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Crabtree and Ashton Win Crested Butte Competition

J Dogg — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 21:16:26 -0500

Rating

Whistler ruled it in Crested Butte this week. Whistler shredders and Doglotion friends Brett Crabtree and Jen Ashton both won the competition! Yeeeeeehooooo. Nicely done guys, way to send it. Here is the update from MSI...

For only the fourth time in the 17-year history of the Subaru U.S. Extreme Freeskiing Championships (USEFC), Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) allowed competitors to take full advantage of the record-breaking snowfall. CBMR Pro Patrollers dropped the ropes on the (usually off limits) vertical, cliff-strewn ‘Big Hourglass’ venue to today’s finalists and super finalists.

Jen Ashton of Whistler, BC, showcased her classic powerhouse form through the finals and super finals to dominate the women’s field. This approach kept her on the top of the women’s podium with a final score of 93.00. Colby Adams of Breckenridge, CO, finished second with 89.00 points, and Hannah Whitney of Alta, UT rounded out the podium with 79.25 points.

“I was really nervous this morning,” Ashton reflected. “I tried to keep my focus on how fun this was going to be, not how daunting the course was…there are so many exposures on this venue, from huge rocks to tree roots, not to mention how outright steep it is. I just tried to put the demons out of my mind and focus on keeping it fun.”

With CBMR’s natural amphitheater at the base of the venue packed with roaring spectators, the men’s field got underway with finals action that included 30 of the best in the world putting it all on the line.

Coming into today’s finals in the hot seat, Dane Tudor of Red Mountain, BC, gave no slack on his lead, flawlessly skiing through a chain of waterfall leaps, before blowing the crowd away with a massive launch across ‘Gary’s Gap’, a terrain feature never before successfully landed in competition. Hot on his heels, the world class field of athletes pushed each other to the limit, skiing seemingly impossible lines with aggressiveness and style.

“This is just simply unbelievable skiing, there is no other way to put it,” exclaimed Eric “H” Baumm, USEFC Event Director. “The bar just keeps getting raised higher with these guys, and to have this much snow to work with just means they keep going bigger and better every run.”

The super finals kept everyone’s eyes glued skyward as the exclusive group of 10 final men’s competitors took center stage. Today’s undisputed Sick Bird Award winner, Kiffor Berg (Aspen, CO) sent a shockwave through the crowd in his Super Finals run, after lining up to an 80+ foot drop, smirking at his skis, and dropping in for the long flight, skiing away to the delight of every witness.

Ultimately, it was Brett Crabtree of Whistler, BC’s clean skiing and perfect landings which earned him one of the most coveted titles in freeskiing, taking the title with 112 points. Cliff Bennett of Snowbird, UT, claimed second place with 110.99 points, and Dane Tudor of Whistler, BC, finished third with 110.75 points

“I just kept it straight-up,” said Crabtree. “I wanted to stick my landings with no room for second-guessing. I felt so solid all day, just on it.”

The North Face Young Gun award, which rewards a single under 21-year-old competitor who shined throughout the competition, was awarded twice at the 2008 USEFC. The first went to Dane Tudor with the second going to Colby Adams, both only 18 years old, and both taking second place respectively.

Nancy Elrod of Squaw Valley, CA, took top honors in the women’s Masters category with 66.58 points, followed by Michelle Keener of Big Sky, MT, in second with 62.15, and Teri Siebert of Vail, CO, in third with 44.48 points. The men’s Masters was led by Scott Kennett of Telluride, CO, with 83.83 points, Marc Schllhorn of Crested Butte, CO, in second with 77.5, and Tim Naylor of Taos, NM, in third with 70.33 total points.

MSI will broadcast same-day video webcast starting at 7pm MST tonight on the newly redesigned and recently launched www.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>>>

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CB Final Results.pdf	55.62 KB

Copper Hosts The Jeep U.S. Freeskiing Open

J Dogg — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 22:25:39 -0500

Rating

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.

Keeping it Smooth in the San Juans - Silverton

J Dogg — Sat, 05 Mar 2005 00:00:00 -0500

Rating

Submitted by Mark Lasseter Photos: Mark Lasseter & Vince Boelema

After getting over altitude sickness, scoping the local scene in Telluride, Colorado, and grooving to a local funk band, it was time for Vince Boelema and I to make the 2 hour journey across the pass to Silverton. Silverton Mountain, one of the newer resorts in Colorado at only 3 years old is located in the San Juan mountain range 2 hours from Telluride Ski Resort and about 1.5 hours from Montrose airport.

The sleepish town of Silverton is about as 'small town USA' as you can get with only 500 people, 1 bar, 1 main street, 1 school for all ages, and of course the most important part of this town... 1 ski resort, 1 lift. Luckily we were able to meet up with local friend Alex Hunt who put us up for the weekend. Unfortunately Alex wouldn't be joining us on the hill, still showing off his bulky leg cast courtesy of some unexpected Las Lenas slough and Argentina's dodgy medicine. Instead the first stop was Silverton's only real watering hole, the Explorer Bar.

After downing some Pabst Blue Ribbons, we let the horde of guys peer at the 3 girls in the bar as we stumbled home to get ready for the next day of skiing at Silverton. The bar The hustle bustle at the base area. Owned, founded and operated by locals Aaron and Jen Ader Brill, they thrive on the fact that the ski resort is run by skiers for skiers/snowboarders and not by a large golf or real estate corporation. Environmental impact, safety for employees and guests having a truly unique backcountry skiing/snowboarding experience go hand in hand here. Aaron and Jen are often found on the mountain themselves; guiding, patrol prepping, and manning the lift.

Yep, it may have only one lift, but it's anything but small. The lift and hiking will get you to up to 4053 m above some awesome terrain, with a limit of only 80 people to share it with. Hike to the billboard area The next morning we were among those few lucky skiers, and on our drive to the resort, the school bus high snow banks engulfing the road gave us a hint of what awaited. Gearing up in the morning, we couldn't help but notice that Silverton's logo is a skier falling off of a cliff... interesting. Assured it wouldn't be us, we registered and headed up the chaird with Stan our guide.

Our group of 5 started on our first run simply doing an easy 2 minute traverse over to a wide open powder field, this was too easy I thought. Stan told us to stay left of his track and went ahead, followed by myself, Vince and the 3 others, milking every turn as we went. It was a great taste of fresh and light San Juan powder until we hit the drainage area and traversed out of the resort through the woods, ending up on the side of a nearby road. Luckily there was a small shuttle bus waiting for us and another group that had just popped out of the woods joined us for the ride back to the lift. The rest of the runs were as equally entertaining, and the required 15-35 minute hikes for each run were well worth it.

Our 2nd run was a great challenging tree run with optional small cliffs and log drops throughout. Knee deep powder on a constant steep pitch ensured faceshots from top to bottom, followed by another road, another shuttle. This time with no driver, but hey, Stan had a key and got us back to the lift as our withered legs rested for another run. Our last run was the topped it off, hiking towards the area known as the billboard and towards the highest peak. Vince and I hop turned our way down this steep chute until we opened it up into a smooth creamy powder field. We thanked Stan and Jen for a great day while enjoying a PBR in true Silverton apres style in the tent at the makeshift Silverton bar. Uh, the Superbowl was today? No one had mentioned it. While Superbowl Sunday entranced over 100 million other Americans, I guess everyone at Silverton was there to ski.

I spent the night in Silverton and met up Monday morning for breakfast with locals Doug, Skylar, and Barney who I'd met in Las Lenas last summer. I had no way to get back to Telluride so Barney and Stan (our guide from the day before) offered to drive me to Telluride as it was enroute to a tour they had planned at Red Mountain Pass. Exhausted and happy to score a ride, I waited in the car as they skinned up to harvest the waist deep tree runs on Red Mountain Pass.

They made it back to the car super stoked and we were off. We stopped in the town of Ouray to sample the town's sweet hot springs. YOU MUST DO THIS IF GOING TO SILVERTON! The one place we went to even had these cool vapor caves, super dry and hot and really clean. The rest of the drive was challenging as it was storming. The crew dropped me off at Vince's house in Telluride and it was time for much needed sleep as 30 cms apparently had fallen that evening in Telluride.

Tuesday morning was going to be epic! (see part 2 Telluride Fat Tuesday coming soon).

Skier: Mike Barney

DETAILS

Silverton is open until late April and this season there is skiing in May and June upon request due to the large amount of snow, just email the resort. There is also great touring near Silverton and a ton of snow everywhere right now. Before arriving you need to reserve a spot on line, or give them a call. 1 Day Lift Pass $120 USD Telephone: 970-387-5706

info@silvertonmountain.com

www.silvertonmountain.com

The video on the site says it all...