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Orage Masters Wrap Up

J Dogg — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 01:27:24 -0400

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From the weeks leading up to the event, to the hype surrounding the 5th anniversary of the Orage Masters and its move to Whistler; there remains only one thing left to say...

Congratulations to the K2 Spread Eagles... They came, they saw, they kicked some ass... and broke beer mugs over their heads along the way. Doglotion.com was too busy burning our faces skiing slackcountry slush to cover the event in detail, but here's the word on the street from Orage, and some vids from our other fine furry web mag friends.

Not only did K2 come equipped with props, they were by far the most theatrical team in the event. Which, combined with their course dominance and inspiration from fearless team captain Mike Powell, the Spread Eagles were lead to victory and have officially given the hells angels something to fear. The 5th installment of the Orage Masters not only lived up to its namesake, the Anti Comp found a way to surpass our wildest expectations providing rare springtime sun and warm conditions at the Telus World Ski and Snowboard Festival.

For the hundreds of fans who peppered the tree line boundary of the course, the 8 competing teams better known as the one and only K2 Spread Eagles, 4 Frnt Tibetan Monks, Armada Star Wars crew, Salomon Super Heroes, Volkl David Hasslehoff look-alikes, Surface Outsiders, Dynastar Vikings and the Rossi Pirates all came dressed to impress and were ready tear a strip off the custom built Masters course.

With the traditional sound of the blow horn teams Salomon and Dynastar kicked off the event with high flying choreographed acrobatics in hopes of impressing their fellow competitors and guest judges, JF Cusson, Myles Ricketts, Mike Atkinson and Joe Schuster enough to be granted permission to move onto the next round. With only 15 minutes between each set of two teams, 4 preliminary round robin heats were packed with action on the course built by none other than TJ Schiller himself. When the smoke had cleared it was K2, 4 Frnt, Dynastar and Armada who would move into the semi final round.

From there Dynastar and K2 rose above the rest and would ultimately set the stage for a battle between the biker gang and the weapon clad viking village pillagers. But in the end, no team could top the antics of the K2 Spread Eagles who not only dominated the event but somehow found time to slam beers, break mugs over their helmets and scream death metal lyrics during their runs.

When it was all said and done the Orage Masters provided debauchery, reckless acts of costume clad skiing, a fantastic free lunch, countless beers from Kokanee, a live web cast on ns.com and 8 hours of on hill partying... just the way we like it... just the way every event should be.

For those of you who did not witness the Masters in person or on the countless number of websites who covered the event check out some of the top notch coverage compliments of our friends at...

Newschoolers event coverage>>>

Big Lines video>>>

Windstedt Wins Nissan Russian Adventure

J Dogg — Mon, 4 Feb 2008 23:21:10 -0500

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While President Vladimir Putin was skiing on the opposite mountain,the elite of the sport of freeride skiing and snowboarding put on a great show at the second contest of the Freeride World Tour, Nissan Russian Adventure, today in Krasnaya Polyana / Sochi, the Russian host resort of the Winter Olympics 2014.

The 43 participating riders proved their skill in a steep and committing first face in exceptionally beautiful scenery, and further freestyling the second section with front-, backflips and other creative riding.

From Mammoth, California to the West Caucasus in Russia in less than a week. And once again the world’s best freeride skiers and snowboarders experienced great powder for a part of the contest run that was held from the top ridge of the Krasnaya Polyana resort. The wide ridge with three different starting gates gave the riders the opportunity to choose many varied lines on the 350 vertical metre run. The top section was the extreme part with very steep, serious riding, narrow couloirs and big cliff drops. A lot of sluff was coming down making the route finding even more difficult but absolutely stunning to watch for the spectators. The second section of the run was more of freestyle in skied out terrain, where consistency and creativity awarded.
Henrik Windstedt from Sweden skied the most radical line, starting with around 55 degrees steep solid turns to then drop a ten metre cliff, stomp the landing into a steep narrow chute, topping it up with an impressive backflip and skiing fluid all the way to the finish line. This run was extremely spectacular and put the Swede on top of the podium. “I had decided to go for this line when I looked at it yesterday, but once up at the starting gate it looked really difficult. I decided to go for it anyway and it was just amazing. It suits me to start on smaller faces than for example the Bec des Rosses in Verbier [Nissan O’Neill Xtreme de Verbier], but I look forward to skiing some bigger faces for the next contests,” said a thrilled Henrik Windstedt, who was second at Nissan Mammoth Challenge last week.
Once again French veteran Seb Michaud impressed the judges and public with a great run, including an amazing "late back flip", flying probably more than 25 meters in length. Seb Michaud, who won the Nissan Mammoth Challenge split a well earned second place with young American skier Drew Tabke.
Snowboarder Flo Orley from Austria chose to start his line at the steepest part of the face, continued fast and fluid into a difficult couloir, and staying original all the way to the finishing line, winning the men’s snowboard discipline. Flo Orley was overjoyed at the prize giving. “I am so happy. From the top of the ridge the couloir looked so steep. It was probably around 55 degrees but the snow was so good. Here the snow sticks to steep faces and I rode it without mistakes. I got so confident after sticking the couloir that I totally relaxed for the next section of the run and really enjoyed it. The venue was short but I think we all agreed on that it was very challenging and really beautiful”. Second placed snowboarder Xavier de le Rue’s run stood out as the fastest most aggressive snowboard run of the day with a big cliff drop that he stomped right at the start in a very difficult area. Further down the French pro snowboarder took huge air but slightly missed the landing, which probably took him down from the top step of the podium. Alaskan skier Elyse Saugstad is used to skiing big, which she confirmed today with a strong, fast and solid line. She started off jumping a cornice and executing a double jump in the middle of the run. “The contest conditions were perfect today, putting a good vibe among the competitors. The other girls were skiing really well, and I aimed to ski fluid and fast. It was a great face to ski on. The bottom half was maybe less extreme but a lot of work, that some might not have taken into enough consideration, which I took advantage of. Very close in points was second placed Marja Persson (Sweden) who did a strong start and consistent skiing all the way. In the women’s snowboard discipline Bibi Pekarek from Austria had the cleanest run with an original, committing entrance, clean jumps and fast riding at the lower part of the run. Although Ruth Leisibach from Switzerland is not riding hundred percent of her capacity, because of a fall earlier this winter, she took second place with a stable run with two nice drops. All the rider’s concerns went to Swiss Geraldine Fastnacht, who hurt her knee landing a jump. Geraldine took first place in Nissan Mammoth Challenge last week. Earlier in the week it snowed heavily in Krasnaya Polyana on a very thin base, meaning high avalanche risk. The organisers of the Freeride World Tour had planned to execute a part of the contest on one of the big, stunning faces of the Caucasus mountain range, with a heli lift from Krasnaya Polyana. For safety reasons the decision had to be made to hold the contest on a shorter but still challenging face.

Next to come: Swatch O’Neill Big Mountain Pro

The next stop of the Freeride World Tourwill be in the Alpswith the Swatch O’Neill Big Mountain Pro, starting in Chamonix 24 February. The Big Mountain Pro is a unique one week mobile event, including three contest days, taking the riders to some of the greatest mountain faces of the Alps, depending on where snow conditions are the best. The eight highest ranked male riders of the Freeride World Tourand five world class wild cards of each discipline will battle for the 80'000 USD prize purse.

Colby West Wins US Freeskiing Open Big Air

J Dogg — Mon, 4 Feb 2008 22:41:10 -0500

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American Colby West threw down the biggest air of the night with a Switch 1080 Stomp, clinching the championship title for Big Air.

X-Games Medalist Jossi Wells, of New Zealand, cheered his friend on from the second spot on the podium, pulling a flawless mute grab in his final run. Michael Clark placed third, Russ Henshaw, yesterday's slopestyle medalist, nails fourth.

New snow was falling throughout the night, making the jump slow and the air smaller, really bringing out the champions.

Big names Peter Olenick, Sammy Carlson, and Andreas Hatveit fell in the final eight, eliminating their chances to move on to the finals.

"It was really fun being in the air and twisting like that," West said after his first run. The crowd "felt the earth shake," according to announcer Luke Van Valin.

Other notable tricks throughout the night included a nearly perfect Switch 1080 from Charles Gagnier's little bro, Vincent, and a Kangaroo Flip in the second run from Bobby Brown, with a less than perfect landing.

As snowfall became one problem, fences turned into another. Thomas Doplads skied under the fence after an off landing, staying safe. On his second run in the final eight, Doplads ran into the fence again, taking a moment to get up. That second fall eliminated him from competition.

The U.S. Freeskiing Open continues tomorrow with Men's and Women's Superpipe in the morning. Check www.usfreeskiingopen.com for live streaming as well as up-to-the-minute results.

See the RESULTS>>>

Redbull COLD RUSH at Red Mountain

J Dogg — Sat, 3 Feb 2007 20:32:05 -0500

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COLD RUSH: A PROGRESSION OF SKIING TO FIND THE BEST IN SKIING
Multi-discipline event includes a summit approach, abandoned mine ski through, freeskiing component and backcountry slopestyle.

Red Bull presents Cold Rush, a progression of skiing that brings together 20 of the sport's top athlete skiers with one objective: to find the most versatile and best all-around skier. The event will take place on Red Mountain Resort in Rossland, BC, where the entire venue sits on top of countless miles of abandoned mining tunnels. To commemorate the gold rush dreamers of yesteryear, Cold Rush will launch from an above-ground mine site, with the duration of the event spanning Feb. 9 - 10.

On Day One, skiers will drop in and ski through the old gold mine and onto a service road that will lead to a trail head. At the trail head, athletes will prepare for and commence a summit approach on Mt. Roberts. Once athletes reach the top of Mt. Roberts, they will prep for the next day by identifying and inspecting their preferred line of choice.

With Day Two brings the big mountain portion, where skiers will hit their favourite line down the face of Mt. Roberts. The afternoon on Mt. Roberts brings a backcounty slopestyle where 3-4 big features will be built and shaped to allow for a rider-judged jam session.

Rider feedback will be crucial in determining our winner, with points awarded for each component: Summit - maximum 20 points; Freeskiing - max 40 points; Slopestyle - max 40 points. The athlete who records the highest score out of 100, also takes home the top and only prize: $10,000.

The athlete roster for Cold Rush represents some of the top talent in the world, including: Mark Abma who skis out of Whistler, BC; Rory Bushfield, Whistler; Eric Hjorleifson, Whistler; Andy Mahre, Yakima, Washington; and Chris Rubens, Revelstoke, BC.

The high-level roster mirrors what Cold Rush aims to bring to North America's freeski scene. Although Canadians are renown as innovators in the sport, and our mountains premiere playgrounds, the freeski scene flourishes in the backcountry away from the eyes and minds of the general public. Cold Rush aims to bring the incredible skills of the participating athletes to a resort that accommodates their talents and to an audience that appreciates their performance.

Additional supporters of this event include K2, Diamir, Colltex, and of course, Red Mountain Resort.

For a full athlete roster, additional information on Cold Rush, and post-event images and video, please visit www.redbull.ca/coldrush.

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.

Copper Hosts The Jeep U.S. Freeskiing Open

J Dogg — Tue, 9 Jan 2007 22:25:39 -0500

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The top names in freeskiing converge on Copper Mountain to compete for a total prize purse of $60,000.00 during the Jeep® U.S. Freeskiing Open Jan. 17-21. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the Open is the largest, longest running and most respected contest in freeskiing and showcases the best twin-tipped talent in the world. In addition to the two-plank snow sliding action, Copper celebrates January in the mountains with free live music, warm bonfires, exciting fireworks, free outdoor movies, sponsor giveaways and more.

Over 300 athletes compete in three disciplines including: Slopestyle, Superpipe, and Big Air. Slopestyle events take place in Copper’s Catalyst Terrain Park January 17-19. Snow sliding spectators may access the Slopestyle venue by skiing or riding from the Highpoint or American Flyer Chairlifts to the Catalyst Terrain Park. Walking spectators may access the venue by purchasing a foot passenger lift ticket for $15, available at any ticket window, that allows upload access via the Highpoint Chairlift. They may then walk downhill, along the designated foot passenger lanes, to view the competition before proceeding to the base area on foot. Spectators not skiing or riding are encouraged to wear proper cold-weather clothing and boots with good traction.

The Superpipe and Big Air events take place in and just below the Main Vein Superpipe January 20-21. Both venues are near the base of the American Eagle Chairlift and Burning Stones Plaza and do not require mountain access as they can be viewed from anywhere in Copper’s Center Village. Spectators can also hike up the mountain along the special foot path designated by signage and blue ropes. The Big Air competition gets underway just after sundown on Saturday and continues throughout the early evening. Superpipe semifinals and finals complete the week’s events throughout Sunday.

Following the competitions on both Friday and Saturday are a number of options for spectators and guests to continue the fun at Copper. After the Slopestyle finals on Friday, guests can enjoy free live music with DJ Knucklz, a free outdoor screening of the director’s cut of Warren Miller's upcoming movie entitled “57” and sponsor giveaways on Copper’s West Lake. Saturday features a free performance with Boulder’s Rose Hill Drive as well as fireworks over the mountain. In addition, following both days events are a number of after parties throughout the Village at Copper.

Following is the 2007 U.S. Freeskiing Open Schedule of Events (subject to change):

Wednesday, Jan. 17

8:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
Men’s Slopestyle Practice & Qualifiers
Catalyst Terrain Park

Thursday, Jan. 18

8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Men’s & Women’s SS Practice & Semifinals
Catalyst Terrain Park

Friday, Jan. 19

8:00 a.m.- 4:15 p.m.
Men’s & Women’s SS Practice, Semis & Finals
Catalyst Terrain Park

4:30-4:45 p.m. Awards Burning Stones Plaza

4:30-7:00 p.m. West Lake Movies & Celebration
West Lake

-Screening of Warren Miller's '57'

-Live performance of DJ Knucklz

-Sponsor giveaways and more

10:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m. After Parties throughout Copper

Saturday, Jan. 20

8:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Men’s Superpipe Practice & Qualifiers
Main Vein Superpipe

3:45-9:00 p.m.
Big Air Practice, Qualifiers & Finals
Base of Main Vein

9:15 p.m.
Awards and live music with Rose Hill Drive

and fireworks Burning Stones Plaza

10:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m.
After Parties throughout Copper

Sunday, Jan. 21

8:30-10:30 a.m.
Women’s Superpipe Practice & Semifinals
Main Vein Superpipe

10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Men’s Superpipe Practice & Semifinals
Main Vein Superpipe

1:30-3:30 p.m.
Men’s & Women’s Practice & Finals
Main Vein Superpipe

4:00 p.m. Awards Burning Stones Plaza

4:15 p.m. Athlete Autograph Session Jack’s

For more details, please visit www.coppercolorado.com or www.usfreeskiingopen.com.

Nissan ArctiX Comp in Lapland

J Dogg — Mon, 1 Jan 2007 23:58:09 -0500

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Freeskiing in Finland??? It's not the first place that comes to mind when we think of a ski competition, but hey, the photos look pretty pimp and this could shape up to be a cool contest. Here's the release...
PS- Editor's note, guess it's Norway afterall, not Finland.

Nissan ArctiX is an invitational big mountain freeride contest for skiers and snowboarders. The event will take place in Tamok, Lapland from 31st of March to 9th of April. Located 400km north of the Arctic Circle, Tamok is an undiscovered freeriding Mecca featuring spectacular natural wonders such as the midnight sun, northern lights and awe-inspiring landscape as well as the unique Sami culture.

Three days of riding will take place during an eight-day weather period to allow for the major snow dumps typical of the area. Riding will take place on three different mountains, some of which have never been skied or snowboarded before. Descents vary in height, steepness and exposure with virgin lines up to 1000 meters high and 50+ degrees steep.

The event will feature a completely new format, designed by experienced, professional freeriders with competitive professional freeriding in mind. Competitors will be taken deep into the exotic Arctic backcountry on snowmobiles before being lifted to the top of the mountains by helicopter.

Each rider will have the opportunity to do as many runs as they want throughout the day allowing the riders to study their lines and assess the snow conditions. This format also removes a lot of the stress from the competition and makes the day seem more like a normal day of freeriding with a super fun crew. Of course, this format will produce more impressive and safe riding as well.

There will be a panel of five judges who will judge every run with each competitor’s best run of the day used for the final results.

Nissan ArctiX is an invitational event but anybody over 18 years of age can leave their application at the official event website www.arctixtamok.com. Send in your application by the end of January and hope for the best!

This unique event is organized by two long-time, Finnish, professional freeriders and alpinists, Jarkko Henttonen and Ode Siivonen. Both have been competing in freeride snowboard events on a professional level since 1995. Key organizational duties will be provided by Lapland heli-ski, guiding and event specialists Cohkka Ltd. www.cohkka.fi in co-operation with a Tamok based tourism development company HuAs.

Good Times at Marmot Extreme Comp in NZ

J Dogg — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 00:09:05 -0400

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While we're sitting here watchin' ski flicks and praying for snow, shredders in NZ still have shredding to be done. Here's the news release from the recent Marmot Extreme comp that just wrapped up...

Geoff Small (NZ) and Janina Kuzma (Australia) won the second Marmot Extreme Skiing and Snowboarding Competition at Mt Ruapehu this weekend, adding yet another top-of-the-podium showing to their already impressive resumes. Robbie Walsh (USA) and Maria Kuzma (Australia) were the winners in the snowboard category.

The Comp, in it’s second year, kicked off on Saturday in the 'Pinnacles' at Whakapapa on Mt. Ruapehu, New Zealand. The competition finished with 37 of the best freeriders from around the world in both ski and snowboard disciplines.

Day One action took place on ‘Policeman’s’ in front of a large crowd of spectators. Conditions on the venue where very firm in the morning due to some rain the day before and a subsequent freeze overnight. Fortunately the sunshine was out all day and conditions on the course and all over the mountain softened into some excellent spring corn.

The day’s highlights included World Freeski Tour #5 Hamish Acland's fast smooth triple-drop-straightline through a large choke in the middle of the course. Geoff Small and Janina Kuzma also stepped up with impressive lines through the same area but it was Acland who ended up in first place by a very slim margin. The event’s jam format let competitors compete side by side with skiers and riders, taking two runs each at they're own pace.

Sunday’s venue was moved up to the 'Door', a steep line with lots of features for competitors to work. With tight races in all the categories it was anyone’s Comp to win. Turoa Doctor and ex Scottish World Cup racer Tess Pirie laid down a very impressive run on Day 2 but it wasn't quite enough to catch Janina Kuzma, who's difficult line choices paid off, winning her the women’s ski title.

Robbie Walsh stepped up in the snowboard competition coming out the clear winner of the day with his smooth line. Maria Kuzma followed her twin sisters’ lead and rode a solid and difficult line to come out almost 10 points ahead on the women’s snowboard side.

On the men’s skiers side it was a battle for first between Kiwi superstars Geoff Small and Hamish Acland both of whom have won many North American freeskiing titles and world tour rankings. Small found his way into an exposed section of the course that no one thought possible, stomping at least 3 big airs and making it look easy. Acland linked together 4 huge airs but took an awkward tumble before taking another huge air with an injured arm. Two Canadians, Kyle Armstrong and Tim Haggerty, took third and forth respectively, skiing strong smooth lines with plenty of air. Whakapapa legend Lyall Crump was a crowd favourite when he went huge, showing everyone he wasn't about to be out done on his home turf.

The whole event was a huge hit amongst the participants, almost all of whom got a little something from headline sponsor Marmot and the other sponsors like 4FRNT Skis, Options Snowboards, Nokia, Giro, the World Snowboard Guide, Nalgene and BigLines.com.

Event organiser and Mt Ruapehu Marketing Coordinator Tim Wilkinson said “This year’s Comp exceeded expectations. Not only did the prizepool increase, but so did the number and quality of athletes which is the most important thing. We had local and international film crews here to capture the action which will further increase the popularity and notoriety of the Marmot Extreme Comp. The Team here at Mt Ruapehu are already looking forward to next year’s Comp as many competitors have pledge they’ll be returning, in addition to many pro-skiers and top ranked World Tour athletes already indicating their interest in next year’s event!”

For photos and video action check out www.mtruapehu.com/extremecomp.

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.