Verbier Extreme 2009

It is always an honor to compete in the Verbier Extreme. It is the biggest freeride competition in the world with some of the best skiers in the world. The streets of Verbier are filled with thousands of skiing enthusiasts who have gathered to celebrate extreme skiing. The competition takes place on the Bec De Rosses, one of the more intimidating faces I have ever skied.

The organizers call the Extreme a “show,” highlighting the best skiers in the world on the most difficult competition face in the world. As a competitor, I see the Extreme as a competition and more. I wanted to choose a winning line, but I also wanted to make it to the bottom of the Bec de Rosses unscathed. It was difficult to make a choice between a winning line and possibly getting hurt or skiing for the rest of the season. A winning line includes: exposure, big airs, fast skiing, and pushing yourself to the edge. I spent two days and two sleepless nights trying to decide if it was worth skiing the winning line or skiing a less exposed line and giving up the win. The other thought I couldn’t get out of my mind was; if I don’t ski the winning line, will someone else ski it? The winning line was obvious. It was over heavy exposure (if you fall you will most definitely get hurt), included two 20 foot airs, and had the worst snow conditions on the face. The more appealing line began over heavy exposure into a chute that had a manditory 20 foot air in the middle. This line was more appealing because once you made it into the chute you were relatively safe. If you were to fall, you would be okay.

My goal this season was to win the Freeride World Tour. My season started off great winning Russia and then I was off to Japan. After Japan, my body was beat up and my mind needed a break, but there was no time. I pushed on to Squaw and Tignes moving from 1st on the FWT to 6th. The Verbier Extreme would be my last opportunity to insure myself a spot on the FWT for the 2010 season. I needed to finish in the top four. It was hard to decide what to ski. Should I ski for the win, risking injury and not making the tour next year. Or ski a second place line which was safer and would probably put me in the top four for next year. In the end, my decision was made with my heart. I have always told myself to ski the line that looks like the most fun. The winning line didn’t look like fun at all and the other line looked like a lot of fun.

Standing in the starting gate for my final competition run in 2010, I knew I was not going to ski a winning line. It is one of the stangest feelings I have ever had. I have never not skied to win, but I didn’t know if someone else would attempt the winning line and if it would work out well for her. As I left the starting gate, I decided to rip my chosen line as fast and flawlessly as possible. And I did. I ripped my line with no hesititation off the manditory 20 foot air and into two more airs. I was at the bottom in under 30 seconds. It was a beautiful line. I skied into second and finished third overall on the Freeride World Tour.

It feels really good to be Back in Jackson. My goal is still to win the Freeride World Tour and I will have the opportunity in 2010.

2nd – Verbier Extreme

Bib Draw for the Verbier Extreme

The days continue into the nights at the Verbier Extreme. I spent the day trying to find a line that: had good snow, challenging enough to be a winning line, and safe enough that if things went severely wrong I would ski another day. And then it was time to join the Verbier Show. The streets of Verbier have been closed off and the circus has been set up.

Thousands of people have come to watch the Verbier Extreme. The evening kicked off with two hours of autographs. It was amazing to see how many people wanted an autograph. I was also stoked to see how many people had been to Jackson. The support of the fans was awesome.

The bib draw followed the autograph section. The stage was set up with a movie screen and fake snow. Each athlete was called up to choose their bib. I drew lucky #7. The evening finally came to end with an athlete dinner at the Pub Mount Fort.

One more day to the competition. I am headed up to look at the bec De Rosses again and find a winning line.

Contemplating the Bec De Rosses

The final competition of the Freeride World Tour, the Verbier Extreme. The season has gone by so fast and now it is the last chance to prove that you have what it takes to be on the Freeride World Tour and it will take place on the biggest venue in competition history.

All of the competitors spent the day contemplating the venue. The Bec de Rosses is an intimidating face. The top 2/3’s of the venue are a no fall zone. (a no fall zone: if you were to fall, you would seriously hurt) It is riddle with dead end chutes, sharky rocks, and rolls over to 50+ degrees. In good conditions, it is intimidating and difficult to ski. The winds have come from the north and have scoured much of the face. For the first time in the history of the Bec De Rosses, the competitors were allowed to hike to the top of the venue and take a look at the snow. We were not allowed to ski the venue, but it was an opportunity to see what the lines looked like from the top.

The snow conditions are inconsistent at best. As I hiked to the top, I found bullet proof ice, breakable crust, 3cm of powder, and sugar. It is hard to know where to ski. The women are starting on the shoulder of the Bec. The men will start from the top. I do not envy the men. The question of the day is, “Is it worth it?” There are lines that have won year after year, but can they be done in these conditions and are they worth attempting?

The competition has been postponed to Sunday due to high winds. So we have one more day to choose our destiny.

Bec De Rosses – Verbier Extreme

Two days to the last competition on the Freeride World Tour, the Verbier Extreme. I spent the morning looking for a winning line. The Bec is a really large face with lots of exposure. Two guides skied the venue today and the snow looked pretty good. It was a little wind hammered in spots, but overall pretty good.

Nissan Verbier Extreme

The Verbier Nissan Extreme is the last stop on Freeride World Tour. The competition will take place on the Bec De Rosses. The Bec De Rosses is one of the largest and most challenging faces of the Freeride World Tour.

I have been in Verbier for the last two days. The face of the Bec looks pretty good. It has been incredibly warm in verbier for the last week. The Bec is north facing and still holding snow. The snow looks pretty good, but there are pockets of wind hammered snow through out the face. It will be important to try to choose a line that has good snow.

The competition is scheduled for Saturday and the weather forecast looks good for the comp. The competition schedule is as follows:
Friday, March 20th
1pm – 10pm STREET FAIR Rue de Médran
4pm – 8pm SWATCH GET HOT DANCERS Street fair – main stage
5pm – 6pm RIDERS AUTOGRAPH SESSION Da Kine stand
6:15pm OPENING & BIB DRAW Street fair – main stage
Nissan Riders Award – 2 best lines of whole season Street fair – main stage

Saturday, March 21st
09.45am FORERUNNERS
10.00am WOMEN’S COMPETITION – snowboard/ski Bec des Rosses
10:45am MEN’S COMPETITION – snowboard/ski Bec des Rosses
1:30pm AIR SHOW : RED BULL AIR RACE SHOW Col des Gentianes
2:00pm AWARDS CEREMONY Col des Gentianes
2:30pm AWARDS CEREMONY 4 WORLD CHAMPIONS Col des Gentianes
2:45pm Press Conference Nissan dome at Gentianes
4:00pm – 6:00pm SWATCH GET HOT DANCERS Main stage
5:30pm AIR SHOW Street Fair
5:00pm RIDERS AUTOGRAPH SESSION Da Kine stand
5:30pm – 6:00pm DRINK 7th SKY-RED BULL Nissan stand
7:00pm AWARDS CEREMONY NISSAN RIDERS AWARD Nissan stand
8:00pm – 10:00pm Xtreme Dinner – Buffet Pub Mt Fort
10:00pm – 11:00pm Party Pub Mt Fort

Nendaz, Switzerland

“Team America,” a name the crew has adopted, headed to Nendaz, Switzerland for one last competition before Verbier. The Nendaz Competiton is part of the qualifying series for the Freeride World Tour. I went to try to improve my overall standings on the tour. Jen Ashton went to win a wild card for Verbier because she was not yet qualified to compete. Drew, Griffen, and Forest went to cheer the girls on.

The competition was one of the more bazaar experiences I have ever had.  The registration took place in the parking lot.  The first day was a qualifying day.  Each competitor was instructed to take two runs, on two different faces, with two sets of judges.  The strangest part of the set up was that you were allowed to ski whenever you wanted to, no start list.

Most of the time we had no idea what was going on, but skiing is skiing. And the mission was accomplished. I improved my overall score and Jen earned herself a wild card to Verbier.

There are four days to the Verbier Extreme. The team was divided in how to spend the next couple of days leading up to the competiton. So we dropped Drew and Jen off in Chamonix. Griffen, Forest, and myself headed to Verbier to prepare for the competiton.

Tignes Results

Snowboard: 1.Xavier de Le Rue (FRA) 2.Max Zipser (AUT) 3.Alex Coudray (SUI) 1.Geraldine Fasnacht (SUI) 2.Susan Moll (USA) 3.Anniina Karvinen (FIN) Ski: 1.Matthias Haunholder AUT 2.Thomas Diet FRA 3.Henrik Windstedt SWE 1.Caroline Meynet FRA 2.Marja Persson SWE 3.Elyse Saugstad USA

Next stop Verbier!

The Grande Balme Is Back ON!

After three days of snow, the conditions are good enough to ski the original venue, the Grande Balme. The competition will be held on thursday. I feel good about this decision. Many of the riders are upset because they do not feel the are enough options for all of the riders to compete on the face. I really like the face and feel there are quite of few options. I also think it is a better face for the level of skiers competing. The face is steep and huge. It will push all of the riders to ski their very best.

This afternoon we gathered at the bottom of the Grande Balme and watched two guides ski the venue. They set off a little slough, but otherwise the face seemed stable. The snow looked good at the top of the venue, but the apron (bottom snow field) looked very wind affected.

As of now, we will be skiing the Grand Balm. There will be a riders meeting tonight at 6:30. There a few riders who are very upset with the decision. So maybe it will change. If so, I am ready to compete on either face, but I am hoping for the Grande Balme.

Tignes Competition Postponed to Thursday

The snow is still falling in Tignes and the competition has be rescheduled for Thursday. For more information: www.freerideworldtour.com