MICHELLE MANNING AND CLIF BENNETT WIN THE FIRST STOP
MICHELLE MANNING AND CLIF BENNETT WIN THE SUBARU US EXTREME FREESKIING IN CRESTED BUTTE, COLORADO
Alex Else wins the first 2009 Backcountry.com Sickbird Award
Thousands watch live webcast, broadcast from the remote steeps of
Crested Butte, over the two days of Freeskiing World Tour competition
Crested Butte, Colorado February 21, 2009- Fans
came out in droves for the final day of the 2009 Subaru US Extreme
Freeskiing Championships at Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR). The
first stop on the 2009 Freeskiing World Tour (FWT), fifty athletes
qualified for the final day in the Hourglass/Bermuda Triangle, an area
off-limits to the everyday skier, but opened up for the final day
thanks to the work of the Crested Butte Mountain Professional Ski
Patrol. In the end, Michelle Manning and Clif Bennett both of
Alta/Snowbird, Utah, would post the best-combined score to take the
titles.
The Hourglass/Bermuda Triangle is a 1,000-vertical-foot drop with a
sustained pitch of 40-degrees and reaching 60-degrees in several spots
leaving skiers no room for mistakes. With no traffic in the area the
entire season, competitors were treated to a mixed bag of conditions
from soft powder, to bottomless, punchy holes and areas of completely
bare rocks and trees.
“It’s different because it’s so steep and committing,” said head judge
and vice president for the IFSA Eric Schmitz. “Every move is
committing,”
Thirteen women got a shot at the expansive terrain for their first run
of the day, but several fell victim to the variable conditions leaving
just Michelle Manning of Alta/Snowbird, Utah, Crested Butte local
Phillipa “Pip” Hunt and Crystal Wright of Jackson Hole, Wyoming,
advancing to the Super Final.
The three women entered the Super Final separated by one point but
consistency and fluidity paved the way for Manning as she moved from
third to first place on her final run to win her first FWT women’s
title and earn herself $3,500.
Manning admittedly dropped the biggest air she’s ever attempted in a
competition on her first run, but opted out on her second run to seal
the title.
“I was going to go bigger but I decided to play it safe and I’m glad I did,” said Manning.
Manning finished with 84.38 combined points after her three runs in the
competition, Hunt took second place with 83.25 points taking home
$2,000 and Wright took third place for a $1,000 pay day. Ariana Stefano
of Whistler/Blackcomb, British Columbia, missed the Super Final cut but
finished in fourth place with 54.44 points and a check for $500.
Thirty-two men reached the final day starting in reverse order of the
finish from day one. While the back of the pack hung it out there in an
effort to make it to the Super Final cut, numerous were caught over
their heads at the bottom and found themselves facing 30 to 60-foot
mandatory airs.
But consistency and fluidity, once again, paced the way for several
skiers in the middle of the pack as four of the top five skiers heading
into the final day ended up crashing opening the door for a number of
skiers to move up through the ranks.
Nine skiers emerged from the first run to advance to the Super Final
with Alex Else of Crested Butte sitting on top. Skiers continued with
their “punch it” attitude rocketing through the upper Bermuda Triangle
area fully aware of the consequences that lurked down below.
Clif Bennett of Snowbird, Utah, pushed into the Super Final from 13th
place blasting his way through a series of pillow drops dubbed “Bed,
Bath and Beyond” from top to bottom without hesitation to take sixth
place after the first run.
Bennett followed the same line for the first half of his final run only
faster before stomping a double drop into a 30-foot air and flying into
the gut of the Hourglass and firing off three high speed GS turns
before shutting it down for the finish line setting a new course record
time of 48 seconds.
It was his line choice, stout airs and smooth high-speed turns that
impressed the judges and earned him his first ever FWT title earning
$5,000 cash.
“I always enjoyed skiing that pillow line and on the second run I
wanted to throw in a little variation,” said Bennett. “Once I was in
the air I thought, I better get my stomping feet on and put the landing
gear down.”
Bennett finished the event with a cumulative score of 108.56 after his
three runs. “I have a feeling of accomplishment to have completed three
solid runs,” said Bennett.
Caleb Mullen of Crested Butte defended his home mountain finishing in
second place scoring a total of 105 points and taking in $3,000.
Griffin Post of Sun Valley, Idaho, totaled 104 points to finish in
third place earning $2,000. John Mason of Breckenridge, Colorado,
scored 98.75 points for a fourth place and $1,500 with Julien “the
Flying Frenchman” Lopez of La Plagne, France just .25 points behind in
fifth place and a $1,000 payday. Mark Filippini of Vail, Colorado,
rounded out the cash prizewinners in sixth place with a score of 97.13
and a $500 slice of the money pie.
While Else suffered two tumbles on his final run to fall out of the
money list he took home his first Backcountry.com Sickbird Buckle, a
shiny silver belt buckle to be worn with pride for life.
In the end Schmitz was impressed by what he saw from the athletes over the course of the four-day event.
“There’s an awesome new style of skiing, safety,” said Schmitz. “We
didn’t use a single sled in four days. All of the venues are so
consequential and that says everything about the athletes skiing and
not hucking.”
The FWT tour continues with its second stop of the tour March 5-8 at
Snowbird, Utah, as competitors look to continue to build on their
overall tour points they earned at the first stop in Crested Butte.
2009 Freeskiing World Tour Schedule of Events
Subaru Telluride Freeskiing World Tour Qualifier, Telluride, Colorado. February 5-8, 2009
Subaru US Extreme Freeskiing Championships, Crested Butte, Colorado. February 19-22, 2009
Subaru US Freeskiing Nationals, Snowbird, Utah. March 10-15, 2009
Subaru North American Freeskiing Championships, Kirkwood, California. March 19-23, 2009
Subaru Freeskiing World Championships, Alyeska, Alaska. April 8-12, 2009
Coming off a breakthrough year in live webcasting technology, MSI will
again be satellite broadcasting from all four FWT stops. Live coverage
of the best freeskiing in the world can be viewed from the comfort of
your desk chair.
In addition to live video, MSI’s content creation team will also be
producing and posting same-day world class photography on its newly
redesigned website, www.freeskiingworldtour.com and media partners
www.powder.com and www.skipressworld.com
