The Freeskiing competition season has begun... with the Ledcor Canadian Open Freeskiing Championships at Red Resort, BC. Some well-deserved Whistler and Fernie shredders took top honours - here's the dirt:

Qualifiers
Thursday’s qualifier on Lynx Line was all about line score. In the days prior to the competition, wind scoured the notoriously mogul ridden line under the chair to a smooth fast carpet. To qualify, it wasn’t enough to ski a flawless line, competitors had to milk everything out of the run, upping their line score to help them rise to the top and qualify for the semi-finals on Mt. Roberts. With no pre-qualified athletes and everyday’s score counting towards the final standings, Lynx line qualifiers was a critical day. 80 men were widdled down to 35 and 23 women were cut to 12. Crystal Lee, Dana Carmichael, and MC Larivee were 1-2-3 for the women: a strong showing for Whistler women (current and alumni). The top men were Oakley White-Allen, Ross Janzen, and Justin Modroo.

Mt Roberts, day 2 & 3 venue.

 

Semi-finals

The semi finals took place on Mount Roberts, a slack-country venue facing Red Resort and accessible only by hiking or snowmobile. This venue is 1700ft of steep skiing, with enough features and cliffs to give this World Class group of competitors plenty to keep them busy. Conditions didn’t disappoint; the wind hadn’t missed Roberts and the venue was fast and punchy. Lots of good snow to edge into and the hard landings didn’t discourage anybody, especially Christian Boucher who stomped the s*&t out of every air to flat in his line. His line stood out amongst this deep field of competitors earning him top spot on the day, followed by Oakley White-Allen of Whistler and Brady Smesrud of Montana.

Mt Roberts Upper Section

Finals

The final day of competition was “Round Two Rumble on Roberts” with skiers right being opened up to competitors. Given the competition format, the competition could go to anybody and there was plenty of opportunity for competitors to carve out their place in history. A crash or a bobble could change the outcome of the competition. The leaders had to ski smart to protect their leads.

 

Those lower on the ranks could afford to just giv’r. This was competition at its finest.

In the women’s field Janina Kuzma earned 32 points (enough for 4^th place on the day overall), and took the competition, Crystal Wright held on to second place, and Crystal Lee skied a solid line to move up from the bottom of the finalists to third place.

 

The men’s field also saw a shake-up after the final day. Joel Jacques skied consistently on Roberts and moved from 4^th to earn 2^nd spot. Brett Crabtree skied his best line of the competition moving from 9^th to 3^rd place. Brett skied an unconventional entrance into his final run which I can only describe as “rocky, billygoaty, cliffy, gnar”…good on ya buddy! First place went to Christian Boucher of Pemberton (shown above) who skied another flawless line, throwing down big and skiing fast.

Spectators taking in the action and...er...keeping warm.

 

 

Summary

The 2007 Canadian Open Freeskiing Championships is widely considered one of the best competitions on the circuit because of the venue, the depth of competitors, and the professionalism with which it is run. This year was no disappointment. El Capitain Jack Carry, competition director, had the competitors moving through the event like clockwork. Jeff Holden and his panel of judges showed professionalism and were accessible and up-front about scoring and results. The 2007 Canadian Open Freeskiing Championships was presented by the Ledcor Group and supported by Kokanee, K2, Australian Wool Innovation Ltd., Skier BC, Mountain FM, Biglines.com, and Gore. Thanks to these companies for supporting freeskiing. And don't forget to find out more about the wicked venue - Red Resort - if you aren't already obsessed with this awesome place and aching to return. 

 

Mens Final Results

Bib # Competitor City Thurs Friday Sat Final Score

1st 73 BOUCHER Christian Whistler 33.80 42.8 42 118.6

2nd 47 JACQUES Joel Whistler 32.00 39.8 40 111.8

3rd 32 CRABTREE Brett Whistler 28.00 34.2 41.4 103.6

4th 111 WHITE-ALLEN Oakley Whistler 34.60 38.6 30 103.2

5th 34 SMESRUD Brady Red Lodge, MT 31.40 41.2 27.2 99.8

 

Ladies Final Results

Bib # Competitor City Thurs Friday Sat Final Score

1st 18 KUZMA Janina Fernie 22.8 37 32 91.8

2nd 4 WRIGHT Crystal Wilson, WY 23 26.8 28.2 78

3rd 13 LEE Crystal-Rose Whistler 27.8 16.8 26.2 70.8

4th 2 CARMICHAEL Dana Whistler 24.4 25.2 20.8 70.4

5th 24 HUNT Phillipa Salt Lake City, UT 22.4 24.6 18.4 65.4

6th 105 GAUVIN Steph Rossland 21.4 23.6 20.2 65.2

Sunset from Roberts