"If that's skiing like a girl, pass me the lipstick," announcer Dak said to the crowd of spectators at the base of Chainsaw Ridge after watching the women rip up yesterday's semi-finals.
And no less exciting was the men's comp, with the leaders tied and only three points separating the top nine guys.
With one day left to go in the Whistler/Blackcomb Canadian Freeskiing Championships, this was a day of big skiing and amazing turns, and Whistler local Jennifer Ashton leads the ladies with a score of 40 points. This is only the second time a woman has scored 40 out of the 50 possible points in an IFSA freeskiing event, the first being Switzerland's Francine Moreillon who scored the first 40 at last year's World Tour Finals in
Alaska, and set the women's scoring record.
Ashton took a bold run down a section of cliffs called The Handrail and not only nailed it, but also picked up a lost ski on the way down. The ski belonged to Linda Petersen, last year's World Tour champion from Alta/Snowbird, Utah, who fell attempting the same line. Petersen's fine, but her ski wasn't so lucky, suffering a core shot and a totally blown out edge.
Ashton totally flashed her line. Announcers Oak and Dak nominated her for the "Sickbird" award which goes to the skier who shows the most enthusiasm during the contest.
Past Sickbirds include Brian Swinson (who did a backflip off 80-foot Lobotomy Rock in Diamond Bowl last year), Francine Moreillon, Jared Mazlich, and Chuck White. Each day, Oak and Dak nominate one skier (man or woman) who they say is "willing to entertain and be the happiest dude on the mountain." Ashton just might get it this year, and she just might win the comp, too. We'll find out at the awards party.
Unfortunately, last year's winner, Charlotte Moats, was not able to start after she injured herself during the morning course inspection.
The men's competition was no less brutal and when all was said and done, France's Philou Troubat and Whistler's Hugo Harrison, last year's World Tour champion, are tied with 43 points each. And it's anyone's guess who will be runner-up with that unbelievably slim three-point spread between the next nine guys (as opposed to the nearly 10-point spread separating the top eight women).
"We were just about to get on the T-bar when it derailed, and we had to boot it all the way up...."
The wind was ripping so hard during the contest, it shut down the 7th Heaven chairlift. With about half of the men yet to ski, they were forced to go up a different lift and then, to top it off, the T-bar — the only remaining way to get to the start gate on Chainsaw Ridge — derailed. This ultimately left competitors with just one way to get to the top — hike.
"We were just about to get on the T-bar when it derailed and we had to boot it all the way up," said Alta's Chris Paulding, who still managed to make it into the top-10 despite being tired before he even started his run. The accompanying photos don't do justice to just how hard the wind was blowing, though they do give some indication.
So far event organizer Mountain Sports International (MSI) has not needed to call a weather day and every event has gone off, on schedule and with not a single logistical nightmare. From the looks of the forecast, it appears clear enough for the finals to take place today as planned.
The suspense is killing us. More to come.
—
Michelle Quigley Pearson, MountainZone.com Staff
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Check out the Sickbird video.
