The Relentless Quest

Freeskiing World Tour at Snowbird – Damn!

[ 0 ] March 24, 2010 | Meesh

Word and Photos by Julie Weinberger. JulieWPhoto.com

The final stop of the 2010 Freeskiing World Tour hit Snowbird this past weekend for the World Championships. After three days of quallies, the skies cleared and bluebird was the name of the game.

Day 1 took place on the famed Silver Fox venue. Over 100 competitors skied the crap out of the venue. Spinning was the name of the game, as nearly half the men got tricky in there runs. On the women’s side, Claudia Bouvier took her park background to the big mountain scene, throwing a super lofty 3. Aside from that, the usual big airs and clever lines held down the top spots. When all was said and done, Collinson and Drew Stoecklein had the lead going into second day.

Day 2 took place on North Baldy, a face littered with cliffs, spines and jumps. It seemed like half the skiers got Sickbird nominations, showing just how high the level of shredding was. Nick Greener got the award sending the biggest air of the day. Matt Luczkow threw a cork 7 in the middle of the venue off the kicker Wiley Miller and a few others shaped during inspection. Tons of back flips and 3s were also tossed off this. Crystal Wright made the most impressive move from Day 1 to 2, going from 8th place to 2nd with super fast, technical skiing.

Jackson’s Jacqui Edgerly and Griffin Post, who lead the tour overall points, unfortunately went down in the finals, leaving the door open for others to take the win. For the women, the day ultimately belonged to Snowbird’s Angel Collinson. She took home the tour stop win, the overall tour title and the overall Young Gun Award with consistent, aggressive skiing.

For the men, it was Arne Backstrom taking home the overall title. His 9th place finish at the Bird was enough to eek past Post by one point.

All in all, this was the sickest skiing I’ve ever seen at a comp. CR and Shane would be proud of the progression they helped lead! Here are some photos to prove it: