Freeskiing World Tour | Snowbird Gallery
There is only one way to describe the skiing that went down at Snowbird for the Freeskiing World Tour, mind blowing! The sport saw a huge progression this past weekend. The conditions were less than ideal, but that didn’t slow down the competitors. Day one went down on the famous Silver Fox run of Snowbird. The mid section of the run was more like a huge bump run. “Who knows what I’m going to do, it all depends on where the moguls send me,” said Scotty McBrayer when asked his plan for his run.
You really couldn’t ask for better weather for the two days of competition, clear blue skies with temperatures in the mid 50’s. You would have thought you were at a beach looking down on all the spectators. Bbq’s, swimsuit tops, umbrellas, beer and TONS of cheering. As everyone sat warm in the sun, us photographers and videographers sat cold in the shade.
To make it on to the finals it was critical to stay on your feet. However, many competitors that very fell didn’t make it. The competition was so tight you had to bring your best skiing to the game.
Fans came out in droves for the final day of the 2009 Subaru US Freeskiing Nationals (USFN) at Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort, Utah. The second stop on the 2009 Freeskiing World Tour (FWT), 59 athletes qualified for the final day on North Baldy and two long time FWT competitors finally stood atop the podium. Crystal Wright of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and Julien Lopez of La Plagne, France, are the 2009 USFN Champions. Mountain Sports International “Ninja” (operations team member) Dex Mills of Crested Butte, Colorado, is the coveted 2009 Backcountry.com Sickbird Champion.
The North Baldy venue is approximately a 1,700-vertical-foot drop with a sustained pitch of 40-degrees, reaching 60-degrees in several spots leaving no room for mistakes. A total of 19 women got a shot at the expansive terrain for their first run of the day, but several fell victim to the variable conditions and only seven advanced to the Super Final.
Crystal Wright flashed both runs, executing an extremely impressive air and straight-line through rocks, holding onto her speed and earning two Backcountry.com Sickbird nominations. Wright’s consistency and fluidity throughout the weekend earned her the top spot and her first FWT victory. Wright also leads the total points’ standings going into the third stop. Emily Teague of Telluride, Colorado, moved into second position after the first run and held her position through the Super Final. Leah Evans of Red Mountain, British Columbia, rounded out the podium.
“This is amazing,” said 2009 USFN women’s Champion Crystal Wright. “I’ve been so close, so many times and it’s just so emotional and exciting to finally win. Words can’t describe. And with two Sickbird nominations, this is just the best day ever.”
A total of 40 men reached the final day starting in reverse order of the finish from day one. While the back of the pack hung it out there in an effort to make it to the Super Final cut, numerous were caught by the punchy conditions and several big names were knocked out of contention. A total of 16 skiers emerged from the first run to advance to the Super Final with Julien Lopez sitting on top. Consistency and fluidity paved the way and Lopez who boosted two huge back flips in his runs, skied fast and fluid, nailing each landing, earning two Sickbird nominations and the overall win.
“I did back flips because the people love it,” said 2009 USFN men’s Champion Julien Lopez. “It’s my first time winning a World Tour event. It means so much to me because this is a big comp. I won this for my friend Adrien Coirier.”