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Telluride Opens Palmyra Peak - In Bounds Out of Bounds?

J Dogg — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 22:09:01 -0500

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What can be considered some of the most spectacular in-bounds terrain in the country, Telluride’s Palmyra Peak has opened to the public. Located adjacent to Black Iron Bowl and Prospect Bowl, this unbelievable hike-to terrain includes well over 200 acres and almost 2,000 vertical feet on the north face of 13,320 foot Palmyra Peak.

“There can only be one or two places in North America where skiers and riders can enjoy the thrill of this type of experience in an in-bounds, controlled environment,” said Pat Ahern, ski patrol director for the resort. “This is truly a unique opportunity.” Installation of a new avalauncher has allowed Telluride’s patrol to better control the area.

Skiers and boarders access Palmyra by a 90 minute hike up Prospect Ridge, and then have a choice of phenomenal runs including The Peak, Tram Shot, Sunrise and Electric Shock.

“Palmyra Peak is probably the best lift-served terrain in North America,” said Kim Havell, one of the first local skiers to experience the area this year.

Prospect Bowl first opened in 2002, adding approximately 700 acres and nearly doubling the size of the resort’s terrain with fantastic beginner and intermediate runs. Guide-only access was offered beginning in 2005 to Black Iron Bowl, with open access coming this year. Palmyra Peak’s expert acreage will open this season as conditions allow.

“Palmyra Peak was the natural next step in expanding the area,” said CEO Dave Riley. “Telluride has always been known for its legendary terrain, and opening Palmyra Peak will further demonstrate that Telluride Ski Resort is Unmatched in North America.”

Griffin Post & Whitney Win Telluride Freeskiing Open

J Dogg — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 20:15:03 -0500

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After another day of bluebird skies and deep, steep skiing, Griffin Post and Hannah Whitney broke away from the pack today to win the 3rd Annual Subaru Telluride Freeskiing Open. They each sailed through some of Telluride’s most extreme terrain, dropping cliffs, slicing through couloirs and laying down unforgettable turns.

Their victories capped two days of extreme big-mountain skiing in the shadow of Telluride’s Palmyra Peak. The skies were jewel-clear for today’s finals, and the deep snow gave nearly 50 competitors a chance to break out their best stuff on some truly heroic lines. With the stakes higher for the final round, both the men and women turned up the juice. The hundreds of spectators witnessed back and front flips, 360’s off huge cornices and athletes sending it off 30-foot cliff drops. Telluride locals marveled that the Prospect Basin had never seen so many skiers going so big.

In the men’s super final, all of the top three finishers put on stunning performances. Josh Daiek of Kirkwood, CA, launched off the Dihedral Chute ribs and sailed through the tight lower turns, earning third place and an overall score of 100.38. John Nicoletta of Aspen, CO, grabbed some of the day’s biggest air up top and took home second place, scoring 101.50 overall.

But nobody could get by Post. He won with 107 points, a 5.5-point margin over second place. “I’m pumped,” he said. “To stay in first is just –well, I’m glad I didn’t blow it.”

Hannah Whitney, of Crested Butte, CO, came into today’s comps tied for second place, but she put in a strong showing on her first run and edged past Crystal Wright, of Jackson Hole, WY. Both women skied fast and fluid in the super final, but Whitney held onto her lead. She won with 95.76 points, less than a point ahead of Wright.

The North Face Young Gun Award, which honors outstanding freeskiers under 21, went to Scott McBrayer of Alta, UT. He put in three strong runs during the competition and came in sixth overall. But the most poignant moment of the competition was this year’s Tobias Lee Sickbird Award, which is handed out to the skier who puts in the most spirited, most extraordinary competition run. The award went to Tobias’s older brother, Elijah Lee, of Mount Baker, WA,(the two brothers were skiing a steep chute together at Mount Baker in 2006 when an avalanche broke, killing 25-year-old Tobias). Elijah put in an amazing, aggressive performance today in Telluride, and he was moved to tears when the judges awarded him this year’s first Sickbird buckle.

The U.S. Freeskiing Series heads next to Squaw Valley USA, CA, February 13th through 16th.

Once again, MSI will be posting same-day video webcasts on the newly redesigned usfreeskiing.com which features state of the art video and photo player technology. The daily uploads of video, photos, news and results of each day’s competition action will be available after each day concludes.

FINAL RESULTS CLICK HERE

Coirier & Sommerville Win Telluride Freeskiing Open

J Dogg — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 21:10:45 -0500

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After an incredibly exciting day of skiing, Coirier and Somerville came out on top of the stacked international field as the 2nd Annual Subaru Telluride Freeskiing Open concluded today on Mountain Quail in Prospect Basin at Telluride Ski Resort. Competitors woke up to a dusting of fresh snow on the venue and due to good weather, Mountain Sports International (MSI) was able to include a super-finals run for the top five women and top 10 men.

Sitting in first position going into this morning’s run, Crystal Wright had some bad luck when she caught her tips in a drift of snow, causing her to crash. Claiming another victim, second place qualifier Jess McMillan met the exact same fate which opened the door for Iris Noack, Kate Olsen, Jane Somerville, Carrie Jo Chernoff and Andria Huskinson, who advanced to the super-final in that order.

In the final run of the women’s competition Iris Noack made a small mistake, falling and costing her to slide from first position to fifth overall. It was Jane Somerville’s consistent smooth style throughout the entire competition that pushed her just ahead of Kate Olsen, both from Aspen, to take the women’s title. Andria Huskinson of Alta finished in third, Carrie Jo Chernoff of Crested Butte finished fourth.

“I used a different technique the last two days,” said Subaru Telluride Freeskiing Open Women’s 2007 Champion Jane Somerville. “I skied conservative, but strong. I realize that sometimes taking a gamble, you could win big time, but I’m also learning that conservative, clean, difficult runs linked together could also add up to a winning score.”

After yesterday’s qualifier round only 7.6 points separated all 41 men who advanced, so it was almost anyone’s game to win or lose going into today’s finals. First run stand-outs included: Jamie Blair’s fast, smooth run, which catapulted him 34 spots to make the super-final; Josh Daiek whose gigantic, perfectly executed back-flip won him a Sickbird nomination; and Adrian Coirier whose hesitation-free, beautifully executed run catapulted him into first place, with at least six points standing between him and everyone else going into the super-final.

Telluride local Chason Russell was sitting in second place going into the super-final, but played it safe and was knocked back to third overall while Griffin Post of Alta, UT, had an incredible second run, nailing each and every aspect he hit. Post was awarded a Sickbird nomination for putting together such a clean, aggressive and flawless run and moved from fifth to place second overall. Adrian Corier of Les Arcs, France, who stunned spectators with his near-perfect run, played it safe going into the final run. With a six point buffer to play with, Corier did not feel the need to step it up and risk losing his placing. In the end he won the event by just eight-tenths of a point.

“I’m here to win the series,” said Subaru Telluride Freeskiing Open Men’s 2007 Champion Adrian Corier. “I knew I was six points ahead going into the final so my run was not that big. I skied fast but I didn’t take any risk, I wanted to get to the bottom. I’ve never won any competition!”

As always, spectators enjoyed watching freeskiing’s elite battle it out for the Tobias Lee Memorial Sickbird buckle award. The Sickbird award is presented to the competitor with the most spirited competition run, often involving super-human talent and agility. This weekend’s Sickbird buckle was awarded to Cliff Bennett of Snowbird, UT, who was the only competitor to attempt a 40 foot gap jump near the bottom of today’s venue. Bennett, a previous Sickbird winner, was nominated both days of the event for his incredible antics.

The North Face Young Gun Award returns in 2007, honoring outstanding new talent in competitive freeskiing. Points accumulated throughout the season will crown one lucky under-21-year-old a full sponsorship from The North Face and the honor of becoming the next Young Gun winner.

New in 2007, MSI will be posting same-day video broadcasts on the newly redesigned usfreeskiing.com featuring state of the art video and photo player technology. The daily uploads of video, photos, news and results of each day’s competition action will be available mere hours after each day concludes.

The Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series continues next week at the Inaugural Squaw Valley U.S.A Freeskiing Open, at Squaw Valley U.S.A, CA. Additional stops to the U.S. Freeskiing Series, which has grown from four stops to five in 2007, include the Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Nationals at Snowbird, UT, the Subaru Jackson Hole Freeskiing Open at Jackson Hole, WY and the Subaru North American Freeskiing Championships at Kirkwood, CA.

More at www.usfreeskiing.com

Bennett & Chernoff Win Telluride

J Dogg — Sun, 5 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0500

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Photos by Keith Carlsen, MSI.

Hundreds of spectators gathered on Telluride's Heritage plaza to witness the crowning of the 2006 Subaru Telluride Freeskiing Open champions. Amidst roaring applause, MSI event organizer and announcer John 'Dak' Williams started the ceremony by saying, "What you lack in snow, you can more than make up for in attitude."

A thin snowpack was the only downside to an otherwise flawless weekend - with incredible enthusiasm, zero injuries, and hard-charging skiing through extremely technical terrain.

"The energy that these guys put to the mountain and their technical ability was amazing today. They were going into areas that had never been skied before by the public," said Bobby Murphy, Executive Director of Resort Services at Telluride. "To see some of the best skiers in the world rip this mountain up was really exciting."

Variable snow pack forced competitors to be ready for anything.

"The conditions up there were burley," said head judge Eric Schmitz. "It went from pure ice to punchy to sugar over rocks. Definitely not favorable snow, and yet the level of skiing was phenomenal."

Women's competition was a battle for second place, with Carrie Jo Chernoff of Crested Butte, CO, holding a commanding lead all weekend. She had the highest combined score of the day, for men or women, in yesterday's semi-finals, and came into today leading by 12 points.

"I had a pretty big lead, so my focus was just to stay on my feet," said Chernoff. 'Not take it too easy, but ski something I knew I could finish." Despite her conservative approach, she pulled farther into the lead today, winning the event by over 13 points. Telluride local Galena Gleason came in second, followed by Lynn Kennen of Alpine Meadows, CA, in third.

The men's title went to Cliff Bennett of Snowbird, UT, who came out of fourth place in the semis to take the overall win - based on combined scores of two semi-final and two final runs.

"I came into yesterday's venue a little skeptical," said Bennett. There was a lot of weird snow in there, so I basically just skied down. Today, the venue was a lot more my style - really wide open, with cliffs I could air and then make big turns out."

esterday's semi-final winner Fred Mooney of Winter Park, CO, came in second, and Walker Willey of Salt Lake City, UT, rounded out the men's podium in third.

The final award of the weekend, the 'Sickbird' award, is perhaps as coveted as the win. Awarded to the competitor who lays it all on the line, this year's Sickbird award was given to Chris Tatsuno of Sun Valley, ID, whose risky, aggressive skiing all weekend earned him the highest single-run score in yesterday's semi-finals, and made him the clear choice for the award.

The Finals were held in the lower section of Palmyra Peak - a huge venue that is rarely open to the public and had yet to be skied this year. After airing off the top cornice and through one of three short, bony chutes, competitors arced high-speed turns down Mountain Quail's wide open couloir.

The four-stop 2006 Subaru U.S. Freeskiing series opened with the Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Nationals at Snowbird, UT, and continues on to the Jackson Hole Freeskiing Open presented by Subaru in Jackson Hole, WY, and the Subaru North American Freeskiing Championships in Kirkwood, CA.

Along with U.S. Freeskiing Series title sponsor Subaru of America and host mountain Telluride Ski 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

FINAL DAY RESULTS- MOUNTAIN QUAIL - REVIEW

Women	Bib	First name	Last name	Home Mountain	Day 1	Run 1	Superfinal	Total
1	33	Carrie Jo	Chernoff	Crested Butte	68.6	30.8	28	127.4
2	56	Galena	Gleason	Telluride	57.6	28.8	27.6	114
3	8	Lynn	Kennen	Alpine Meadows	61	30	22.4	113.4
4	36	Tanya	Christensen	Crested Butte	54.2	29	29.8	113
5	31	Iris	Noack	Sliverthorne	56.2	33	20.8	110
6	50	Nancy	Elrod	Girdwood	56.2	27.6	26	109.8
7	43	Kim	Havell	Telluride	54.8	26.6	27	108.4
8	52	Michele	Manning	Alta	56.4	16.8	26.8	100
9	44	Katie	Williamson	Mammoth Lakes	56.4	18.4	0	74.8
Men	Bib	First name	Last name	Home Mountain	Day 1	Run 1	Superfinal	Total
1	9	Cliff	Bennett	Snowbird	65.4	37.2	35.2	137.8
2	12	Fred	Mooney	Winter Park	68	30.6	32.8	131.4
3	29	Walker	Willey	Salt Lake City	63	31.4	34.8	129.2
4	15	Robert W.	Gray Jr.	Sandy	61.8	30.4	36	128.2
5	49	Bill	Buchbauer	Telluride	62.6	31	32	125.6
6	30	Drew	Tabke	Alta	63.6	22.6	39.2	125.4
7	23	Forrest	Coots	Mt Shasta	62.8	29.4	31.2	123.4
8	18	Brandon	Wilkinson	The Canyons	66	23.6	28.6	118.2
9	17	Drew	Billington	Snowbird	67	19.2	29.8	116
10	16	Tyler	Knoles	Snowbird	57.6	33.8	24.4	115.8
11	58	Walker	Tatum	Telluride	59	25.6	26.2	110.8
12	51	Kris	Knockendoffel	Grand Junction	61.6	25.8	23	110.4
13	45	Garrett	Russell	Mammoth Lakes	60.6	28.2	18.4	107.2
14	48	Larry	Segal	Squaw Valley	57.6	28.4	16.4	102.4
15	4	Kenjiro	Matsuo	Tokyo/Alta	60.4	25.2	14.8	100.4
16	41	Devin	Carrick	Telluride	58.2	26.2		84.4
17	19	Todd	Francis	Park City	64.6	19.4		84
18	37	Doug	Evans	Louisville	56.2	27		83.2
19	13	Chris	Tatsuno	Sun Valley	56.6	22.6		79.2
20	20	David	Wintzer	Park City	55.6	21		76.6
21	3	Charlie	Gaylord	Snowmass	57	15.8		72.8
22	32	Ryan	Brennan	Telluride	57	13		70
23	25	Jared	Lynch-Gilbert	Alta	57.6	0		57.6

Telluride's First Freeski Competition

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

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Subaru Telluride Freeskiing Open, 2nd Stop of 2006 Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series, Set for March 2-5, 2006

Mountain Sports International (MSI) is proud to announce the inaugural Subaru Telluride Freeskiing Open, March 2-5, 2006, at the Telluride Ski Resort in Colorado. For the first time ever, over 100 of the world's top athletes will face Telluride?s challenging terrain to compete for a $7,500 prize purse and their shot at the overall Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series Title.

The Telluride Freeskiing Open is the second stop of the Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series, the premier Big Mountain competition series in North America with a $45,000 overall prize purse. The series opener at Snowbird, UT, exceeded all expectations, with huge crowds, record-breaking cliff drops, and an incredible level of competition.

Coming off of the heels of this event, the inaugural Subaru Telluride Freeskiing Open will be an event not to miss. Telluride will open terrain outside of the regular ski resort boundaries for the competition. The famed Palmyra Peak offers an incredible backdrop to competition as skiers explore untouched terrain below the Peak in the Review, Mountain Quail and Dihedral areas for the Finals and Super Finals.

Registration will be held on Thursday, March 2, followed by Round 1 on March 3. Roughly one-third of the 110 registered men and women will advance to the semi-finals and finals on March 4. Awards ceremonies and an after-party at Chair 8 conclude the weekend.

With over ten years of competition history around the globe, Big Mountain Freeskiing tests every aspect of a skier's ability. Given no predetermined course, athletes choose their own lines involving huge cliffs, steep slopes and tight chutes. Competitors are scored on degree of difficulty, control, technique, fluidity, and aggressiveness, with the combined total determining the event winner.

The four-stop 2006 Subaru U.S. Freeskiing series kicked off with the Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Nationals at Snowbird, UT, and continues on to the Jackson Hole Freeskiing Open presented by Subaru in Jackson Hole, WY, and the Subaru North American Freeskiing Championships in Kirkwood, CA.

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

Fat Tuesday In Telluride

J Dogg — Sun, 1 May 2005 00:00:00 -0400

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BY MARK LASSETER

After 12 days of rain late January in Whistler it was time to get a powder fix after not having a single one all season. Tired of getting photo after photo from friend Vince Boelema of the pounding storms in the San Juans, specifically in Telluride, it was time to head down there. It was off to be sleepless in Seattle arriving at 1 AM at the airport in my normal bench spot by the Starbucks to get the cheap flight at 6AM that flew right into Telluride via Phoenix, total convenience. This week was also Mardi Gras which is eventful in Telluride.

After meeting up for afternoon cocktails up on the hill and suffering from high altitude sickness, it was time to take some altitude pills and pass out on Vince's couch. An early wake up call the next day was in order as Vince was going to take me into Telluride's backcountry area known as Bear Creek. It was a perfect Bluebird day and only a 10 minute walk to the gondola from Vince's house through the cool small town of Telluride. The town of Telluride has maintained its' small town western feel with no franchises or other such businesses allowed to operate in Telluride.

After a straight boot pack up through the gate we were in Bear Creek. With many options from the top such as the easiest dropping straight in, Vince wanted to show off the surroundings so we traversed and side stepped up to the far side. Milking it for all it was worth, we took advantage of the wide open pitches and creamy snow with Vince showing off his special backyard.

Bear Creek also had to have some of the best scenery I have ever seen. After taking it all in and working our way down, we hooked up with some of T-ride's local freeride crew, behind some trees who were lining up a cliff. After the huck session it was time to ski down a pretty narrow chute and then down climb/side jump down an area called 'The Monkey Bars' to get out of Bear Creek. Aptly named due to the permanently kept ropes pegged into the approach above the sketchy descent over rocks, you really need to hold onto the ropes while exiting, definite p-tex job required after this descent.

The next day we were off to nearby Silverton (see Keeping it Smooth in San Juans Part 1) and on the drive back 2 nights later to Telluride it was puking the light fluffy stuff and knew that Tuesday morning would be indeed be a Fat Tuesday to remember. With 14 inches overnight, getting to the main lift at only 9:15 I thought I would be in store for a huge typical powder day lineup. But not in Telluride, there was only about 175 people there waiting in anticipation at Chair 4. Lucky again to be shown around by Vince we trashed and bashed our way through secret tree spots and timing chair openings at exactly the right time, which never had more than 5 minute waits anyways. The snow was the lightest and most consistent I had ever skied anywhere.

The whole town was going off in a frenzy on the hill this day, with hoots and hollers all while skiing and snowboarding with big Mardi Gras beads around their necks. At 3PM I got my biggest face shots of the day in a tucked away unmarked tree run located only as high as mid mountain. At 3:15 I had to beg Vince to stop as I was spent!

So of course to top off the perfect Tuesday it was off to the Half Moon bar for a nightcap and see Colorado's version of Porn Funk, 'Hairy Ape BMX'. The bar was going off with energy that had been brewing all day in town from the epic day and was amplified by the humorous and playful style of the band similar to Whistler's Slow Nerve Action and in addition sniping out the occasional rap vocals as well. 'Yo, yo its about the 3 P's. Had #1 on the hill today, enjoying # 2 as I dance the night away, later tonight hoping #3 will be laying next to me. Peace in the 970, word.'

DETAILS

www.telski.com

Season: Late November to April 3, 2005 Getting there: fly into Telluride (TEX) or Montrose (MTJ)

How to be cool: Combine a visit to Telluride with one to Silverton Mad props to Vince and Rachel and Ted Loehr at Telluride Ski Resort!