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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).

Full Results >>>

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

2007 World Tour Schedule

J Dogg — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 01:03:30 -0400

Rating

For all you big mountain rippers who think you have a shot at taking the IFSA World Freeskiing Tour by storm, it's time to get your game face on. The 2007 tour has been posted, and the list of pre-qualified athletes is up. If you're on the list, enjoy. If not, get your ass to the first competition and show'em what you got. Here's the details from MSI.

2007 Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series & Freeskiing World Tour Athlete Information

Winter is fast approaching and that means so is competition season. After a hugely successful tour in 2006, MSI has decided to grow the Subaru U.S. Freesking Series by adding a fifth event. With the new event and expanded programs, such as same-day video, photo, and story coverage, 2007 is set to be the best year yet.

Registration for all events in the Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series will begin on: November 1, 2006.

To register, please log onto www.usfreeskiing.com. To guarantee entry, athletes interested in competing—including World Tour IFSA pre-qualified athletes (see list below)—must register prior to the event and pay in full to be considered officially registered. A partial payment/deposit, will NOT secure you a spot. As always, entries are limited and events sell out within days, so we urge you to register early to avoid disappointment.

On the first morning of each event all athletes must check in at registration and sign waivers, purchase lift tickets, and receive bibs and start order. As a reminder, IFSA (International Freeskiers Association) memberships ARE REQUIRED for all athletes competing in the Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Tour and Freeskiing World Tour. Please go to www.freeskiers.org to sign up. We are working to add a link from usfreeskiing.com to register for membership.

Due to the popularity of the Snowbird and Kirkwood World Tour Qualifiers, the qualifier run has been extended to a two-day event, with each athlete still only getting one run to qualify. This will increase the amount of athletes who are given the chance to qualify for the World Tour event.

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2007 SUBARU U.S. FREESKIING AND FREESKIING WORLD TOUR SCHEDULE & ENTRY FEES

SUBARU U.S. FREESKIING SERIES (STOP #1)
Telluride Freeskiing Open
Telluride, Colorado
February 8-11
Entry Fee: $150
*Prices do not include lift tickets

FREESKIING WORLD TOUR (STOP #1)
Les Arcs Freeride
Les Arcs, France
Feb 5-9
Entry fee: www.ridetheplanets.com

FREESKIING WORLD TOUR (STOP #2)
Verbier Ride
Verbier, Switzerland
Feb. 22-25
Entry fee: www.verbierride.com

SUBARU U.S. FREESKIING SERIES (STOP #2)
Location and Date TBD
Entry fee: $150
*Prices do not include lift tickets

U.S. FREESKIING SERIES (STOP #3)
FREESKIING WORLD TOUR (STOP #3)
U.S. Freeskiing Nationals
Snowbird, Utah
March 6-11

*Snowbird entry fees:
World Tour Qualifier: $100
(Athletes who qualify will pay an additional $125 for the main event)
World Tour Main Event (pre-qualified athletes): $175
*Prices do not include lift tickets

SUBARU U.S. FREESKIING SERIES (STOP #4)
Jackson Hole Freeskiing Open
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
March 15-18
Entry fee: $150
*Prices do not include lift tickets

SUBARU U.S. FREESKIING SERIES FINALS (STOP #5)
Freeskiing World Tour (Stop #4)
North American Freeskiing Championships
Kirkwood, California
March 26-April 1

*Kirkwood entry fees:
World Tour Qualifier: $100
(Athletes who qualify will pay an additional $125 for the main event)
World Tour Main Event (pre-qualified athletes): $175
*Prices do not include lift tickets

FREESKIING WORLD TOUR FINALS (STOP #5)
Tignes, France
April – Dates TBD
Entry Fee: www.freeskiingworldtour.com

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PRE-QUALIFIED ATHLETES

Based on: Top World Tour point holders, top US series, winners of individual US and NA events, top Euro and NZ standings. Wild Cards may be added at specific events, approved by IFSA official.

**$ Indicates athletes that need to pay 2006 IFSA dues in order to be considered "Pre-Qualified" for 2007.

Men

1 Guerlain Chicherit **$ FRA
2 Mathieu Richard **$ CAN
3 Adrien Coirier FRA
4 Olivier Meynet **$ FRA
5 Nick Greener USA
6 Craig Garbiel USA
7 Rick Greener USA
8 Cedric Pugin **$ FRA
9 Drew Stoecklein **$ USA
10 Julien Gaidet **$ FRA
11 Cliff Bennett USA
12 Justus Meyer USA
13 Justin Modroo CAN
14 Drew Tabke USA
15 Tom Dunbar **$ NZ
16 Jason Dobbs USA
17 Christian Boucher **$ CAN
18 Reine Barkered **$ FRA
19 Jon Mullens AUS
20 Drew Billington USA
21 Jack Nelson USA
22 Victor Galuchot **$ FRA
23 Craig DiPietro **$USA
24 Olinne Glenne USA
25 Wille Lindberg USA
26 Jamie Blair USA
27 Jonny Manwaring USA
28 Chris Paulding USA
29 Aurelien Ducroz **$ FRA
30 Tom Dockter USA
31 Ben Wheeler USA
32 Arron Estrada USA
33 Chris Tatsuno USA
34 Kevin O'Meara USA
35 Chad Sayers CAN
36 Kaj Zackrisson SWE
37 Fred Mooney USA
38 Jonas Delogne **$
39 Thibault Des Camiers **$ FRA
40 Neil Valiton **$ FRA
41 Herve Gouy **$ FRA
42 Mathieu Vigier **$ FRA
43 Tyson Bolduc USA
44 Griffin Post USA
45 Hamish Acland NZ
46 Geoff Small **$ NZ
47 Alastair Eason **$ NZ
48 Ilian Petrov **$ BG
49 Mike Hopkins **$ CAN
50 Joel Jacques CAN

Women

1 Laura Ogden **$ CAN
2 Jess McMillan USA
3 Marte Lise Karlsen NOR
4 Carrie Jo Chernoff USA
5 Lynn Kennen **$ USA
6 Alaina Huestis USA
7 Libby Bittner **$ USA
8 Marie Pieronne **$ FRA
9 Amelie Simond **$ FRA
10 Shelly Robertson **$ USA
11 Andria Huskinson USA
12 Amy Holland **$USA
13 Jen Ashton CAN
14 Katharina Mihaljevic **$
15 Kelly Holland USA
16 Anik Demmers **$ USA
17 Beanie Milne Horne **$ NZ
18 Kirsty Exner **$ CAN
19 Maria Opelz **$
20 Jo Guest **$ UK
21 Camille Imbert **$ FRA
22 Guilia Monego ITA
23 Suzanne Graham USA
24 Galena Gleason **$ USA
25 Tanya Christensen **$ USA
26 Janina Kuzma **$ NZ
27 Kate McDougall NZ
28 Jacobina Home **$ NZ
29 Karolina Ekman CAN
30 Dina Power **$ CAN

Special thanks to our sponsors:
Subaru, TNF, Nordica, Yakima, A-Line, Skull Candy, Tramdock.com, Sports Insurance, Powder Magazine, Emergen-C, Leatherman, Grabber, Ski Press Magazine, IFSA, Snowbird, Jackson, Telluride, Kirkwood

Hamish Acland Wins Volkl Big Mountain

J Dogg — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 01:55:06 -0400

Rating

World number five big mountain skier Hamish Acland, of Wanaka, claimed the winning title at the NZ Free Ski Open Volkl Big Mountain event at Treble Cone’s Motatapu Chutes the other day.

Australia's Janina Kuzma won the women’s event, continuing her successful form after gaining second place at the Open’s K2 Halfpipe event last week.

Acland (26), beat fellow Kiwi and former NZ Free Ski Open big mountain champion Geoff Small, who was placed second – despite Small pulling off the most impressive move of the day. Acland impressed judges by displaying both strength and speed in an exposed line.

“His run was a very complete run - it was incredibly fluid and clean. He skied a very technically demanding first half of his line, followed by some very fast and fluid skiing, with large, floating airs over more flowing terrain. In short, it was a very aesthetic line,” head judge Nick Mills said.

Kuzma took the most dangerous line out of all the female competitors, Mills said. “Janina skied strongly over some steep snow-covered rock buttresses without any hesitation, showing enormous strength and aggression.”

Judges assessed all 41 competitors (11 women and 30 men) on the difficulty of the run they picked, their control, fluidity, form and technique, and aggression during the execution of their run. The Motatapu Chutes are extremely complex, comprising chutes, towers and ridges, with runs up to 300m long.

Spectators were able to enjoy watching the competitors take on the gut-wrenching drops from the adjacent face.

Because of the extreme nature of the event, the competition depended heavily on weather conditions, which were such that skiers were only able to complete one run, instead of having the prelims, followed by the finals today. Unfortunately, the weather this week has also been unsuitable for the Expression Session at Treble Cone, which was to replace the heli-access event this year.

NZ Free Ski Open event director Gerald Davies said today’s event was a spectacular finish to the competition, which began last week with the K2 Halfpipe and Slopestyle events at Snow Park NZ.

“We couldn’t have asked for better conditions today. The Motatapu Chutes were in ideal condition for these athletes and the weather was perfect. The competitors really made the most of the terrain and we saw some amazing riding.”

Big mountain skiing has grown significantly, judging by the number of spectators watching from Sundance Ridge today, Volkl sales representative Charles Cochrane said. “Treble Cone has some of the best free riding available and with a prime location like the Motatapu Chutes. Not only were the riders stoked, the spectators had huge smiles on their faces as well. All in all, everyone was loving it.”

The NZ Free Ski Open concludes this Friday, August 25, with the inaugural BASE Downtown Rail Jam, which takes place in the Bullock Bar car park at 7pm. The invitational competition features 10 elite free skiers and snowboarders (yet to be named), who will take on the massive BASE rail (with snow thanks to Snow Park NZ) and perform their slides, rotations and big air in front of a panel of judges, all vying for the $2000 cash prize. Live music and MCs will also be there to help make this a great event for the public.

Results:

Womens:
1. Janina Kuzma (AUST)
2. Kate McDougall (NZ)
3. Jacobina Home (SCOT)

Mens:
1. Hamish Acland
2. Geoff Small
3. Alastair Eason

Europe Stop #3 - Engelberg, Switzerland

J Dogg — Tue, 31 May 2005 00:00:00 -0400

Rating

What do proper catholic schoolgirls, 7-11, death, and Engelberg, Switzerland have in common? Well not much, but they all have something to do with heaven... if you include rhyming. Heaven has always sounded pretty awesome, so we at doglotion.com were keen to get a taste of it. Death didn't sound very fun, convenient stores are a dime a dozen, and there's already plenty of websites featuring catholic schoolgirls, uh, so we're told. So with Engelberg Titlis ski resort boasting the motto "It's Heaven", it was an obvious stop on our Europe Tour.

Directly translating to 'Angel Mountain', Engelberg started as a quiet monastery way back in 1120. Those monks sure know how to pick a good location, and had the valley to themselves for a good 700 years. Eventually the outside world caught on to their secret, and the tourist potential grew. Ski lifts were built there in the early 1900's, so the 'Mountain' part of Angel Mountain could finally be enjoyed. Rotating cable-car anyone?

Martin Jonassen trying his best to track out the resort in mid winter. Photo: Johan Hellman

Skip ahead a century, and Engelberg has just burst onto the freeskiing scene as a new big mountain mecca, and for good reason. With cliff walls of any size stretching in every direction, it's a meat-chucker's paradise. In addition to the steady crew of Swedes who migrate south to Engelberg each winter, the resort has become a new bombing range for film crews and pro-skiers from every corner of the globe. And for those who really like airtime, there's so many huge cliffs that Shane McConkey and friends can do ski base-jumping laps in the middle of the resort! Just one more reason to never follow tracks in Europe.

Kristijan Thorstensen probably smiling, if we could see his face. Photo: Johan Hellman

Daniel Furberg gettin' the goods before we arrive. Photo: Johan Hellman

Somebody in the monastery must have been very good this year, as local shredders were skiing deep fresh powder all season long. We on the other hand forgot to say our prayers, and rolled into town just after the wintery madness had ended. Meeting up with Swedish imports Christian Bjork and Daniel Furberg, we once again began a week of 'shoulda been here last week' tales that left us hungry for more. From lines like "last week you couldn't even see those park benches" to "Jamie Pierre jumped that big one, that huge one, and that even huger one", we knew it was a good year to have called Engelberg your home.

Skier: Sebastian Percival. Photo: Johan Hellman

But even in the wake of the big springtime melt, we still had some spring freshies in the forecast and some epic skiing ahead. It was still winter up at the 3000+ meter peak of Titlis, yielding 1200 meters of leg-burning fresh lines to mid mountain before the slush kicked in. And now that the resort wasn't littered with chest deep powder stashes, the Swedes finally took the chance to hike and explore Engelberg's more obscure terrain. Short traverses and knife edge walks led to some pretty sweet stashes, but the real gem was still to come: the Galtenberg couloir.

Jamie Bond above the Galtenberg, wondering why there's nothing between him and the village, 7000ft below.

Dropping in off the 10,623 ft summit of Titlis, the line bombs down a wide open powder field hanging above a massive cliff wall, before skirting the cliff and weaving into the Galtenberg couloir. From there you pinball your way down a few thousand more feet of ominous cliff walls before being spat out into a farmer's field, over 7000 feet below your start point. And if that ain't good enough, a walk to the nearest street found us sipping beers at a small restaurant before the next bus whipped us back to town, and 2-for-1 beers at the Yucatan Bar ensued once again.

Does it get any better than that? Well, apparently it was better all season long, but we weren't complaining. While the 4000 feet of unremitting pow runs on the 'Laub' would have been incredible this season, the 180ft cliff drops can wait untill we return next year. After all, death still doesn't sound very fun, no matter how many schoolgirls or Slurpees we might find in heaven.

Jamie Bond wishing he'd know about this cliff while he was above it.

This was 7000ft of blessed blower powder, shortly before us sinners arrived.

Mathieu Miller discvers the perks of spring skiing.

DETAILS

Engelberg Titlis ski resort is in central Switzerland, an easy train ride from Zurich, via Luzerne. If this season was anything like the years to come, you won't want to miss this spot.

For more info, visit their website at www.engelberg.ch. All the Swedes and anyone on a budget will stay at the Hotel Bellevue. It's located right across from the train station, and has cheap rates (for Switzerland) and includes breakfast.

For 2-for-1 apres, the Yucatan is on the main floor of the Hotel Bellevue, and the Eden Bar is the other hot spot across the street. Doglotion

Skiers: Jamie Bond, Andre Charland, Mathieu Miller, Les Manley

Photographers: Andre Charland, Johan Hellman. For more of Johan's photos, visit his site at www.johanhellman.com

Locals logged so much airtime this winter that Christian Bjork doesn't even care if there's a landing patch below the clouds. Photo: Johan Hellman

Molson Canadian Freeskiing Challenge 2004

J Dogg — Thu, 05 Feb 2004 00:00:00 -0500

Rating

Raw freeskiing at the Molson Canadian Freeskiing Championships

"If there's a Doctor in the building, please report to the Smoke Eaters dressing room".

Come again? The disturbingly funny but true quote echoed from the loud speakers in Trail BC's Cominco Arena. If there's a Doctor?!? At a minor hockey league game between metal refining Trail teenagers and our favourite logging metropolis of Prince George, BC, you'd think Dr.'s would outnumber score-keepers. Guess not, eh hoser? Pass me another beer. Hey, is that my tooth over there?

But the Smoke Eaters kept their cool while their injured players stitched themselves up (I guess), and went on to win 5-4 in regulation time. After the game, while we were getting mooned by local Trail girls in the arena parking lot, the rest of the freeskiing community was in nearby Rossland getting their beauty sleep before another day of competition at Red Mtn.

The 3rd Annual Molson Canadian Freeskiing Challenge was held at Red Mountain this Jan 14-18, to once again share their freeskiing microcosm with the world. And the Doglotion.com crew had once again joined the convoy of trucks, cars, and campers from Whistler, all coming to Red Mountain to enjoy the WWF Smackdown of ski competitions; freeskiing in it's rawest form.

The textbook definition of 'Little Areas that Rock', Red Mountain has been 'keeping freeskiing real' since the turn of the century, before they had even built their first chairlift in '47. (Read their history). Every year us Whistlerites come to Red for the Freeskiing Challenge, but we're always torn between the competition action and the urge to explore and freeski all over the resort's killer terrain.

This year was no exception. While the competition went off and skiers showcased their freeskiing on Lynx line and Roberts, spectators and competitors alike couldn't help but play hooky now and again to explore Red's terrain. Crawling through mining shafts, finding log grinds in the woods, high-speed chases through the tight gullies, and hiking nearby ridges all kept everyone from taking the trip too seriously. Pure freeskiing.

Back to the Smackdown... the Freeskiing Challenge was well executed this year, despite a few foggy days that could have put a serious damper on the competition. The awesome mountain staff, patrols, and judges threw together some creative plans to pull off a qualifier and 2 competition runs for the women and men.

Day 1 of the competition was a slow going foggy qualifier, and only the women competitors were able to run. But Day 2 brought bluebird skies and a sweet day of competition. All the women and men charged down Lynx line in turn, Billy Goode dropped some jaws with his big backflip to kartwheels routines, and Moss Patterson skied solid and fast to earn the high score of the day.

The fog was back with a vengeance for the final Day, but like we said, the event staff got creative and managed to run a smooth and injury free day of competition. Judges and a few spectators spaced themselves along the course on Mt Roberts to watch the remaining 7 women and 26 men compete for a mighty fine prize purse courtesy of Molson Canadian.

In the mens division, Peter Velisek stomped all his airs cleanly and fluidly to earn the high score of the day and third overall. But Red-Mountain-raised James Heim edged him out for 2nd place, and crowd favourite Moss Patterson skied another solid run to keep 1st place postition; becoming the winner of the 2004 Molson Canadian Freeskiing Challenge, and leaving $5000 richer!

Sarah Oakden from Fernie skied the women's line of the day, but ended up placing 3rd overall, just shy of Vikki Cole from Whistler and Kit Deslauriers from Jackson Hole, who tied for first! We thought there might be a mud/jello tug-o-war contest for the giant prize cheque they had to share, but hey, this isn't a Smoke Eaters game.

Props to all the mountain staff, patrols, judges and event organizers who successfully ran another awesome freeskiing competition at Red Mountain! Event organizer Jack Carey really knows how to party, Jeff Holden and his team of judges did an awesome job to keep the comp running smoothly through bad weather, Mountain Manager Jim Green was proud to be hosting the event, and Lucie Fortier of Red Mountain oversaw the whole thing from start to finish. And of course, cheers to Molson Canadian and the supporting sponsors.

Click Here to View the VIDEO

PS - Big Buck Hunter rules.

Competitor Tobin Seagel enjoying a quality round of Big Buck Hunter at the Rock Cut Pub. How 'bout the old-school ski vid on the TV in the background eh?

Fear and Loathing in Las Lenas 2003

J Dogg — Sun, 05 Oct 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Rating

It's 5 am, everyone's tweaked on speed, we haven't slept for 2 days, and tomorrow turns out to be a powder day. Oops, we bet wrong.

The dealer wins this hand. Fast forward 3 nights; every skier in town is riding a booze bus from the best party of the season to another night of pulsating techno-cheese. Bill is the last one home at 7:00, and the first up at 8:30 to rally the troops for another surprise pow day. At 11:00 he's on a stretcher. Dealer wins again.

Everyday of the year in Las Vegas, Nevada suckers get lured into gambling, hoping for the big pay off. Everyday in Las Lenas, Argentina we felt like those same suckers, but we knew the big pay off was coming our way.

After two full days of sleepless travel from Vancouver's summer haze we pulled up to the stormy winter daze of Las Lenas, Argentina. It's close to 11pm, but it's not bedtime... it's dinnertime, and we're not complaining. The snow is still falling and rumours are calling for more stormin' tomorrow, so all the 'gringo' ski bums bet on an upcoming 'down-day' and decide to go party hard. Next thing we know it's 5 am, the night clubs are still pumping out incessant beats for the edgy crowd, and everyone around me is comparing how much speed they've had. Uh, Todo, we're not in Kansas anymore.

Turns out 'Speed' is an Argentinean energy drink, haled as the only way to ski all day and dance till sunrise, 7 days a week. Unfortunately it doesn't wake you up in the morning...

It's late morning before any ski bums in the 'ghetto' apartment block finally rise to an epic bluebird pow day, missing a would-be amazing morning of freshies. Like I said, one for the dealer. But our turn will come.

When they kick us off the hill at 5pm we're dead tired and haven't eaten all day, but we get dragged to La Cima for apre-ski, where a little surprise awaits. Two words... FREE BEER. 1 liter Heinekens fill the table while all of us new arrivals sit in disbelief. Nobody doubts that the dealer lost this hand.

The next few days are a blur of sunny pow days, a few clouds, and more 5 am nights of mind-melding techno. Some good times are had, but we still haven't set foot on 1/100th of the terrain Las Lenas has to offer. We've been confined to the dinky lower mountain lifts, all the while looking up and drooling at 4500 vertical feet of the sickest terrain I have ever laid eyes on. Las Lenas has more lift accessible skiable terrain than any other resort in the Western Hemisphere, but almost all of it stems from the top of a lonely, rickety old 2 man chair lift; the notorious Marte. It ascends the throat of a steep chute and bowl, and (surprise, surprise) has been taken out by more than one avalanche in past. It only ever opens when the storms are gone, the wind is dead, and the crew of ski bums and locals finish digging the chairs out of the avalanche debris and new snow. It only opened 9 times in the months before our arrival, and no one can promise it will open again.

But all that aside, we know it's worth the gamble. We know the best turns we've ever had are chillin' up there waiting for us. Too bad the liftees didn't wait for us...

Every morning we head up the hill and then debate whether or not to wait for Marte; often sitting at the base of the lift for hours on end with no luck. Finally on day 7 we place a bad bet and end up filming and skiing pow at the far end of the mountain when Marte putters into gear. It stubbornly hauls a patient few skiers up to a private playground of untracked 4000ft chutes, only to then close as quickly as it opened. Only a handful of skiers bask in the runs of their life while everyone else stands there jealous and stunned. It's a cruel, cruel world.

From now on we change our gambling strategy... put all our eggs in one basket and hope...

...Cha-ching, booyakasha! The next day we finally get to sit our butts on the Marte chair and bask in the revelry. We treat the ride like it's our last and hike over to the neighbouring peak of Cerro Martin, where we bag 1300 feet of virgin pow turns down the 50+ degree dogleg Banana Chute. But we treat it like it ain't no thang, because 4500 feet of feature-filled chutes down 'Sans Nom' are still to come.

From then on we had the dealer by the throat and racked in the rewards. Like a true Vegas card-shark we brought in our rigged deck of cards and soaked the casino dry. Ski 9-5, sleep 5-10, party 10-5, sleep 5-9. Repeat. And when Marte was dug out and running we were always there, sampling the seemingly endless couloirs. We even convinced the ski patrol that volunteer diggers deserve not only free tickets, but lift-line priority as well...

We hop into our private diggers' snowcat and cruise to the top of Marte, scoping tasty lines the whole way to the top. Some mellow pow turns lead us to where we'll be digging out the chairlift for two hours, and thoughts of what's to come make the job short'n sweet. When the deed is done we score more fluffy turns to the Marte lift-line, where we casually ski past everyone in the gridlock line-up and head up for round two. We spend the lift ride toiling over which chute to bag 1st tracks on, yet we know there's so much terrain that we won't cross tracks for most of the day. In all we score 5 laps on Marte; laying tracks down local favourites like Frankie's, Human Error, Vegas, and Eduardo's, all yielding a couple thousand feet of powdery vert between 45 and 55 degrees. Sinful bliss, but we know to quit while we're ahead.

Days later the wind picks up, we already have the casino begging for mercy, and we know Marte's days are over. With our pockets full of loot we leave our gambling days behind us. We sleep in, try kite skiing, and cap off the trip with a day of 'extreme tubing'. All the while, new arrivals and the 'patient few' are getting lured into gambling again, hoping for the big pay off.

- J Dogg

Modern medicine at it's best.

Verbier Ride 2003

J Dogg — Wed, 16 Apr 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Rating

by Phil Martin

So the fat lady has sung. The Verbier Ride 2003 is officially over. This year's freeski festival was a celebration of skiing's new wave and a competitive showcase for both the riders and their sport. With the support and partnership of TeleVerbier and Verbier Tourism and event sponsors, Dainese, The North Face, Ortovox and Snow and Rock, the Verbier Ride team delivered a world-class freeski event.

Big Mountain Freeride

The Big Mountain Freeride, held on the steep slopes of Mont Gele, proved a fitting finale for the inaugural IFSA Freeskiing European Tour. Snow conditions were tough, but the riders still laid down incredible lines, nailed 40foot+ cliff drops and generally wowed the crowds with their skill, power and courage.

Head Judge, Francine Moreillon, was particularly impressed by the professionalism of the riders. "Everybody skied hard, but also skied responsibly. They put on a great show up there."

British rider, Jason Schutt (Dynastar), showed his talent with an impressive 6th place in the elite international field. In the end, though, French riders, Romaine Raisson and Thomas Diet, stole the show. Diet is the new prot' of French freeriding and, at only 18, one of the brightest stars of the future. Raisson is an established figure and one of the smoothest riders on the circuit. He edged Diet into second place with two blistering runs.

The ladies event came down to a matter of 2 points, as German rider, Steffi Franck (Dynastar) fought hard in the final run to catch up Norwegian, Marte Lise Karlsen (Extrem). Karlsen had done just enough on the first day however, and held on to win.

Skiercross

The Verbier Ride SkierCross was a designated Winter X-Games 2004 Qualifier. This gave Warren Smith a good excuse to seek out the services of course-shaping guru, Nicolas Voudroz. The designer of the Skiercross World Championship course, Nicolas laid on the most spectacular course Verbier has ever seen.

Although the event start-time was delayed due to a combination of logistical issues and rider-proposed course alterations, this actually gave the course time to soften up a little in the sun. With less concern over safety off the big kickers Nicolas had included, the riders were finally able to let rip on this super-fast course.

With the X-Games place up for grabs, competition was particularly fierce in the men?s event. Norwegian, Frederik Lutkyis (Dynastar), eventually won the right to be in Aspen next year. His focus was unwavering and he was never headed in any race. Afterwards, his elation was clear. 'This is the best moment of my skiing life!' he stated.

In the ladies' skiercross, a triple fall in the final run, left the race wide open. Martina Renschler (Head) recovered fastest to record the victory.

Slopestyle Jam Session

The Slopestyle Jam session on the final day of the Verbier Ride 2003 was a change of pace from the frantic action of the Slopestyle. The course designed by Yannick and his TeleVerbier shaping crew was fluid and imaginative, allowing the riders a range of options with which to express their creativity on the slope.

The atmosphere was chilled and the vibe very positive amongst the riders. This showed as they inspired each other to ever more spectacular tricks.

In the end the D-spin 7s and 9s of Ben 'Skinner' Murphy (Adidas Eyewear) won the day. UK rider, Andy Bennett (Line, Fat Face) misty-flipped himself into 2nd and local rider, Matteas Eisenschwanz, finished off the podium placings.

In Summary

All in all, the Verbier Ride 2003 was a great success. Leading freeskiers from around the world gathered to showcase the sport and judging from the whoops and cheers of the crowds, their efforts were much appreciated.

With PlayKids Productions chronicling the event both for TV and Snows in the House 2 and Quattro Media handling the TV distribution, there will be ample opportunity for people to catch up with any action they missed over the next few months. Check back regularly with www.verbierride.com to view updated broadcasting schedules.

Freeskiing may not be about competition, but competition is an integral part of freeskiing. Such a progressive sport needs events, not only for the media coverage they generate, but also because the fusion of riding talents in the theatre of competition generates an intensity and inspiration capable of pushing the sport to the next level. Riders feed off the energy of such events and take the vibe back to their home playgrounds.

The Verbier Ride is founded on this core spirit. It remains a festival of freeskiing for freeskiers. It just happens to have evolved into a world-class competition. With the support of resorts and the industry, such events will continue to drive freeskiing and freeskiing will continue to shape the wintersports industry as a whole.

Leading the way next year will be the Verbier Ride 2004.

Writer, Freeskier, Wintersports Media Consultant email: philmartin@skijournalism.com

Phil Martin recommends:

Molson Canadian Freeskiing Championships 2003

J Dogg — Fri, 04 Apr 2003 00:00:00 -0500

Rating

If Britney Spears were a freeskier, she'd live in Rossland, BC.

Well, uh, who knows what tickles Britney's fancy, but any skier lookin' for a good time should definitely hit Red Mountain sometime soon.

After last year's Freeskiing Challenge, rumours have been circulating around ski towns everywhere about Red Mountain... how sweet the terrain is, how deep the snow is, how empty it is... you name it. Next thing you know, most of the competitive freeskiiers in Whistler and the rest of the Pacific Northwest had packed their cars and B-lined it east for the 2003 Molson Canadian Freeskiing Championships.

We almost lost a few competitors along the pilgrimage, with at least 4 cars spinning out or crashing somewhere along the way, 1 being a total write off. But everyone made it alive... so many in fact that you'd think it was a stop on the World Tour of Freeskiing. Only difference... real prize money.

With packed powder and sunny skies, the qualifier was held on Lynx Line, right under the Motherlode chairlift. The day kicked off with a poach by a legendary 70-something year old guy who apparently skis Lynx Line every day, every run. Tryin' to make us look bad I guess. All the competitors skied hard and did their best to strut their freeskiing steez on this mellow but featured run, but only a few advanced. There were so many prequalified athletes in attendance that only the top 10 men and top 4 women made the cut to the competition. Another 5 guys were placed in the 'bubble', and would be allowed to compete if time allowed.

Day one of the competition went off on Mt Roberts; a sweet backcountry peak beside the Red Mountain resort. With its unreal amount of steeps, drops, gullies, ridges, and other terrain features to play with, Roberts makes for an awesome venue. Holding a freeskiing competition on this peak is like feeding chocolate doughnuts to a baby... the outcome is unknown, things will get outta control, and someone's gonna have a lot of fun.

All the competitors charged hard on day one, but you could tell Mt Roberts was out to punish most of the competitors. The run was so long that more than a few competitors were beggin' for Mommy towards the end of the run, but overall the level of skiing was high all day. Whistler's PY Leblanc skied a super solid line to score 1st position for day one, followed by Geoff Small from NZ and Guerlain Chicerit of France. Highlights included Daisuke Sasaki's retarded airs to flat landings, and Bob Kitchen emerging from the 5 person qualifier 'bubble' to ski a really strong line.

But then came Day 2. Hands down one of the most entertaining competitions in a long time. When Day 1 competitors Ian MacIntosh and Chris Mansbridge hooked up a microphone and some heavy metal, we knew good times were ahead. Skiers were givin'er all day, the carnage ensued, and the announcers weren't letting them off easy. Mathieu Imbert of France won DOGLOTION.com's vote for the Sillygoat Award (if there was won), by losing his ski half way down the run and continuing to rip the run on one ski, finishing with a tricky 1 ski straighline. Leif Zapf-Gilje pulled off the world's first backflip-to-phone-grab, one of those 'ya had to be there' kind of things. After losing his ski while landing a sweet backflip, Leif actually answered a call on his cell from announcer Chris Mansbridge who had called to joke about the lost ski. Doesn't get much better than that.

Moss Patterson scored the highest for Day 2, with a huge air at the top followed by some aggressive skiing and a laid out backflip at the bottom. Brett Crabtree skied the 2nd best line with fast, fluid skiing, followed by Eric Schmitz with his fast skiing and creative airs.

But nobody could catch up to Geoff Small who came 1st overall, followed by Eric Schmitz in 2nd and Moss Patterson in 3rd.

The ladies were chargin' it on Roberts as well. DOGLOTION team rider Marja Persson was leading after the first day, with AJ Cargill and Kim McKnight close behind. AJ skied a sweeeeet line on Day 2, but couldn't quite hold it together. Whistler ripper Karla Rizzuto scored 3rd for the day but it wasn't quite enough to bump her onto the podium. Lynsey Dyer of Montana skied the highest scoring line of the day, earning her 1st overall, bumping Marja to 2nd, and Kim McKnight held onto 3rd.

Pretty much everyone was stoked on the competition. The 2003 Molson Canadian Freeskiing Challenge went off without a hitch, the sun shone all week, and Mt Roberts showed us all who's boss.

But it wouldn't be a Rossland trip without a little extra curricular activity. Red Mountain is full of natural and unnatural obstacles to play with... old mining tunnels weaving through the mountain's innards, rock quarries providing an amphitheatre of double drops, and an abandoned industrial building that makes for some quality billygoating.

Meanwhile, the hilly town of Rossland is an urban playground for jibbers alike, with roofs, rails, and roadgaps just askin' to be hit. Only in Rossland can you slide rails in a stranger's yard... late at night, without permission... while that stranger casually watches you from their window above. That part might worry Britney, but it was all good with us.

Check out the VIDEO. (Sorry, video currently offline, back soon hopefully).

World Freeskiing Championships, Alaska 2002

J Dogg — Sun, 21 Apr 2002 00:00:00 -0400

Rating

By Blair Fontana

Photos: Blair Fontana and Robin Courcelles

On April 9th I left Whistler for an Alaskan adventure with Leif Zapf-Gilje, Mike Stevenson and Robin Courcelles. We went there to compete in the World Freeskiing Championships, ski big peaks, and hopefully see a moose. Well what else can I say other than Alaska was great. The mountains were huge, the sun was shining, and we saw a moose (well I didn't but Leif, Robin, and Mike did while they waited the 12 hours for my plane to arrive--lucky bastards).

The competition went well, Leif came 2nd, Mike 5th, and Robin 7th. The funniest part was that the winner, Guerlain Chircherit, had just been caught going way to fast in his car that morning. The cop sent him off to jail but then let him out to ski if he promised to come back right after. Well he won and instead of celebrating he cruised right back to the cop shop and payed out a hefty fine.

After the comp we headed off to Girdwood for what was probably the best leg of our trip. We hooked up with some super friendly local sledders, Warren, Mike, and Cory, and they shuttled us up these fat alaskan ridges all day. I must say the double ride up was one of the scariest most intense things I've done but the ski down was epic.

We ended our trip on a wild pub crawl through the streets of Anchorage till we stumbled onto our red eye flights. To sum it up Alaska is all they say it is, gigantic mountains, great strip clubs, cool locals, and about a thousand guys to each girl.

Maintaining the Vibe

J Dogg — Mon, 25 Feb 2002 00:00:00 -0500

Rating

Maintaining the Vibe at the Molson Canadian Freeskiing Challenge 2002

The DOGLOTION.com crew showed up at Rossland BC in a staggered convoy of cars and trucks full of skiers and gear, eager for the Molson Canadian Freeskiing Challenge. Seemed like everyone and their dog had made the 10 hour pilgrimage from Whistler to Rossland, and no cheap motels were to be found. So we headed further east to the zinc-refining jewel they call Trail, BC, where our tracks led us to the seedy Crown Point Hotel. Our instant dizziness might have been from the fumes drifting through town, but we were convinced the walls and hallways were slanted just enough to make anyone queasy upon arrival.

After a night's sleep on the flea infested shag carpet floor, the convoys reassembled and we headed to a better place. On the way to Red Mountain, we couldn't help but ride the brakes as we rolled through the neighbouring town of Rossland, BC, where funky little shops and restaurants are surrounded by an endless playground of urban jibbing potential. Our shag carpet nightmares were soon a thing of the past, and the stoke factor was riding high.

At the mountain we hooked up with local ripper and snow-phone star Stefan Hood, who let us tag along for a fast-track tour of Red's sick terrain. The pea soup visibility was working against us all day, making the high tree line a key ingredient for good times. The Jedi knight scene was on all our minds as us Whistler boys tried to rail our big mountain skis through Red's notoriously tight trees. We bagged gullies, straight-lines, log slides, pillows and wicked tree runs all over the mountain, blindly led through the fog by Stefan's 'local' sensors. Below is Bob Kitchen making the most of the mountain, with style.

The next day brought bluebird skies and wicked scouting conditions for the Molson Canadian Freeskiing Challenge. 150 competitors showed up from around North America to compete in the Challenge, and the vibe of enthusiasm and excitement was unreal. Everyone dialed their lines for the Lynx line qualifier and the Mt Roberts final venue, only to be ambushed by Mother Nature on Day 1 of the Challenge. The women finished their runs, but Red's notorious mid-mountain fog forced event organizers to postpone the men's heat, using up their weather day right off the bat.

Day 2 of the Challenge turned out just as nasty, but the quick thinking organizers and mountain staff managed to pull off mogul/GS race from the top of Cliff's dive. It was far from ideal for anti-gate-bashing freeskiers, but nobody complained and the positive vibe held strong. Local boy James Heim nailed the fastest time of the day to win the qualifier.

Yet Mother Nature continued to tamper with conditions, forcing both final days of competition to be held on Lynx line under the chair. P-Y Leblanc smoked the competition in the semi's, only to take a roller in the finals for a third place finish. Caleb Martin from Telluride had really solid runs both days, and came home $5000 richer by winning the men's category. Local speed demon James Heim managed to bump up to 2nd place overall with his solid display of how it's done Red Mountain style. Ingrid Backstrom won the women's category, followed by Jen Ashton and Stephanie Gauvin.

The coolest part about the whole Challenge is how stoked everyone was, regardless of the lame weather and venues. The organizers did a killer job of pulling off a comp that was doomed by mother nature; local skiers were ecstatic to have all the competitors trample their hill; competitors charged hard everyday; and everyone strutted their stuff at apres and the after parties. All that combined with epic freeskiing sessions and side events like the Extreme Springboard Championships made the Molson Canadian Freeskiing Challenge a huge success overall. If Mother Nature is a little nicer next time, this could be standout competition on the schedule for sure. Check it out next year if you missed the action this season. If you did come out this year, you already know how much potential is brewing in the Molson Canadian Freeskiing Challenge.

Canadian Freeskiing Championships 2002

J Dogg — Tue, 15 Jan 2002 00:00:00 -0500

Rating

Hucking to Hardpack, Flat-Light Straight Lines and More? Nothing Stops the Canadian Freeskiing Championships from Upping the Anti

After mother nature finished pissing on Whistler/Blackcomb and the rest of Western North America's resorts, things weren't lookin' good for the IFSA Canadian Freeskiing Championships. Rain to 1800m, gusting winds, sounds pretty juicy eh? Local Whistler competitors had their doubts; some of them waiting as late as possible to register for the comp, and others like myself bailing out entirely. Bad call. How dare I doubt the competition that for five years has kicked off the season with the most epic up-the-anti game there is.

The fun began on Day 1 of the World Tour Qualifier, which doubled as a North American Tour competition with IFSA tour points awarded to the winners. That meant skiers couldn't just play it safe and qualify, instead they had to put on a show. And what show it was, held on a bump run on Blackcomb appropriately named the Bite. Kurt V. brought stream skiing back in style by falling short on his waterfall gap and going for a slip and slide down the wet rocks and into the 'hole'. Fortunately for his ego, two or three other skiers enjoyed the same delight. In other parts of the circus arena, skier after skier went soaring over the 'day wrecker' dip at the end of the run and let fate decide their outcome.

The highest scoring run of the day came from Team DOGLOTION athlete Blair Fontana who stomped three clean airs, styled a root-grind-to-straight-line, and floated over the 'day wrecker' like it ain't no thang.

For those who made the cut, Day 2 was held on Chainsaw Ridge: high enough up for competitors to bag some powder turns rather than wallowing in the slush and streams. With another cut looming over their shoulders, the front of the pack had to stay on their feet while the laggers had to step it up a notch. The men and the women all skied super strong, leaving no clues to spectators that it was only a qualifier for the real meal deal. The best show was from Johnny Law who had some major catching up to do. He flashed the most technical line down the Fin and then went for extra credits by stomping an air at the bottom that dwarfed other competitors' drops. But Day 1's leader #21 Blair Fontana skied a solid and technical billy goat line that scored him the overall win! The Mammoth Lakes contingency of Brett Lotz and Ben Cumbie took 2nd and 3rd. Out of the girls, Sarah Oakden from Fernie absolutely ruled the competition with an 8 point lead after two days. Oakden... hmmmm, what do they feed those kids? Behind her was Lindsay Yaw from Aspen, and Meg Oster from Red Mountain. And that was just the beginning? they all needed to save tricks in their hat for two more days of competition in the Canadian Freeskiing Championships...

The Main Event?

The Canadian Freeskiing Championships has a huge reputation in the freeskiing community after five years of epic snow and absurdly awesome athlete performances. But this year's hokey mix of powder, ice, frozen slush and flat light was lookin' rough. Even after the wicked performances in the qualifier, some people were still doubting this comp?s reputation. But the show must go on, and the circus was due for two more days of stellar performances. Day 1 was held in Ruby Bowl where the girls started the show with flair. Local snow slayer Jen Ashton nailed the run of the day like it was her annual duty, leaving Ingrid Backstrom trailing 4 points behind. Unfortunately 1st place qualifier Sarah Oakden didn't make the final cut.

When the guys were up to bat, Ryan Oakden upheld the family name by throwing a huge spin off a steep shelf at the start of his run. Unfortunately his bindings didn't appreciate the abuse and let him go. Other crowd pleasers included Will Burks' huge huck in the first two turns of his run, Mike Tierney's sick dissection of that same cliff, Daisuke Sazaki's accidental acrobatics, and Johnny Law's endless line of hucks-to-hardpack. But the high scores and ooooo's and aaaaaaah's this year were for the skiers who skied the cleanest, smoothest lines. Local ripper and AFT athlete Pierre-Yves Leblanc linked a bunch of solid airs and fast turns together with more style than anyone else, earning him the highest score of the day. Hugo Harrison knew the judges were stoked on such a fluid line, so he went up to try the same, only to finish less than a point behind Pierre. If these guys' scores were any indication of what freeskiing judges are looking for, it must be all about charging a hard line with style and finesse. And why not? It?s way the hell harder to flash a hard line with unrelenting style than it is to huck your carcass. But nobody will complain about sick crowd pleasers, especially the Day 4 action that stopped most passer-by tourists for a long game of "what the hell is that guy doing"?

The girls started the Day 4 cabaret, and Jen Ashton again led the pack by four points, earning her a solid seat in the Canadian Freeskiing Championship thrown for the second consecutive year! Ingrid Backstrom held on to 2nd and Aleisha Cline narrowly stole 3rd from 4th place finisher Meg Oster.

The guys brought the circus show into full effect with every athlete charging from start to finish. Local AFT skier Robin Courcelles skied a heinous, technical line down a steep ramp, followed by a pile of rock drops and grinds. But he lost a would-be podium spot by twirling into an accidental ski-ballet demonstration, cartwheels, fakie turns , rolls and all. Full props to Robin for skiing so aggressively both days, and for sticking the ballet moves! DOGLOTION and AFT skier Leif Zapf-Gilje skied hard like he wanted that podium again, but an invisible snow-troll sent him twirling over some rocks to his demise. And the sick bird award goes to... Ryan Connelly, the Comor Freeride Team member who took his skis where no man had gone before. In true up-the-anti style, Connelly saw the daily rock-grind bet and raised it ten fold; skiing diagonally across 60 feet of frosted rock until friction denied him and threw him onto an uphill landing. Aaaah, freeskiing at it's finest, and props out to Ryan for risking his 6th place standing to teach us all how to grind with class.

All grinding aside, the best runs of the day were again thrown down by the guys who skied aggressive, solid, and fluid lines. True to his reign from Day 1, Pierre-Yves Leblanc once more skied like he was surfing through powder, stomping all his airs and hauling from crux to crux without hesitation. P-Y scored the highest on both days to become the Canadian Freeskiing Champion. Other solid runs were skied by Hugo Harrison who snagged 2nd place once again, Kevin Hjertaas in 3rd, local Mike Stevenson in 4th, and Nat Fresnois in 5th. And just when the show seemed over, crowd favorite Daisuke Sazaki came from nowhere and ripped a line that upped him from 30th to 8th! He dropped a huge air into a narrow coffin, stomped it, hit some quality billygoating to the finish line, and sealed it with his signature bowing and chanting ritual.

At the awards ceremony, female Champion Jen Ashton didn't hesitate to douse the photographers with Champagne. Male champion P-Y Leblanc shoved his bottle in his throat and chugged almost all of it before dumping the rest on his head. Both these champions call Whistler home, and overall the Canadian contingent kicked ass. But it wouldn't be a competition without imports like Peterson and Binning pushing the women, or Tierney, Burks, Olson and Sazaki going large every time.

Next stop, Snowbird. They've seen it, who's gonna raise it?

Rankings

Women Men

1. Jennifer Ashton 1. Pierre-Yves Leblanc

2. Ingrid Backstrom 2. Hugo Harrison

3. Aleisha Cline 3. Kevin Hjertaas

4. Meg Oster 4. Mike Stevenson

5. Linda Peterson 5. Nathaniel Fresnois

6. Andrea Binning 6. Ehren Olson

7. Jessica Baker 7. Robin Courcelles

8. Susan Medville 8. Daisuke Sazaki

9. Anne Catelin 9. Jim Jack

10. Jennifer Berg 10. Mike Tierney