2002 Molson Canadian Freeskiing Semifinal
Pierre-Yves Le Blanc Goes Big To Smoke Day 1
Rossland, BC, Canada - February 23, 2002
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Yesterday's rain turned to snow, dropping temperatures overnight, leaving a skiff of powder on top of a crunchy and hardening base. Visibility from the top cornice to the judging tower at the bottom of the run was intermittent all day, causing a few delays during men's competition and halting the women's for over two hours before both finally concluded near sundown. But, the show went on. And it was quite a show at that — Big lines, big air, and a few really big crashes.
The Lynx Line offers competitors a number of possibilities, including a cornice drop-in to start or a traverse to a technical rock band culminating in some sweet air for those with the gonads. Below the top rock band, the run fans out into a high-speed bowl and a central funnel riddled with rock hummocks. Trees on skier's right opened up to some testy lines with drops and cliffs culminating in a high-speed run-out to the finish.
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"I was flying backwards through the air for
a long time and I just kept thinking, 'please hit, please hit...'" — Ryan Connelly, on the fall that took his tooth. |
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He simply did everything right," said Judge Edith Rosza, "he picked a difficult line that he could ski well, and he was in absolute control throughout."
Only one other skier, Andrew Radford of Lake Louise, scored in the 30s (30.4). Peter Velisek of Whitewater finished 3rd in 28.6.
Red Mountain's James Heim proved yesterday's qualifying win was no fluke. Skiing fast and fluid and tossing serious air, Heim sits tied for 5th with a score of 27.0.
As in all freeskiing comps, these great runs were peppered with a few memorable crashes. Ryan Connelly of Whistler flashed the top section and came into the bowl very hot, easily reaching the highest speeds of the day. Too fast, it turned out. He launched off a rock and couldn't deal with the Gs, kissing down once and flailing backwards.
"I was flying backwards through the air for a long time," he said, "and I just kept thinking, "please hit, please hit." And he did, spanking hard, cartwheeling and ragdolling into a crumpled heap. His front tooth was dislodged from the inside out and his gum was split with a bloody faultline. Of his skiing, Connelly commented, "aggressiveness has never been an issue for me. It's controlling it that's a problem."
Judges, starters, and Red Mountain ski patrol all pushed light to the limit and the final hours finally saw the end of the women's event.
Weather forced a sporadic women's comp, but fortunately all competitors got to make their runs. After only two skiers, fog roiled up the mountain and shut down visibility for over an hour. Eventually a small window opened up and a few more skiers went, then, with seven skiers remaining, it closed again. They stood on top of the cornice hopping around trying to stay warm.
Ingrid Backstrom of Squaw Valley, CA, took honors in front of the 17 who started, logging a very respectable 24.2. Right behind her, in 2nd, was Kit DesLauriers (23.6) of Jackson Hole, WY. run.
"I scouted my line carefully and nailed it," DesLauriers said. "I picked a techy line up top and didn't change it, hit all my marks, and skied with a balance of aggressiveness and difficult line."
Lee Anne Patterson, of Whistler, finished 3rd with a score of 21.8. Eleven of the top 17 women move on to the finals at Mt. Roberts Sunday. They will ski first, followed by the 29 men who moved on.
Sunday, weather permitting, everyone will finally get what they came here for — big mountain skiing on Red's version — Mt. Roberts. Cliffs, chutes, and glades are there for the taking, and skiers will need to employ what they should have learned today: line is everything.
Said J.D. Thompson of Alpental, WA, currently in 11th, "tomorrow is going to be about billygoating, and the best billygoat should win."
— Buddy Levy, MountainZone.com Correspondent
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