TELE STEPS UP

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If you think telemarking is a mellow facet of skiing reserved for backcountry access and stylie turns, you should have been at Alpine Meadows’ Telemark Freeskiing Championships February 25-27. Lines comparable to most any big mountain competition went down in AlpineMeadows’ Keyhole area, the venue of steeps, rocks, and cliffs the competitive playground for a cadre of extremely talented freeheelers who went huge, vying for titles and purses on this year’s tele tour.

Keyhole is loaded with the features that make a competition judge’s impressions hard to score, given the number of complex lines that could be put down. But it was easy to declare a winner after watching Dylan Crossman slay every bump, chute, and cliff put in front of him. Crossman notched another comp in his resume of wins at Alpine, a record that includes taking the Crested Butte Telemark Extremes twice in the past. Judged by standards set forth by the International Free Skiing Association, scores were awarded based on line selection, technique, fluidity, control and aggressiveness. Recreational skiers on the slopes watched and hooted in amazement. They could view the venue from runs and chairs as insane lines were sent through precarious routes that often included ski-width wide chutes with mandatory airs on steeps littered with rock hazards and no-fall zones.

The two day event, produced by Tough Guy Productions of Vail and sponsored by Atomic, started and ended with Mad River Glen’s Dylan Crossman running head-to-head against Sam Fox of Durango. Fox took the first day of competition by stunning the crown with a 50 foot front flip, but Crossman’s impressively perfect final performance cinched the title after Fox stumbled on landing his final air off rocks on day two.

Combined with a Slopestyle jam that preceeded the freeskiing event, the weekend showcased the progression of telemark freeskiing as flips, spins, and huge airs demonstrated the technical abilities of these freeheel athletes.

Final standings for the Alpine Meadows Telemark Freeskiing Championships

Women’s Division

1. Brie Pike-Sprenger
2. Taiga Young
3. Anna Higgins

Men’s Division

1. Dylan Crossman
2. Sam Fox
3. Dave Stratton

The 9th Annual US Extreme Telemark Freeskiing Championships will be held on March 25-27 in Crested Butte. For more information check out www.toughguyproductions.com

CHECK OUT THE SLOPESTYLE GALLERY