Freeride World Tour

[powdork]

Funny joke, PD! Hahaha.

For those who don't know...on the right, with the broad open slopes is McGee Mountain. That's the SE aspect - about 2500' vert to the flats. Wayyyy back in day, Steve Klassen had organized a freeride comp somewhere on that mountain. As a result of avy hazard (I believe), it was moved to that crappy tiny face on Mammoth (not even the Kiwi Flats area). I think this was the comp Cody Townsend won back in 2009 or 2010.

Correction: 2008. Moved due to firm conditions. And Cody didn't win lol. The pic in the first article suggests it was on a more easterly aspect, possibly at top-right of this frame or out of the view further to the right.

https://www.sierrasun.com/news/fickle-freeriding/
https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/20...ing-qualifier/

On the top left is a gnar wall that Nathan Wallace (Cham freerider) named [I think] Wall of the Future. Maybe he meant Wall of the Future FWT comp?!? I think, unfortunately, that the Wall of the Future is in federal Wilderness.

But you can brap to the top of McGee! Maybe even heli!!

2008. Not moved due to firm conditions. Moved due to too much snow. This was the Nissan Mammoth Quest and the precursor to the FWT. It was Nicolas Hale Woods making the decisions. Cody did win the event and the actual quest was cancelled (Awards ceremonies at the end). Elyse came in 2nd


McGee (yes, this is the part to the right of the other pic)
https://www.aboutlaketahoe.com/ski_r...e-mountain.htm


It was possibly originally postponed for bad conditions, then moved because the storm was too big. The contest on Oh Shit Ridge became the contest I think. This, and the following years avalanche on Tram Face seemd to sour Woods on contests in American resorts.

[TahoeJ]

Is that actually a recent photo of McGee, Powdork? Was literally just talking about it as an option with a friend when we're down on the East side in a few weeks... and then it pops up here.

Heads up to those of you doing the FunBet - next event at Andorra is in about 18 hours.

[ddsnake]

Marcus Goguen of Whistler gets a wildcard… Let’s Go!!!

[kootenayskier]

Interesting Data, Meter-Man.

I competed in an IFSA one at mammoth in 2002(?). Placed around 12th and didn’t make it to the super finals. But I was glad. Because that venue was scary as shit. I remember 2 or 3 40-60 footers stacked on top of each other with landings the size of kitchen tables that people were dropping onto and stopping on to set up for the next air.

Pure billy-goat skiing in those days. Deuter, Schmitz, or Chicheret probably won that one.

In regards to the changes in the sport, I don’t think anyone is against tricks, per se, but when the aggression score was taken out of the judging, those changes began.

I think it was aggression. Hard to remember.

I think it was—
Line
Aggression
Fluidity
Control

Line set the standard and you couldn’t score higher than your line score in any other category.

Can anyone confirm or add context to how it all changed?

All said— I tune into every event and rarely debate scoring. I don’t fucking know. Sometimes it’s obvious who won. But it’s usually pretty obscure.

I competed, coached, and judged back when Shane’s original IFSA judging system (which I still have a hard copy of) was much more prescriptive, as you describe. The evolution in the IFSA judging criteria (substituting style and energy for aggressiveness, changing the line and control score limits etc) is a topic of its own.

The FWT, which evolved from the Verbier Extreme (initially only snowboarding), utilize a completely different judging system, which no matter how closely I read and try to make sense of it, and despite some impressively detailed guidance on note taking for scoring airs, ultimately comes down to the judge’s completely subjective overall impression. It’s presumably got something to do with applying the same criteria to snowboarding and skiing, but also has the quite reasonable intent of ensuring that skiers with as diverse an approach as Bilous and Mumma can contend for a win, it’s just that in the absence of a truly standout performance, even fans as obsessive as we are can’t understand or agree on the rankings.

The judging handbook:
https://www.freerideworldtour.com/si..._15.12.203.pdf

Obscure Castle reference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMuh33BMZYY

[powdork]

Is that actually a recent photo of McGee, Powdork? Was literally just talking about it as an option with a friend when we're down on the East side in a few weeks... and then it pops up here.

Heads up to those of you doing the FunBet - next event at Andorra is in about 18 hours.

The pic on the previous page is recent from the Eastside BC thread. The interactive pic I linked to was from 2008

[oftpiste]

This.

I competed, coached, and judged back when Shane’s original IFSA judging system (which I still have a hard copy of) was much more prescriptive, as you describe. The evolution in the IFSA judging criteria (substituting style and energy for aggressiveness, changing the line and control score limits etc) is a topic of its own.

The FWT, which evolved from the Verbier Extreme (initially only snowboarding), utilize a completely different judging system, which no matter how closely I read and try to make sense of it, and despite some impressively detailed guidance on note taking for scoring airs, ultimately comes down to the judge’s completely subjective overall impression. It’s presumably got something to do with applying the same criteria to snowboarding and skiing, but also has the quite reasonable intent of ensuring that skiers with as diverse an approach as Bilous and Mumma can contend for a win, it’s just that in the absence of a truly standout performance, even fans as obsessive as we are can’t understand or agree on the rankings.

The judging handbook:
https://www.freerideworldtour.com/si..._15.12.203.pdf

Obscure Castle reference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMuh33BMZYY

[Angle Parking]

Marcus Goguen of Whistler gets a wildcard… Let’s Go!!!

Nice. Happy to have a Canadian in the men’s ski category.


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[gaijin]

First impression of the venue? Gorgeous.


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[gaijin]

One of the best starts to any comp I have ever seen. Obviously the cream cheese is confidence inspiring.

Everyone is hitting lines.

It’s like that perfect mid season between winter and spring. The snow has just begun to settle.

I don’t know if better conditions could exist.

I can’t imagine what the ski men will throw down.


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[gaijin]

Dude, Molly shreds. The second half of her run, especially after that straight-line, was smooth as fuck.


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[gaijin]

“A 90pt run from the second rider in a 23-man field.”

Shit’s on fire, yo.


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[gaijin]

18? Marcus is a new hero.


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[gaijin]

Max. What, are we like 5 skiers in now?

This snow is the shit.


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[gaijin]

Valentin.

Homies throw backflips like it’s fucking Tuesday.

These guys are so fucking good, it’s almost painful.


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[gaijin]

Manu has a flow that could be nuts when it works. Hmmm…


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[gaijin]

Huckleberry Finn.

Homie is reinventing comp lines. Wild.

Not quite Seb Michaud tier— but lots to learn and doesn’t crash. So, there’s that.


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[gaijin]

Those stupid little tail slashes that we all hate played out their karma for Max.

I mean— now that the sport is a wild terrain park, maybe that slap in the face was needed.


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[gaijin]

And then Maxime is like— hold my beer.


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[gaijin]

Never thought I’d see Reine skiing the same line as everyone else.

Wild.

FWT is now a terrain park.

Fun to watch for the first half.


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[TahoeJ]

Molly was absolutely charging - love to see the aggression. She skis around the Tahoe BC with a pretty bad-ass crew of (mostly) guys who get after it and you can see that in her skiing.

I thought Ross Tester should have won - I just thought his run had a perfect mix of tech and freestyle and speed and liked it a little more than Valentine's. Both great runs, though, and it was obviously close. Anyone complaining about the current state of the tour shouldn't have any issue with those two runs on top.

Also, Moga is like a cat. When he fell and was about to tumble over those rocks, impressive that he was able to get back on to his skis just enough to air over it safely and not get hurt. Scary for a moment there.

[kootenayskier]

Great skiing. I really couldn’t pick between
Chabloz - but for a minor control issue, could be one of the all time runs.
Billous - making flippy, spinny shit relevant. I like to hate on this sort of skiing, but that was dialed.
Tester - Pretty much perfect, skis like a racer, has all the tricks, not a hair out place.
Hitzig - I love watching this guy, so fucking relaxed.
All had incredible runs in their own way.
Rainer’s airs were obviously impressive, but the wobbly landings and mediocre skiing between each hit should have kept him from contending for the win IMO.

[kathleenturneroverdrive]

Great comp. Seemed like had Chabloz avoided that backslap, or Tester added one more strong feature at the bottom either would have taken it.

I’m not that familiar with Hitzig, and I like a more “surfy” style of skiing, but found him tough to watch. Just felt like he was lazily slipping and sliding between features. All his features and the double at the bottom were sick though. Feels like if he had just bent a ski here and there he'd have crushed.

[grskier]

These guys are so good.
a 75 with a crash really puts that trick forward judging on full display.

[Jvhowube]

The fact that Chabloz can stomp both of those tricks in one comp run shows that he's just on another level. I know it's not a freestyle comp but damn what a monster.

[Long duc dong]

I thought Ross Tester should have won - I just thought his run had a perfect mix of tech and freestyle and speed and liked it a little more than Valentine's. Both great runs, though, and it was obviously close. Anyone complaining about the current state of the tour shouldn't have any issue with those two runs on top.

I would have to agree, although I should watch them both again. I think I'm going to take a break at some time today and actually watch them on a full size TV.

Both runs were really sick though, definitely fun to watch.

I also loved Bilous, particularly the technical section up top. I love seeing guys get into the technical areas, and he skied that very smoothly and ended it with a nice 360.

I was really bummed (and scared) watching Moga fall. I loved the way he threaded that top section, it's just a shame he couldn't pull it off. I'm glad he was okay.

His run wasn't as tricky as the others, but I really liked the way Barkered skied. Just classic big mountain skiing, railing turns and hitting that double.