What is the state of freeskiing these days? For fifteen-year-old Tahoe locals Sean Field and Marc Hilly, skiing is such a priority they've traded in their traditional high school classrooms for home schooling and more days on the hill. So when the second stop of the Paul Mitchell American Freeski tour showed up at Sugar Bowl Resort, CA, on Valentine's Day, it was like Homecoming for the two aspiring ski groms. 'I want to go to the X Games so bad,' Field says. 'That's my dream.'
Luckily for Field, who finished second in the SuperPipe comp, he is one step closer. 'I definitely go for amplitude,' says Field, whose 900 is almost as impressive as his unruly red hair. Field set the standard early on with a three-hit wonder run which included a 900, a straight air and huge 540. He finished first in the quarterfinals, but was never totally in the clear with technical riders Jon Reedy and Tim Durtschi gaining momentum in the semis and final.
Durtschi, who's from Bend, OR, went on to grab the number one spot during the semis with cork 5's and flatspin 5's, but it was Reedy's competition experience that sealed the deal in the final.
Mammoth local Reedy already has two WX Games under his belt as well as the 2003 U.S. Freeskiing SuperPipe title. While Field banked on amplitude throughout the day, Reedy patiently plugged away at a more technical run. 'The pipe was really good. It was all a matter of getting my sh*t together,' says Reedy, whose final run score of 41.20 secured him the win. 'I came in skating hard because of the wind and went a little big. I did two straight airs into a 5. Did a 7 at the bottom, gotta little low on it, but held on.'
The Paul Mitchell Freeski tour concludes February 28-29 at Bear Mountain Resort, CA. One overall tour winner in the men's SuperPipe and the top two Slopestyle tour champions (based on combined results from Sugar Bowl and Bear Mountain) will be guaranteed WX Games slots in 2005.
RESULTS
SuperPipe
1. Jon Reedy, USA, 41.20
2. Sean Field, USA, 39.9
3. Tim Durtschi, USA, 34.3
4. Mike Schimke, USA, 34.2
5. Shawn Sullivan, USA, 32.5
6. Bill Fleming, USA, 32.2
7. Rafe Robinson, USA, 30
8. Marc Hilly, USA, 30.7
9. Rory Silva, USA, 29
10. Martin Misof, AUT, 20.10
Alaska pride
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