Photos: Dimitriy Nikiforov

Red Bull Cold Rush returned to Greely bowl at Revelstoke Mountain Resort around 9:00 o’clock yesterday morning. A high ceiling and good light meant that the big mountain portion of the competition was a go-ahead. Someone from the resort had bucked some wood for a fire, and so a consistent crowd looked up at the course from there. Elsewhere people stood in bunches, eyes on the ridgeline.

Mike Henitiuk, Johnny Collinson and Stan Rey look on

Wiley Miller and Tatum Monod scope lines

The skiers were flown in groups of four and had the option of dropping in from the lip above Spilt Milk, or further up the ridge at Thumbs Up. Most of the competitors in Run 1 chose Spilt Milk. Highlights included Leah Evans getting very sendy, Callum Pettit’s runaway ski (although Cal’s banged up knee is not good), and Sammy Carlson’s run which included two cork 360s and skiing so smooth you might have thought he was riding corduroy.

Leah Evans dropping in

Run number 2 was even more impressive, with the riders having warmed to the slope. Joe Schuster got his grab on an early 360, Stan Rey got bucked out of a huge air but salvaged his run with a huge backflip at the bottom. Angel Collinson charged the entire face without checking any of her speed. She dropped a cliff and greased a chute at full velocity and drew some of the loudest cheers of the day from the crowd at the bottom. The heat was rounded out by Kye Peterson, Sean Pettit, and Sammy Carlson, and it was everything we spectators could do to stop from drooling.

Riley Leboe proudly displays the tramp stamp

Red Bull Cold Rush is world class, and the men and women competing here make it look really, really good.