After the qualifying round yesterday, a field of 85 skiers was whittled down to four women and 17 men in the Whistler/Blackcomb Canadian Freeskiing Championships. Those athletes who qualified have the chance to compete in this season's first Freeskiing World Tour event. If anybody is wondering where the most passionate skiers are right now, they're at Whistler/Blackcomb. This generation of freeskiers is bold. They're here to demonstrate their ability on some of the most difficult terrain tucked into the fringe areas of Blackcomb Mountain.
So far, two days of quals have taken place on The Bite and Ruby Bowl, respectively. This was the first time Ruby has been used as a venue for this competition. The qualifying athletes were begging for stiff terrain and they got it. Their passion is phenomenal and if it's any indication of what's ahead, these skiers are wound up tight, and they're waiting to bust loose on the mountain in the real deal which starts today. Those who skied in the qualifiers are working extra hard this week for the chance to win.
"The wind was whipping at about 60mph up on the ridge. I just wanted to get down..."
The women kicked off the day under snowy skies. Flat light made visibility challenging, but Laura Ogden, from Crystal Mountain, Washington, led four women, who will join other pre-qualified female skiers, in the semi-finals. Claire Tribe, Asia Jenkins and Jenna Funston also made the cut.
Childhood friends Moss Patterson and Ryan Oakden, who finished 1st and 2nd, respectively, dominated the men's quals. After growing up together in eastern Canada (their parents were high school friends), Moss coaxed Ryan to move to interior British Columbia to ski. Now Moss lives in Nelson and Ryan lives in nearby Fernie, and they slapped high fives at the end of their runs today as they moved into the semi-finals. Whistler local Mike Stevenson finished 3rd, and "The Mayor" Jim Jack, who just moved his homebase from Alta, Utah, to Stevens Pass, Washington, qualified 4th.
By the time the top qualifying men were ready for their second run today, high winds and blowing snow added an extra challenge.
"I couldn't see anything. The wind was whipping at about 60mph up on the ridge. I just wanted to get down," Moss said. Yesterday he threw a backflip off a medium-sized kicker in the middle of the course. Today, he made it down past exposed cliffs in next to no visibility with the best run of the day (the last 10 men in the line-up had the same conditions). They each give new meaning to "skiing by Braille."
Other amazing feats included Taos' Mike Holmquist's run. One of his skis came off above a steep, rocky exposed ridge. The unmanned ski slid down about 30 feet, coming to rest on a thin ledge halfway down the face. He made a few turns down the sketchy section on one ski, arrived at the runaway, clicked right in, and then he skied off. But good ski karma unfortunately didn't get him into one of the top-17 for semi-finals.
It's far from over yet.
In the next few days, the skiers will have to increase their mental focus and control as they move to progressively more challenging areas, with steeper terrain, more exposure, and more choices of what types of lines to ski. They're amped. It's going to be good. Stay tuned.
—
Michelle Quigley Pearson, MountainZone.com Staff
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