Powder, Pillow Drops, and Friends at the Crested Butte Extremes

The Crested Butte extremes was the second competition I ever competed in. I finished fourth and swore I would never come back. It wasn’t that I was upset about how I finished, it was that in all honesty I didn’t understand Crested Butte. After this weekend, I get it. Crested Butte is a very unique mountain. It is riddle with rocks, steep chutes, and tight trees. It is one of the most challenging venues I have ever skied.

The first day of the Extremes was held on Staircase, home of the infamous Slot Rocks. I had a hard time finding a line, but stayed true my skiing style and chose a line that was wide open for Crested Butte standards and hit four decent size airs. I was so excited after the first day. I was in third and only a few points out of the top spot.

That night huge flakes fell from the sky and blessed Crested Butte with over two feet of snow. The venue looked completely different. The winning line for women has historically been the “Jen Aston double in Body Bag.” I really wanted to win and was psyched to give Jen’s line a try. Unfortunately, the men skied first and I was not the only one who had an eye on the Jen’s line. Many of the men skied her line and I decide at the last minute to change up my line. I dropped into the hand rail and off a ten footer skiing over to another nice drop. From their I battled my way through the tight trees and into Body Bag. I had scouted a nice 8 tiered pillow line on the left side of body bag. I was worried that someone else might ski it, but to my surprise it was untouched. It was really difficult to get to the top of the pillow line. The trees were tighter than my skis and riddled with rocks. On my last hop turn, I had to grab a tree for control. This is a standard Crested Butte move, but not a popular move with the judges. Once at the top of my pillow line, I pointed it and enjoyed the fresh snow on top of each pillow. It was a blast and I came flying out of body bag with a smile on my face. I skied into third place and am now leading the Freeskiing World Tour by 50 points.

Crested Butte was a blast! I finally understand why skiers love it. It is not about flying down the hill and hitting big airs. It is about controlling your heart beat and making calculated moves in steep, tight, rocky conditions. It is completely different from anything I know and an intense rush!