Freeride World Tour - 2019

[yeahman]

The Kicking Horse views seem oddly low for 2018 but I couldn't figure out why.

Honestly in YouTube terms all those totals are pretty low. Obviously only a small slice of the ski audience is paying attention. On the plus side there's a LOT of room for growth.

[GoldenBC]

Some of (probably most of) that Hakuba bump is likely due to Travis Rice, FWIW. But yeah, names attract eyeballs for sure.

I don’t think anyone disagrees that Rice came in and did it right (if only for one event) and that THall didn’t. But the pearl clutching is a bit much.

TRICE was in Hakuba in 2018

[TahoeJ]

TRICE was in Hakuba in 2018

Yeah but his run this year attracted a ton of buzz...

[toast2266]

TRICE was in Hakuba in 2018

Wasn't hakuba 2018 the one that was restaged at kicking horse?

That was kind of a weird deal. Might have affected views.

[TahoeJ]

Wasn't hakuba 2018 the one that was restaged at kicking horse?

That was kind of a weird deal. Might have affected views.

Right, they did 2 at KH last year. So TRice was *not* at Hakuba last year because there was no Hakuba.

[teamdirt]

Lots of MSP and TGR lines that are in the movies have been skied by the same athletes numourous times over the seasons and years even if u don’t see any tracks. They keep going back to the same zones and just try to film it differently and ski it better....

[TahoeJ]

Lots of MSP and TGR lines that are in the movies have been skied by the same athletes numourous times over the seasons and years even if u don’t see any tracks. They keep going back to the same zones and just try to film it differently and ski it better....

Sure, and you can say the same about some of these FWT venues.

[teamdirt]

Sure, and you can say the same about some of these FWT venues.

For sure- obviously the veterans have an advantage over the rookies. Guys like Turdell, Bimbos and Barker have skied the same line or very similar 2-3 times.

[oftpiste]

You're clueless.

Lots of people talking about how there are a ton of kids out there busting their ass for FWT dreams of glory and whatnot... im sorry, but bumbing around (likely as part of a freeride team) for a handful of years pales in comparison to the decades long hustle and grind that Thall has been on. If you want to talk about work put in, and deserving, you might want to look at people who have put in more than 10 years....

[oftpiste]

And when you have a heli and someone eats shit in a line, you go find another line with no tracks.

Lots of MSP and TGR lines that are in the movies have been skied by the same athletes numourous times over the seasons and years even if u don’t see any tracks. They keep going back to the same zones and just try to film it differently and ski it better....

[teamdirt]

Just in: FWT Corporate memo

"Updated Verbier prejudging results 2019 as per sponsor investment"

1) Turdell
2) Eder
3) Jeremy Heitz

Judging Response: Sure but Heitz isn't on the tour.

[oftpiste]

Awful lot of starstruck comments in this shit from folks who haven't been on the journey. It's like arguing with someone in a MAGA hat. Show yourselves..... I have my suspicions...

I have no time for douchenozzlery anywhere in my universe anymore. That douchenozzelry disdain is exacerbated when said douchenozzelry is executed at the expense of others who are not douchenozzles.

Some of you (apparently handicapped in the reading department and sounding positively trumpian) keep complaining about 'hating on TH'. I (and I suspect others with views similar to mine) don't hate him. I hate that he behaved so disrespectfully and dismissively to the tour and the athletes (and THEIR hard work), and it cost someone a spot in a comp they spent their lives trying to win, and arguably skewed the way the season was judged.

As stated multiple times, bless his heart for his hard work and accomplishments. I applaud them enthusiastically. His, or anyone else's accomplishments are not an excuse to be a putz.

How it's properly done:
Travis took the mike at one athlete meeting and spoke to everyone in the room. He wasn't there with a posse of cling-ons, a huge film crew, or any other sycophants. He told them how honored he was to be included, how much respect he had for their skill, work, journeys and commitment. Then he went out and slayed it. That's what showing up looks like.

[oftpiste]

HOF material. I LOL'd.

Just in: FWT Corporate memo

"Updated Verbier prejudging results 2019 as per sponsor investment"

1) Turdell
2) Eder
3) Jeremy Heitz

Judging Response: Sure but Heitz isn't on the tour.

[muted]

Awful lot of starstruck comments in this shit from folks who haven't been on the journey. It's like arguing with someone in a MAGA hat. Show yourselves..... I have my suspicions...

I have no time for douchenozzlery anywhere in my universe anymore. That douchenozzelry disdain is exacerbated when said douchenozzelry is executed at the expense of others who are not douchenozzles.

Some of you (apparently handicapped in the reading department and sounding positively trumpian) keep complaining about 'hating on TH'. I (and I suspect others with views similar to mine) don't hate him. I hate that he behaved so disrespectfully and dismissively to the tour and the athletes (and THEIR hard work), and it cost someone a spot in a comp they spent their lives trying to win, and arguably skewed the way the season was judged.

As stated multiple times, bless his heart for his hard work and accomplishments. I applaud them enthusiastically. His, or anyone else's accomplishments are not an excuse to be a putz.

How it's properly done:
Travis took the mike at one athlete meeting and spoke to everyone in the room. He wasn't there with a posse of cling-ons, a huge film crew, or any other sycophants. He told them how honored he was to be included, how much respect he had for their skill, work, journeys and commitment. Then he went out and slayed it. That's what showing up looks like.

I know all about about the journey. I worked on the tour, knew Tanner since he was 10, and have friends that have placed on the podium numerous times over many many years. You don't come across that well yourself, if you were a competitor talking like you do it would be sour grapes. Not saying you are wrong, but the super-defensive momma bear approach is, while understandable, kinda oft-putting.

[oftpiste]

Hence your defense of him. How is that any different than my position? NM.

[TahoeJ]

I'm totally star struck... we never see any good skiers at Squaw, I just have no perspective!!!

BTW Oftpiste, I actually put a good word in for your kid last time I shared a chair with Gaffney... mentioned that Berkeley was sending it on the tour and not just playing it safe and seems like that might translate well to film ("If you aren't scared it won't make the movie"). MSP is always looking for the young up and comers. I'm sure Scott hears this kind of stuff all week long but figured it couldn't hurt...

[oftpiste]

I do appreciate it! Thank you.

[jamesboarder]

I hate that he behaved so disrespectfully and dismissively to the tour and the athletes (and THEIR hard work), and it cost someone a spot in a comp they spent their lives trying to win, and arguably skewed the way the season was judged.

Its not his fault they gave him a wild card. It's not his fault the judging has been bad. He's not the first person to skip Verbier. The guy skied pretty hard, is currently sitting in 7th place. If he was sitting in last place and not taking his runs seriously I'd get it, but I really don't see the big issue. I applaud the way trice acted and would agree that's the way to do it, but at the same time I don't see skipping Verbier as some huge disrespect. As I said before he has little incentive to ski it. I'm sure we'd all rather see reine charge it as opposed to thall ski a conservative line because doesn't have any incentive and just wants to avoid injury and get back to filming.

[JayPowHound]

This is very unscientific but here's a comparison of the YouTube views for the 2018 and 2019 events on the FreerideWorldTourTV channel.

Andorra 52,448 (2018) vs. 64,531 (2019)
Kicking Horse 18,406 (2018) vs. 95,858 (2019)
Fieberbrunn 66,088 (2018) vs. 72,748 (2019)
Hakuba 50,155 (2018) vs. 134,530 (2019)

Pretty significant increase year over year, especially considering the 2018 videos have been up for an extra year.

Any idea what proportions of views come from Facebook/youtube/FWT site? Again, I'm a data guy. Haven't really seen any thats valid, so not sure I'm willing to buy the "increased viewership" argument.

[muted]

Hence your defense of him. How is that any different than my position? NM.

He's not my son, that's a huge difference. I think all I really said was people are going to hate on him if he wins, loses, pulls out, doesn't pull out. And I'm not defending Tanner's personality to anyone. He's polarizing for sure. But as you said, all the competitors liked him, he had a lot of stoke on top of the runs, and all I know if you skied him you'd like him too.

[yeahman]

Wasn't hakuba 2018 the one that was restaged at kicking horse?

That was kind of a weird deal. Might have affected views.

Yeah the video was called "Kakuba at Kicking Horse" or some wierd shit. Did not bother to investigate the circumstances, but it could certainly have skewed the number of views.

Any idea what proportions of views come from Facebook/youtube/FWT site? Again, I'm a data guy. Haven't really seen any thats valid, so not sure I'm willing to buy the "increased viewership" argument.

No idea what the proportions are but I think it shows a general increase in viewership on YouTube, especially since the 2019 videos have only been up a short while. There are probably other factors. I think their technology has improved for one thing, I am not sure they were livecasting last year if that makes a difference. Who knows. I know the only reason I have been paying any attention is because I follow his Insta and was curious to see how he performed. I think his social media posts are pretty humble yet full of amazing stoke. The guy is just incredibly talented at what he does.

As much as I disagree with his decision to not show, I do think it took guts for him to join the tour at his age and career stage. He had nothing to gain except he loves skiing and wanted a new challenge. Probably shouldn't have been so cocky out the gate but I watched an interview with him after the rock wipeout and he was clearly humbled and admitted it was hard as hell to do the comps.

[JayPowHound]

I know the only reason I have been paying any attention is because I follow his Insta and was curious to see how he performed.

That makes you and me very different, as I have been following this sport for more than a decade. I'm wondering how many of you have joined us due to his presence. Perhaps we'll never know.

If you're interested in the history and haven't seen it, watch the film Linescore.

In the meantime, here's this:

https://youtu.be/WgiQEwYTNkI

[telefreewasatch]

Been lurking this thread for a while.
Never figured on posting.
But the discussion has been so entertaining and informative the last week that I couldn't resist.
Lotta knowledgeable folks posting.
Seriously.
On a subjective sport. Kinda like figure skating in that sense.
Really miss the Freeskiing tour and the sick bird.
Mine came through the ranks and were lucky? enough to make the shift to filming.
A lot more room for that shift than used to be.
Boissal, I like your style and sentiments, and when I'm healthy love to take a few laps with you.
ofpiste, pm me if Berkeley isn't competing next year. Not that I have any pull anywhere, but one always has ideas.
Carry on...

[telefreewasatch]

And the baddest ski / ride comp on the planet starts in 5.5 hours...

[PNWbrit]

I know all about about the journey. I worked on the tour, knew Tanner since he was 10, and have friends that have placed on the podium numerous times over many many years. You don't come across that well yourself, if you were a competitor talking like you do it would be sour grapes. Not saying you are wrong, but the super-defensive momma bear approach is, while understandable, kinda oft-putting.

I sat with thing #2 and oft over beers at the hill last week.

Zero sour grapes.

I'm saying you're dead wrong. Two of the nicest guys on the planet.

Hopefully Tanner Hall doesn't rest in peace over this.