Wednesday, April 4

Red Bull Snow Thrill of Alaska Concludes

freezeonline.com

The Red Bull Snow Thrill of Alaska came to a close today at the Points North Heli-Adventures compound in Cordova, Alaska. The Big Mountain freeskiing competition concluded as the most successful event in the history of Alaskan ski competitions. After two days and four competition runs, Hugo Harrisson of Whistler, Canada and Anne Cattelin from Courchevel, France earned the title of champions of this unique and prestigious event.

Event staff, competitors and crews waited on standby day after day in the epicenter of Alaskan weather and quickly mobilized as soon as there was a sizable clearing. Four helicopters sat on the helicopter pad, pilots calm and ready. At a moment's notice, safety crews and event staff rallied to prepare the venue for the arrival of the competitors. Athletes were shuttled by helicopter from the Points North facility to the most majestic and dangerous terrain in the Chugach Mountain Range. When all the athletes had arrived, the judges were in position with binoculars poised to score them on five categories: line choice, control, fluidity, technique and aggression.

As the event unfolded and competition days began to dwindle, each run was potentially the last. This pressure created a level of competition that progressed to a pinnacle by run four. Athletes were dropped at the start, perched on top of a peak called "X Rated." The venue on "X Rated" is a 2,000-foot-plus vertical foot face, with 50-degree slope exposure and numerous chutes and cliffs peppered throughout.

Harrisson dropped in on his final run with the event nearly secured, but conservatism was not his line. Harrisson launched into the main chute and quickly navigated a steep rocky section, making his way to a series of two cliffs. The first cliff was a fifteen-footer directly followed by a thirty-foot-plus drop that ran out into a protruding bergshrund. Mission accomplished, and, thanks to 40 the points awarded for the run (out of 50), Harrisson had won the Red Bull Snowthrill of Alaska.

"I skied very well both today and the other day. I wasn't thinking about the competition, just about taking runs in Alaska. I was just out having fun and it was really cool."

Kaj Zackrisson skied his way into second position with two very solid runs. He kept to his plan and skied two fast, clean runs with some very technical maneuvering. Daisuke Sasaki moved back a hair in the standings due to two small falls. He took a couple of chances with airtime and paid the consequences.

The SickBird award went to upcoming Canadian youngster, Ryan Oakden. He took two great runs, which moved him way up in the standings. For his first run, he skied right down the fall line and billygoated into a very exposed section. He quickly jumped down into a small snow pillow and then pointed them off a 40-footer.

Oak's second run was even more exciting as he skied a similarly technical line as the first but straight lined a double which ended in him throwing a 90-footer to his ass and skiing away.

The scariest moment of the day came from Kiwi Todd Windle. Mr. Windle dropped the top air that everyone was hitting, but before he knew it his skis got out form under him and he began to tumble. He slid through hundreds of feet of nasty exposure before taking the big spill. The end of the venue contained a huge cliff ban, which Todd flew head first off of and landing only to continue to rag-doll another 200 feet until finally coming to a stop. Luckily for Todd, he walked away form the incident with no major injuries. The facemask of his helmet was shattered in half, which definitely saved his face and probably his life.

The women's competition was equally as intense as the men's. Just four of the world's best female skiers were invited to compete in the event. After two competition runs, Aleisha Cline of Canada was leading. As the finals drew to a close, it was France's Anne Cattelin who stormed Day Two. Opting for a more difficult line, Cattelin skied the steepest face off the top of the peak, which led her to two fifteen-foot cliffs near the bottom of the venue. Landing both jumps cleanly, Cattelin scored over 37 points and won the women's title, becoming champion of the event.

Alisha Cline finished second skiing two solid runs and kept herself very composed in some sketchy lines. Wendy Fisher ended up in third place after falling twice in her second run.

"There was some slabs scattered throughout the run and I just hit one and it made me take pressure off my downhill ski and down I went." commented Fisher after her run. "I knew that conditions were variable but it sneaks up on you and there's really nothing you can do."

To celebrate a great week of skiing, competition and Alaskan adventures, a Red Bull Afterburner Awards party was held at the Alaskan Bar in the city of Cordova.

Results after Day Two
Location: Points North Heli, Chugach Range, Cordova, Alaska
Peak: X Rated

Competitor/Run 3 score/Run 4 score/Total

Men
1. Hugo Harrisson CAN 38.8/40.0/161.0
2. Kaj Zackrisson SWE 38.7/39.5/153.3
3. Daisuke Sasaki JPN 36.2/33.5/145.5
4. Ryan Oakden CAN 37.5/34.3/145.5
5. Chris Davenport USA 37.2/37.7/139
6. Stian Hagen NOR 35.2/36.7/137
7. Leif Zapf Gilje CAN 33.8/32.2/134.3
8. Philippe Troubat FRA 34.3/32.8/127.8
9. Will Burks USA 35/24.5/115
10. Guerlain Chicherit FRA 26.3/25.2/111.7
11. Sverre Lilliquist SWE --/30/99.7
12. Todd Windle NZ 29.3/--/97.2

Women
1. Anne Cattelin FRA 31.5/36.2/135.3
2. Aleisha Cline CAN 29/26.3/126.5
3. Wendy Fisher USA 23.7/20.3/112
4. Jennifer Ashton CAN 28.7/28.3/107.3