Pickett. That guy has been in every Warren Miller I have ever seen! Then I met up with Whistler buddy Ian McIntosh. He had been in Jackson for almost three months filming with TGR - boy he had stories.

Casper Bowl Eats Poles

The next morning I woke up late. It was Day 1 Qualifier of the two day comp. I traversed over to Casper Bowl and made it just in time to see local ripper Hanna being carted off by patrol. We hope your legs better Hanna!

On the women's side, another local and first time competitor Crystal Wright skied strong and won the day. For the men, local Conor Horigan stomped a big air followed by a back flip. But it wasn't enough to ebb out Vail rider Tyson Bolduc whose aggressive and fast skiing down a creative line won him the top spot.

"I am super stoked right now, I've never won anything before," said Tyson, but for him it was a day of ups and downs. His good friend and former roommate, Charlie Gaylord took a bad fall against rocks and was knocked unconscious. He was heli-evacuated to Idaho Falls trauma unit with several critical injuries. We all at doglotion.com send our best to Charlie, his family and friends and hope for a speedy recovery!!

Three men remained at the top and the competition came to a halt. They would ski first thing in the morning, Day 2 - the Final Day.

Then there were the poles... Where did they all go? Half the competitors headed back up to search for lost poles. Like a sock you lose in the dryer, somehow skiers finished with only one pole, uncertain of when or how they lost it.

Slushtabulous

On Friday, the second and final day of the third stop on the U.S. Freeskiing Tour, the sun came out in full force and the slush began to form. The three men finished off Day One's business and Justin Modroo made it through. The field was down to 12 women and 31 men.

The women once again skied first, this time looker's right side of Casper Bowl. Then came the men, but things didn't really heat up until the Super Finals. Point releases and wet slides deceived photographers left and right, thinking it was skiers dropping lines. In the end four women vied for the top three spots and twelve men for the top five.

Lynn Kennen of Alpine Meadows charged the hardest, dropped a cliff and took an unfortunate bail, losing her lead but finishing her line. Carrie Jo Chernoff of Crested Butte skied aggressively, dropping a cliff at the top, skiing the rest of her line clean and taking the win.

Justus Meyer of Jackson, just back from Europe, was skiing like a man on a mission. His double cliff drop to tree sent three photographers (including myself) running for their lives. Laughs followed and the crowd hollered, and Justus finished his run - dazed, confused and laughing. His enthusiasm was later rewarded with the coveted Sick Bird Award.

Then once again, there was a flash of fluorescent green. Tyson Bolduc came charging over the ridge and aired off the largest part of the 40 foot cliff band, a line yet to be skied. He successfully landed between rock outcrops and skied away to his first victory.

The awards followed and there was plenty of talk of Kirkwood, the upcoming finals of both the World and U.S. Freeskiing Tour. The party went down at Elanor's in downtown Jackson Hole. Two months in Utah had made me soft; I cringed at the thought of real beer and drove south.

View the full list of final results. Or visit the gallery photos for more images.

Jackson Hole Freeski Competition

J Dogg — Wed, 15 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0500

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Mountain Sports International (MSI) is proud to announce the inaugural Subaru Jackson Hole Freeskiing Open, March 22-24, 2006, at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in Wyoming. The Open will be Jackson Hole's first big-mountain competition in 10 years - with over 100 of the world's top athletes gunning for the $7,500 prize purse and a shot at the overall Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series Title.

Combining some of the best big mountain terrain in North America, hands down, with a record-breaking 430 inches of snowfall already this year, the inaugural Jackson Hole Freeskiing Open is shaping up be one of the best freeskiing competitions held this year, anywhere. Competition is scheduled in Casper Bowl, just in time for the final days of Jackson's legendary Tram.

"We are very excited to have an event in Jackson," said MSI event organizer John 'Dak' Williams. "It is one of the premier expert mountains in North America, and is home to some of the best freeskiers around. There is no better place to let the regulars of the tour cut loose with some hardcore locals."

The Jackson Hole Freeskiing Open is the third stop of the Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series, the premier Big Mountain competition series in North America with a $45,000 overall prize purse. This will be the last chance for competitors to up their Series' standings before heading into the U.S. and World Tour Finals at Kirkwood the following week.

After two stops on the U.S. Freeskiing Series, Lynn Kennen of Alpine Meadows, CA, holds a commanding 11-point lead in overall women's standings, ahead of U.S. Freeskiing Nationals winner Laura Ogden of Whistler, BC, and Telluride Freeskiing Open winner Carrie Jo Chernoff of Crested Butte, CO, in a tie for second-place

Competition for the men's U.S. Freeskiing Series overall title is extremely tight, with Nick Greener and Cliff Bennett, both from Snowbird, UT, currently tied for first. They hold only a five-point lead over a second-place tie between Adrien Coirier of Les Arcs, France, and Fred Mooney of Winter Park, CO. The men's title is entirely up for grabs - one mistake could change everything.

Registration will be held on Tuesday, March 21, followed by the Semi-Finals on March 22. Roughly one-third of the field will advance to the finals and super-finals on March 23, with awards ceremonies and an after-party at Eleanor's, featuring world-class DJ Knuckles, to conclude the weekend.

"We are thrilled to host the U.S. Freeskiing comp in Jackson Hole this year," said Greer Terry, Communications Coordinator of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. "This competition is a perfect match with the expert terrain and expert skiers in Jackson Hole. It has been 10 years since we hosted an event like this and we are excited to bring U.S. Freeskiing back to Jackson Hole."

The four-stop 2006 Subaru U.S. Freeskiing series kicked off with the Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Nationals at Snowbird, UT, continued on to the Subaru Telluride Freeskiing Open in Telluride, CO, and will conclude at the Subaru North American Freeskiing Championships in Kirkwood, CA.

Along with U.S. Freeskiing Series title sponsor Subaru of America and host mountain Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, strong support from tour partners Amstel Light, The North Face, Powder Magazine, Sportsinsurance.com, Nordica, and Smith Optics have allowed for a huge overall prize purse as well as expanded coverage of the competition. New for 2006, MSI is excited to present online, video-on-demand footage of all events, which will be uploaded weekly to www.usfreeskiing.com.

For registration, schedules, news, photos, videos, and other important event information, visit the newly re-designed www.usfreeskiing.com

Crested Butte Freeskiing Competition

J Dogg — Wed, 8 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0500

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Words & Photos by Holly Walker

The drive from Salt Lake was short, especially since I was riding with Colorado local Lindsey McIntire, and there was no chance of getting lost. We arrived just before 11pm and moved into our condo on the hill; ski-in ski-out, not bad. The Salt Lake posse was already settled in -- Team F-2 -- our condo unit number.

On Wednesday we registered, stored our schwag bags and headed up the hill to inspect the rocky venues. The girls made a slight detour; we were in search of Susan Medville and our Ten Star helmets (our gracious comp sponsor).

THURSDAY: HEADWALL QUALIFIER: JESSE BRYAN AND CASEY WILSON SHINE

The Headwall was schralped after one hundred competitors had inspected the course on Wednesday, so on Thursday the chaos began. Sparks where flying off skis and in the end, two individuals topped the charts. Jesse Bryan of Team F-2 stomped an enormous air and Casey Wilson skied fast and aggressive.

The day ended with a meeting and all you could eat fajita fest -- competitors fueled up for Day 1.

FRIDAY: DAY ONE: DOUBLE LADIES DAY

The Crested Butte comp is notorious for two things, rocks and local biased judges -- and there were lots of both. But the women ran first and Jenn Ashton of Whistler smashed the stereotype by stomping a huge double clean and earning the highest score of the day. The men followed, putting together creative lines. Everything from Slot Rocks to Body Bag to Dead End Chutes was fair game. Somehow Elijah Lee of Mt Baker managed to almost miss the venue, sending it huge from half way up the hill.

By 2pm the men were finished and the top fourteen women were announced to go up and ski a second run. Despite the women's protest to running a second time on a venue with little snow left, the comp went on and ski bases were thrashed twice in a day. Thanks H-Bomb! In the end, the field was cut to the top 8 women and 26 men who would advance to the finals.

SATURDAY: FINALS / SUPER FINALS: THE DAY OF THE FALL

The sun came out and as the temperatures rose to 10C/50F the Pabst Blue Ribbon started flowing.

A big crowd had come out to watch the final day of carnage on the permanent closures of Hour Glass and Bermuda Triangle. I ran first, yielding fresh tracks down the uncharted territory with mixed snow conditions. I joined the crowd, got comfy, and watched the remainder of the competitors pioneering new pillow lines. Judges were gracious and crashes were acceptable, one guy even finished with one ski and moved on to the super finals.

On the women's side, Jenn Ashton skied safe to maintain her lead. Susan Medville and Carrie Jo Chernoff skied creative and strong lines, the latter sending it huge after getting a little lost.

On the men's side, Chris Tatsuno sent a huge front flip in an attempt to nab the coveted Sick Bird Award. Brady Smedsrud went from sixth to the hospital, after charging fast and taking it into the trees. We wish you a fast recovery!

Local poster boy Jesse Hall skied his line twice, the second time not getting stuck in the tree and took 3rd. Ryan Sutton of Gunnison Colorado took 2nd and 'Dark Hose' Griffin Post of Team F-2 took 1st after skiing an enormous pillow line.

The Awards and roast dinner followed. Jenn Ashton and Jesse Hall were awarded the Competitor's Choice Award and a free Club Med trip. Bobby Block was awarded the Sick Bird Award for skiing with one ski and taking a 30-footer. According to IFSA rules a "competitor and both skis must cross the finish line" but I guess it doesn't matter if its on your feet or not! Next came the booze and the live music, but myself and the other Ten Star girls headed for the private party.

THE TEN STAR PARTY

Ten Star was gracious enough to host a party in downtown Crested Butte for a select group of competitors. The place was packed, freeskiers and strippers partying under one roof, and the free drinks flowed all night. I won't name names but some got naked, some got wasted and some just couldn't get in to possibly this year's rowdiest ski party.

The next morning Team F-2 congregated at the Paradise Cafe in downtown Crested Butte for breakfast to reminisce over the last week and its champions before we each headed off in our separate ways.

For full comp results, click here.

About The Author
Holly Walker is sponsored by Dynastar/Look/Lange, Icebreaker, Smith, Giro, Gordini, www.SouthAmericaSki.com. She enjoys working on her goggle tan on the Snowbird tram deck while dreaming of exotic destinations.