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Squaw Valley US Freeskiing Open Results

J Dogg — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 00:50:18 -0500

Rating

Competitive big mountain freeskiers pushed the limits Friday at the Subaru Squaw Valley USA Freeskiing Open while crowds of sun-drenched spectators indulged in the top-shelf performance. Athletes took turns negotiating The Headwall’s ominous vertical playground of wind-buffed stashes, cliffs, and chimney-wide chutes for what became a tit-for-tat showdown that lasted through the entire day’s final rounds.

Elyse Saugstad of Alyeska, Alaska, won the women’s title with a total of 97.51 points, with Squaw Valley’s Allie Donovan taking second with 92.26 points, and Crested Butte, Colorado’s Tanya Christensen claiming third place with 89.14 points.

The men’s competition was an explosive line-up of powerhouse skiing, unexpected backflips, and plenty of crowd-pleasing air time as skiers sent themselves into flight over 80-foot rock faces.

Kirkwood, California’s Craig Garbiel claimed victory, sticking several extremely technical line choices and blowing the judges away with a series of perfectly executed multi-hit cliff drops, garnering 115.01 points. On his heels were Mt. Bachelor, Oregon’s Jesse Bryan with 110.76 points and Bryce Newcomb of Sun Valley, ID, who put in a hard-charging performance to earn third place, with 110.63 total points.

“Squaw Valley is always a great stop on the tour, the new talent just pours out of the woodwork here,” said Dak Williams, event MC and MSI’s Director of Winter Sports Group. “Today was an exceptional event, with everyone pushing each other to the max.”

The women’s Finals round started the day on a high note, as Squaw Valley’s big mountain female legend Jamie Burge unleashed her toolbox of skills, airplane-turning down the upper section, and sweeping into the corner pocket of JT’s face before perfectly negotiating a dodgy double-cliff drop line. Her impressive performance failed to intimidate her competitors, as one after another, the women ripped arcs down The Headwall’s face and cleared gaping elevator drops.

“It was pretty unnerving standing up at the top and seeing just how much everyone was going for it,” said event champion Saugstad, “As it came down to it, I just took a deep breath and did what I knew I was capable of. I wanted to ski an aggressive line, but to also ski smart. It worked out to stick to my game plan.”

Griffin Post, winner of last week’s Subaru Telluride Freeskiing Open, laid it all on the line with unique, technical line choices and soaring airs in finals to win the coveted Tobias Lee Memorial Sick Bird Award.

“After I ran into some trouble with my first run, I had nothing to lose going into today,” explained Post. “Sitting in 13th spot, I had a lot of work to do if I wanted to climb back up the ladder, so I just put it all on the line.”

MSI will be post comprehensive same-day video coverage of the final rounds 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.

STAY TUNED AS THE SUBARU U.S. FREESKIING SERIES TRAVELS TO CRESTED BUTTE, COLORADO, NEXT WEEK FOR THE LONGEST RUNNING EXTREME FREESKIING CONTEST IN THE SPORT’S HISTORY.

DON’T MISS LIVE SAME-DAY COVERAGE OF THE FINAL ROUNDS ON WWW.USFREESKIING.COM

Coirier & Burge Win at Squaw

J Dogg — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 00:49:57 -0500

Rating

OK so we're a bit slow on this one, but the Freeskiing Comp at Squaw wrapped up on the weekend and here's the full meal deal... story, photos, videos...

The inaugural Subaru Squaw Valley USA Freeskiing Open took place this week under gorgeous, sunny skies and mild conditions in the Enchanted Forest and Cornice II areas of Squaw Valley USA. After receiving over three feet of snow prior to the contest, snow conditions were excellent and competitors put on an amazing show accordingly. After two extraordinarily exciting days of skiing, Adrien Coirier of Les Arcs, France and Squaw Valley's Jamie Burge came out on top of the stacked international field. Due to good weather, Mountain Sports International (MSI) was able to include a super-finals run for the top six women and top 10 men.

Watch the HIGHLIGHTS VIDEO>>>

Watch the SICKBIRD AWARD GIVING>>>

Watch the TOP 2 MEN VIDEO>>>

Sitting in first position going into this morning’s run, freeskiing legend and ski movie regular Jamie Burge solidified her lead on the women’s field with an extremely easy looking, smooth and aggressive first run which included a 20-foot cliff drop. Burge went into her second run six points ahead of Jess McMillan of Jackson Hole, WY. With such a commanding lead, Burge could have taken it easy, yet she chose another technical line with lots of rock exposure which sealed her fate as winner of the first ever Subaru Squaw Valley USA Freeskiing Open. The remaining top six women who advanced to the finals were Jess McMillan, Katharine Lange, Kate Olson, Emily Turner and Molly Baker. They remained in that finish order after the super-finals.

“I love Squaw Valley, I ski here everyday,” said Subaru Squaw Valley USA Freeskiing Open women’s champion Jamie Burge. “I still compete because competitions are great, they really make you push yourself. It forces you to step it up and be competitive and its fun. You get to see everybody. I’m so honored to represent Squaw today and win this!”

After Thursday’s qualifier round only 8.6 points separated all 32 men who advanced, so it was almost anyone’s game to win or lose going into today’s finals. First run stand-outs included: Ben Wheeler’s fast, smooth run, which incorporated a 15-foot cliff drop to a straight line; Kevin O’Meara whose gigantic, perfectly executed double drop off the top section of the venue won him a Sickbird nomination; Craig Garbiel’s fast, aggressive airs and impressive gap-jump; and Adrien Coirier, recent winner of the Subaru Telluride Freeskiing Open, whose hesitation-free, beautifully executed run catapulted him into first place going into the super-finals.

In true Squaw Valley fashion, the super-finals on Friday began with Squaw locals, and skiing legends, Daron Rahlves and Gunner Newquist forerunning the venue. The two put on a spectacle, skiing together in unison, straight-lining the entire top portion of the venue and airing a 25-foot cliff near the bottom.

The men’s super-finals will go down as being one of the best in Freeskiing history. Nine of the 16 men who advanced to the super-finals were nominated for the Sickbird award for their antics. Cliff Bennett of Snowbird, UT, in fourth after today’s first run, had an incredible second run, nailing each and every aspect he hit, launching him to second position overall. Kevin O’Meara of Squaw Valley USA was sitting in second place going into the super-final, but was knocked back to eighth overall when he did a somersault upon landing a double drop. He did, however receive his third Sickbird nomination of the competition. Adrien Corier of Les Arcs, France, who was just over two points ahead of O’Meara going into the finals, skied impossibly fast and nailed a huge straight-line with two 20-foot cliffs throughout the middle of the venue. He ended up winning the competition by nearly ten points. Coirier now leads the overall point’s standings for the Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series.

“I have been working so hard for this,” said Subaru Squaw Valley USA Freeskiing Open men’s champion Adrien Coirier. “I was running out of money before the winter because I spent all my money in the summer training for this. Today the skiing was just like my mountains in France, it was really good snow and the line I did was exactly what I like to ski. It was perfect and I’m so happy to have won another event.”

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 Squaw Valley's Kevin O’Meara, who was nominated more than any other athlete, at this stop of the tour, 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. This stop’s winner was 21-year-old Brady Smedsrud of Red Lodge Mtn, MT.

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 in three weeks at the 10th Anniversary of the Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Nationals at Snowbird, UT. Additional stops to the U.S. Freeskiing Series, which has grown from four stops to five in 2007, include the Subaru Jackson Hole Freeskiing Open at Jackson Hole, WY, the Subaru North American Freeskiing Championships at Kirkwood, CA and past tour stop the Subaru Telluride Freeskiing Open.

Watch the HIGHLIGHTS VIDEO>>>

Watch the SICKBIRD AWARD GIVING>>>

Watch the TOP 2 MEN VIDEO>>>

For more information, photos, results, videos log onto www.usfreeskiing.com

Innaugural Squaw Freeskiing Open

J Dogg — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 00:26:58 -0500

Rating

The newest addition to the Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series, the Subaru Squaw Valley USA Freeskiing Open is set to host competitors from around the globe, including Canada, U.S.A., Argentina, Sweden and France - Feb 14 - 17, 2007.

The best freeskiers in the world will battle it out for $7,500 with the men’s and women’s overall U.S. Freeskiing Tour point leaders taking home $2,500 each. Over 60 men and 20 women are scheduled to compete at the Subaru Squaw Valley USA Freeskiing Open including freeskiing champions Carrie Jo Chernoff, Lynn Kennen, Jaime Burge on the women’s side and Cliff Bennett, Kiffor Berg and Tyson Bolduc on the men’s.

“Squaw is the perfect venue for a freeskiing contest; awesome terrain, great access, and perfect spectating spots. Not to mention, the local talent is unbelievable,” said former U.S. Freeskiing Champion and Squaw Valley USA local Ingrid Backstrom. “I can't wait to see everyone going off!"

With 34 lifts accessing six peaks, 4000 acres of terrain, three terrain parks and endless possibilities, Squaw Valley USA is a must experience on any snow sports enthusiasts’ list. Host to the 1960 Winter Games, Squaw Valley USA is a legendary mountain with breathtaking views, unrivalled terrain and activities that include cross country skiing, dog sledding, rock climbing, tubing and more. High Camp, elevation 8,200 feet offers an array of dining choices as well as the Olympic Ice Pavilion and free form pool and spa. The new European style pedestrian Village at Squaw Valley USA offers extended dining and shopping choices. Join us at Squaw Valley USA for world-renowned terrain, world-class amenities and this incredible display or freeskiing prowess.

“Squaw’s terrain, reputation and the caliber of athletes that call this mountain home makes Squaw a perfect fit to host the Subaru Freeskiing Open,” said Squaw Valley USA Director of Marketing Christine Horvath. “We are so pleased to welcome this event to our mountain and can’t wait to see what Squaw can bring out in the competitors.”

New in 2007, MSI will be posting same-day video broadcasts on the newly redesigned usfreeskiing.com (new site set to go live first week of February), 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.

Additional Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series tour stops include the Subaru Telluride Freeskiing Open, at Telluride Ski Resort, CO, the Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Nationals at Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort, UT, the Subaru Jackson Hole Freeskiing Open at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, WY, and the Subaru North American Freeskiing Championships at Kirkwood Mountain Resort, CA.