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News: Big Year Ahead For The 2 News: Big Year Ahead For The 2013 World Heli Challenge
- From: TetonGravityResearch
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Lake Wanaka - Exciting changes to the World Heli Challenge announced today will see a new Junior World Heli Challenge event and a revised elite format to the World Heli Challenge with limited athlete numbers for 2013.
Event founder and director Tony “Harro” Harrington is excited to launch the Junior World Heli Challenge as part of the competition next year. “For the past couple of years we’ve developed the concept of selected ‘Young Guns’ in the competition so this is a natural progression to involve more junior skiers and boarders,” explains Harrington.
“There is such strong interest coming from young athletes from around the world that we’ve decided to create a tailored event just for them. We’re excited about the opportunity to help these boys and girls develop the skills and awareness about the backcountry that will hopefully see them progress to the World Heli Challenge in years to come. We love their passion and are blown away by how many young people and their families want to be involved.”
The Junior World Heli Challenge will be open to 15 skiers and 15 snowboarders aged between 12 and 16 years. As with the senior event, the standard is high and athletes will be assessed on their skills and experience to be eligible. The Junior World Heli Challenge will take place over one week starting 26th July 2013 and includes one heli-accessed competition day in the backcountry of New Zealand’s Southern Alps surrounding Wanaka. In addition to the competition day a major focus is backcountry tuition and awareness training, snow days and family time at the local ski resorts.
The main event – the World Heli Challenge – is set for some dynamic changes for 2013 with a new restricted line-up limited to just 32 athletes; 12 males and 4 females each skiing and boarding in the competition.
“This is an elite and unique event and by keeping our numbers contained we have better options for accessing new terrain and hidden stashes down the Southern Alps to take the competition to a whole new level,” said Harrington.
“The World Heli Challenge is a gathering, it is an event like no other in the world and we are committed to keeping it contained and preserving its essence. We could easily grow the event but would risk losing its authenticity, the camaraderie and diluting the intensity of the experience for everyone.”
EVENT DATES FOR 2013:
Junior World Heli Challenge: Friday 26th July 2013 (registration night) to the Saturday 3rd August, 2013 (Awards Night)
World Heli Challenge: Sunday 4th August, 2013 (registration day) to the Thursday 22nd August, 2013 (Showcase Awards Night)
Information about the Junior World Heli Challenge will soon be posted at www.worldhelichallenge.com and all of the details on the World Heli Challenge main event, entry fees and registration will also be loaded to the site by February 2013.
Visit www.worldhelichallenge.com to see the videos and photographs from the 2012 Canon Shootout.
For updates and to keep in touch with the World Heli Challenge team please ‘like’ our facebook page www.facebook.com/worldhelichallenge - Blog post
- 7 months ago
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2012 World Heli Challenge 2012 World Heli Challenge
- From: TetonGravityResearch
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Description:2012 World Heli Challenge
- 7 months ago
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News: Winners Announced At 201 News: Winners Announced At 2012 World Heli Challenge Showcase Awards And Shootout
- From: media-75233
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The Canon Shot. Photo by Mark Von Roy.
Lake Wanaka, New Zealand – Skier Jacqui Edgerly, from the USA, and Snowboarder Will Jackways, from New Zealand, took center stage at the World Heli Challenge ION Showcase Awards on August 16. They were named the X Factor Awardees for World Heli Challenge 2012, as another successful World Heli Challenge came to an end. In a first for the World Heli Challenge, skiers and snowboarders competed together for the top spots with only one male and one female taking the honors.Jacqui and Will were chosen based on their overall aggressive performance and not necessarily on points earned during the competition.
“Jaqui took the prize for her determination and amazing line choice, and pushing her limits,” said head ski judge Dion Newport. "Showing why she was invited to the World Heli Challenge by skiing a line on the extreme day that had a lot of exposure and risk. Not landing her run put her back in second position but her amazing show for the cameras and viewers earned her the XFactor Award.”
“Will stood out during both days of competition,” said head snowboard judge, Mike Hygemann. “He had an amazing first run in the freestyle day where he showed great control and use of terrain pulling off 360 spins, a tail grab air, a method air and an indy…an excellent run from the kiwi. The extreme day saw him taking a very challenging line which he executed with aggression and style.”
Narrowly missing the top spots were snowboarder Abby Lockhart, New Zealand, and skiers Natalie Segal from Australia and Markus Eder from Italy.
Best Freestyle Day Shot. Photo by Miles Holden.The Winners
The finale to the evening was the announcement of the 2012 World Heli Challenge champions. The athletes were able to share their winning runs on screen to a packed house in the Lake Wanaka Centre.
Individual winners from each day’s competition are as follows:
Freestyle Day
Snowboard Women
1st place - Abby Lockhart
2nd place - Ratty Sheidow
3rd place - Jett Elkins
Snowboard Men
1st place - Will Jackways
2nd place - Shin Biyajima
3rd place - J.J. Thomas
Ski Women
1st place – Natalie Segal
2nd place – Jacqui Edgerly
3rd place - Victoria Beattie
Ski Men
1st place – Markus Eder
2nd place – Sam Smoothy
3rd place – Nick Devore
Extreme DaySnowboard Women
1st place – Abby Lockhart
2nd place – Ratty Sheidow
3rd place – Jett Elkins
Snowboard Men
1st place - Will Jackways
2nd place - Shin Biyajima
3rd place - Antti Autti
Ski Women
1st place – Natalie Segal
2nd place – Jacqui Edgerly
3rd place - Victoria Beattie
Ski Men
1st place – Neil Williman
2nd place – Markus Eder
3rd place – Nick Devore
Overall
The best all around skiers and snowboarders were chosen for their performance over the two days of competition, Extreme Day and Freestyle Day.
Top Three Female Skiers
1. Natalie Segal
2. Jacqui Edgerly
3. Victoria Beattie
Top Three Male Skiers
1. Marcus Eder
2. Sam Smoothy
3. Nick Devore
Top Three Female Snowboarders
1. Abby Lockhart
2. Ratty Sheidow
3. Jett Elkins
Top Three Male Snowboarders
1. Will Jackways
2. Shin Biyajima
3. Antti Autti
Event organizers continued with the innovative online judging format, drawing on the experience of internationally regarded judges from around the world to review each run and analyze in detail when deciding this year's winners.
Dion Newport and Mike Hygemann were the onsite ski and snowboard judges and were able to consult with the “virtual” judges about the days' conditions and any other specifics that may not have been discerned from the videos.
In addition to competitor awards for best performances on the snow, the best images and cinematography captured throughout the two-week event in the Canon Shootout were also screened and announced to the packed Wanaka Centre audience and to a global audience via live webcast.
Best Extreme Day Shot. Photo by Antony Hansen. CINEMATOGRAPHY
The outstanding cinematography showcase commenced with a five-minute overview of the two weeks of the 2012 World Heli Challenge produced by the talented Harro Art Production team lead by Trinity Ludlow.
The audience was treated to five mind-blowing five-minute mini documentaries. It wasn’t an easy decision for the judges as each film captured the spirit of the two-weeks of heli-accessed skiing and snowboarding and all of the off-snow adventures from a different perspective.
“Each and every film transported the audience inside the unique experience that is the World Heli Challenge,” said event founder Tony Harrington.
Winners were as follows with a $1,000 cash prize in each category:The Canon Shootout Best Documentary - Tomohiro Fujji
Best Carlton Dry content placement - Tomohiro Fujii
Best Extreme Sequence - Mic Simpson
Best Freestyle Sequence - Mic Simpson
Best ION POV Use - Sean Balmer
PHOTOGRAPHYSeven top photographers vying for this year’s Canon Shootout photography awards created over 25,000 images, capturing the action and the lifestyle of the event, which will be viewed around the world. Each photographer submitted one image from each category to be judged.
Winners were as follows with a $1,000 cash prize in each category:Best Extreme Day Shot – Antony Hansen
Best Freestyle Day Shot – Miles Holden
Best Carlton Dry Branded Shot – Mitch Stubbs
Best Exide Batteries Heli Branded Shot – Tess Carney
The Canon Shot – Mark Von Roy
All photos entered in the competition are featured in a gallery on the World Heli Challenge website and can be viewed on the World Heli Challenge facebook page. - Blog post
- 9 months ago
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canon world heli challenge nz canon world heli challenge nz freestyle day miller
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- 9 months ago
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canon world heli challenge nz canon world heli challenge nz extreme day hansen
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- 9 months ago
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World Heli Challenge - Canon World Heli Challenge - Canon
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- 9 months ago
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News: Sunshine And Powder For News: Sunshine And Powder For 2012 World Heli Challenge
- From: media-75233
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Lake Wanaka, New Zealand – Top skiers and boarders from around the world were treated to a perfect window of fresh powder, sunshine and epic Southern Alps terrain for the 2012 World Heli Challenge competition days held this past week. Snowboarding legend Antti Autti, from Finland but who’s snowboarded the world over said, "This is some of the best terrain I’ve ridden in a very, very long time."
With the two competition days of the 2012 World Heli Challenge in the bag, it’s now up to a handful of the world’s top judges to determine the winners. Event organizers are continuing with the innovative online judging format that draws on the experience of internationally regarded judges from around the world to review each run and analyze in detail before deciding who this year’s winners will be.
The World Heli Challenge is collectively supported by the region's leading helicopter, heli skiing operations and land-owners. Southern Lakes Heli Ski provided the guiding service; the Freestyle day venue was held on the Buchanan Range provided by Harris Mountains Heli Skiing. Mt. Albert Station and Backcountry Helicopters provided the Extreme day venue on Mt. Albert, a grandeur peak towering over 2000 meters above the head of Lake Wanaka, near Makarora.
While Thursday’s Freestyle competition got off to a slow start due to low-lying cloud cover, in the end the weather gods cooperated and by 10 a.m. helicopters were being loaded with athletes, photographers, cinematographers and the event crew, all of whom were fizzing in anticipation of the day ahead in the Buchanans.
"Even non-competitors were treated to some adrenaline," said event spokesperson Tania Pilkinton. "Ours came early, courtesy of Aspiring Helicopters and Alpine Helicopters skilled pilots."
Conditions on the Freestyle day of competition saw champagne powder at the top of the venue with some grippy snow towards the bottom, making the competition that much more challenging.
The athletes put on a show using the natural terrain to show off their freestyle tricks: 360s, flat threes, cork threes, method airs and even a few back flips.
"Overall we saw a great show of ability and strength in terrain that they have never seen before, let alone ridden," said head snowboard judge Mike Hygeman.
With little time to rest, the second day of competition, the Extreme day, was held at Mt. Albert on Friday.
"We returned to Mt. Albert again this year because it’s such an amazing venue for extreme riding," said event founder and director Tony Harrington (Harro). "This year the snow coverage was much better, opening several lines that were unskiable in 2011. The competitors took full advantage of the conditions, showing us why they stand amongst the best in the world, skiing long, fluid lines down spines, off rock faces and through narrow chutes."
"We can’t talk too much about the highlights of the day without giving away who the winners are," said Harro.
Winners will be announced at the Lake Wanaka Centre on Thursday evening at the ION Showcase Awards and Canon Shootout. "Guests will be treated to the most mouth-watering aerial and land-based cinematography ever shot in New Zealand, created by the world’s top and emerging cinematographers and photographers," said Harro.
"This not-to-be-missed black and white attire awards night will once again be one of the snow industry’s most spectacular evenings. Some of the most incredible adventure-lifestyle and snow sports footage ever documented will be featured on the big screen and simultaneously beamed via a live webcast to media partners in Australia, Asia, Europe and the Americas."
The night will also feature awards for photography, cinematography and winners of each day, as well as the overall winners of the event. New this year, skiers will be pitted against snowboarders and only one will come out on top to be named the ultimate snow sports athlete from the Challenge.
Tickets are $20 and available at Base, the Lake Hawea Hotel, Racer’s Edge and the Federal Diner. Includes drink upon arrival and entry to the After Burner Party at Opium.
The live webcast can be viewed on www.worldhelichallenge.com starting at 9 p.m. New Zealand time this Thursday.
While riders wait for the results, they will continue to take advantage of all the adventure and activities the Queenstown Lakes District has to offer, including sky diving, jet boating and more to keep their adrenaline levels high. Several have also been sited at the local op shops in search of attire for the awards festivities.
- Blog post
- 9 months ago
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2012 World Heli Highlights Fro 2012 World Heli Highlights From New Zealand
- From: media-75233
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Sunshine and powder made for epic conditions at the 2012 World Heli Challenge in New Zealand's Southern Alps last week.
- 9 months ago
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News: 2012 World Heli Challeng News: 2012 World Heli Challenge Now Under Way In New Zealand
- From: media-75233
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Wanaka, New Zealand – The 2012 World Heli Challenge is currently going down in Mt. Aspiring National Park, New Zealand. The event brings fifty of the world's best athletes together to compete in a big-mountain freeriding showdown. Venues are only accessible by helicopter and include skiers, snowboarders and telemark skiers.
On August 16, scores will be combined from Freeride Day and Extreme Day to determine the best overall athletes. The photos herein were taken by Tony Harrington, avid extreme skier and founder of the event, during the freestyle competition that was held on the event's first blue-bird day.
Athlete Roster:
Skiers
Breeze Bohl, AUS
Conrad Lucas, AUS
Finn Bilous, NZL
George Pengelly, NZL
Hank Bilous, NZL
Harry Giddings, NZL
Jacqui Edgerly, USA
Jake Bohl, AUS
Joe Webster, GBR
Markus Eder, ITA
Mitch Reeves, AUS
Natalie Segal, AUS
Neil Williman, NZL
Sam Smoothy, NZL
Sandra Lahnsteiner, AUT
Victoria Beattie, AUS
Nick Devore, USA, Telemarker
Snowboarders
Abby Lockhart, NZL
Antti Autti, FIN
Drayden Gardner, USA
Jake Koia, NZL
Jett Elkins, USA
JJ Thomas, USA
Luke Staveley, AUS
Maria Kuzma, NZL
Quentin Robbins, NZL
Ratty Sheidow, AUS
Shin Biyajima, JPN
Will Jackways, NZL
Yuta Kiyohara, JPN
- Blog post
- 9 months ago
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2012 World Heli Challenge 2012 World Heli Challenge
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- 9 months ago
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2012 World Heli Challenge 2012 World Heli Challenge
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- 9 months ago
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2012 World Heli Challenge 2012 World Heli Challenge
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- 9 months ago
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2012 World Heli Challenge 2012 World Heli Challenge
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2012 World Heli Challenge 2012 World Heli Challenge
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- 10 months ago
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News: Antti Autti, JJ Thomas A News: Antti Autti, JJ Thomas And Sandra Lahnsteiner On World Heli Challenge Roster
- From: media-75233
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Lake Wanaka World Heli Challenge Launch Day 2011. Photo by Tony Harrington.Lake Wanaka, NZ - In less than two weeks, many of the world’s top skiers and snowboarders and a handful of up and comers will converge on Wanaka, New Zealand, to take part in the 2012 World Heli Challenge.
X Games Medalist Antti Autti and Olympic Medalist JJ Thomas will see if they have what it takes to seize the top snowboarding spot from defending champion Benny Bright.
Antti Autti, a Finnish snowboarding star, shot to fame when he defeated big-name talents Danny Kass, Andy Finch, and Shaun White in the Men's Superpipe at the 2005 Winter X Games to claim the gold. He is one of two snowboarders, along with Steve Fisher, ever to beat Shaun White in the X Games Superpipe.. He was on the X Games podium again in 2009, taking a bronze medal.
Olympic snowboard superpipe medalist JJ Thomas (USA) was named Fuel TV’s Comeback Rider of the Year in 2010. He earned his Olympic medal in 2002 and then took time away from competition to focus on filming. He rededicated himself in 2009, pushing for more amplitude, style and a dipped shoulder that increased the difficulty of his tricks. Thomas will travel from his hometown of Encinitas, California to fight for the title of world’s best overall rider.
New Zealand’s Maria Kuzma, currently ranked number four on the Freeride World Tour, will be back to try to regain her title from last year’s winner (also a kiwi), Abby Lockhart.
Austria’s freeskier Sandra Lahnsteiner will go head to head with last year’s winner Janina Kuzma (NZ), who’s currently ranked sixth on the Freeride World Tour and who’s maintained the World Heli Challenge title since it’s comeback three years ago.
Lahnsteiner has featured in several movies including “Made in Austria”, “As We Are”, “A History of Snow” and “Check Your Risk.” The 2003-'04 Austrian Skier Cross Champion also competed in Big Mountain and in the 2010 Freeride World Qualifying Tour.
Big mountain skier, Sam Smoothy (NZ) will be back to defend his title as men’s overall skier. Over the Northern Hemisphere winter, Smoothy became the first ever to stand on the Freeride World Tour podium at three consecutive competitions and, after remaining in first position for most of the season finished ranked fourth overall. Smoothy will face some stiff competition from slopestyle champion, Markus Eder. In the end, will it be big mountain skills or the freeski tricks that win the day?
“We are excited to welcome back several returning athletes this year as well as a handful of first timers,” said event founder Tony Harrington. “We’re also looking forward to hosting our new Young Guns, Drayden Gardner (USA) and Luke Stavely (AUS). They will join local Finn Bilous and returning Young Gun Mitch Reeves in this year’s field.”
There are still a few spots left for competitors who’d like to experience the premier adventure lifestyle event on the planet and see how they fare against top skiers and snowboarders from around the globe, but time’s running out! Those interested in claiming a spot can e-mail bex@worldhelichallenge.com.
For more information and a full calendar of events go to www.worldhelichallenge.com
About the World Heli Challenge
The World Heli Challenge brings together the cream of snowsports athletes from around the globe to compete in a unique helicopter-accessed competition. The goal is to find out which athlete is the best “all rounder” by combining their freeride and freestyle strengths to showcase their overall talent on snow. The main event period from August 1st to 16th is jam-packed with events, parties and adventure days. For the first time this year, one athlete will be named the overall best all mountain rider. This further separates the World Heli Challenge from any other event on the globe. Skiers and snowboarders will compete on an even field, but only one will come out on top. Will it be a skier or snowboarder?
Sam Smoothy busts a clean air during Extreme Day 2011. Photo by Tony Harrington - Blog post
- 10 months ago
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Sam Smoothy World Heli Challen Sam Smoothy World Heli Challenge Extreme Day 2011, Credit Tony Harrington
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Description:Sam Smoothy World Heli Challenge Extreme Day 2011, Credit Tony Harrington
- 10 months ago
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News: Taylor Seaton, Devin Log News: Taylor Seaton, Devin Logan Win NZ Freeski Open Halfpipe
- From: media-75233
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September 6, 2011
Snow Park, New Zealand — Riders were treated to another crystal-clear day Saturday at Snow Park for the halpipe competition of The North Face Freeski Open, presented by Volkl where America’s Taylor Seaton and Devin Logan took the top spots.
With wind early in the morning, the decision was made to move straight to a men’s semifinal where 20 competitors competed for the 12 spots in the finals. As the morning progressed, the winds died down and the tricks got progressively bigger.
America’s David Wise was the top qualifier out of the semifinals scoring 82.75. Also making the cut were Nils Lauper (SUI), Gus Kenworthy (USA), Peter Crook (VBR), Cyrill Hunziker (SUI), Wing Tai Barrymore, Taylor Seaton, Yannic Lerjen, Klaus Finne, Kentaro Tsuda, Kalle Hilden and Geoff Straight.
After winning Friday's slopestyle, New Zealand’s Jossi Wells pulled the pin on today’s competition saying, “My knee is a bit sore today. I decided to be proactive and prevent possible injury so that I can keep charging hard for the rest of the season.”
When it came to the finals, Wise had to settle for second with Seaton stepping it up and defending his title. Seaton is no newcomer to the podium here in New Zealand, he won the event last year and took second the year before.
“Amplitude and execution stood out for Seaton today,” said head judge Rafael Regazzoni. “He hit everything perfectly building height as he went down the pipe. He rode really well given the wind and pipe conditions.”
Seaton was thrilled with his win saying, “It’s amazing, I couldn’t ask for anything more. It was a challenge throughout the day for sure with the winds picking up in the qualifying rounds. Also, I broke my boot.”
Seaton, who borrowed a boot for his second run in the semifinals, was able to make the necessary adjustments and go on to win with a run that included a 270 On - Switch 720 Truck Driver - Right 900 Mute Grab - Left 900 Tail Grab - Alley Oop 540 Blunt - Right Alley Oop 540 Tail Grab and scored 84.25 points.
“This is my sixth season down here and it just keeps getting better and better. I’m having more fun every year.”
“My goal today was to make it to the podium so I’d could secure my spot in the X-Games. Hopefully, my win today will also be a big push to making it to the USA Halfpipe A team. I’m next in line for a spot.” Today’s second and third place winners Kenworthy and Wise are both currently on the US team.
Wise’s second place run included a Left 900 Nose Grab - Alley Oop Rodeo 360 Mute Grab - Switch Left 720 Double Japan - Right 900 Tail Grab and Left 1080 Mute Grab and scored him 81.25 points.
After placing first in slopestyle and halfpipe at the Winter Games, world overall number one, Gus Kenworthy had to settle for third today. His run, which featured a Left Cork 900 Tail Grab - Right 720 Tail Grab - Switch 720 Japan - Alley Oop 540 - Left 1080 Tail Grab and Switch Alley Oop 720, scored him 77.5 points.
“The top three men all skied at a really high level,” said Regazzoni. “It was great to see lots of the others pushing themselves to reach the level of the top riders.”
Coming off back-to-back wins at the Winter Games NZ in slopestyle, halfpipe and big air, current overall woman’s freeskiing champion Devin Logan was back on top Saturday with a winning run that scored 85.25 points and included a Japan Air - Left 540 Tail Grab - Right Flair - Mute Air - Alley Oop Rodeo 540 - Left 540.
This is Logan’s final competition of the Southern Hemisphere season.
“This has been a great start to my season,” said Logan. “I’ve podiumed in the past five competitions.” After a great Southern Hemisphere season Logan is happy to be heading home. “It will be good to get home and spend time with the family before hitting the slopes again for the Northern Hemisphere season. Coming down to New Zealand has worked out really well over the past two seasons. I definitely plan to be back again. In fact, I may even be back this October for the Cardrona pipe camps.”
“Devin threw down one of the best runs I’ve ever seen in the pipe,” said Regazzoni. “She brought new tricks in including an alley oop rodeo 540 with amazing amplitude. There are only two girls in the world pulling down that trick.”
Kiwis Amy Sheehan and Janina Kuzma battled it out for the next two spots on the podium with Sheehan taking second by one point. Sheehan’s Left 540 - Right 360 - Switch Alley Oop 360 - Straight Air andLeft 720 scored her 70.5 points.
“Amy was riding really strongly and really clean,” said Regazzoni. “Her right t60 to switch right 360 is a technical combo to put high in her pipe run. The technicality of Janina’s run was right up there but her amplitude and execution was just a bit shy of Amy’s.”
Sheehan who was out with an injury during the Northern Hemisphere season has shown us she’s back in action. She came back with her rightside cork 700 today, the same trick that led to her injury. On Saturday, it was a success.
“I’m stoked that the wind died down for us,” said Sheehan. “It was great to ride with all my friends again. It’s nice to be back up there, back into it and doing well.”
Kuzma showed today that she can throw it down in the pipe, she’s also the world’s third ranked big mountain skier and recently took top honours as the overall woman’s skier at the World Heli Challenge. Kuzma’s run Saturday featured a Straight Air - Right 540 - Left 540 - Safety Air - Left 720 and Switch Alley Oop.
With the slopestyle and halfpipe wrapped event director Cam Craighead expressed his gratitude to the host resort, Snow Park. “This is a transitional time for the sport and the event in New Zealand,” said Craighead. “Snow Park has played a huge part in getting behind the event and helping to make it happen.”
The event Saturday was an AFP silver event earning the top competitors valuable points in the first major competition of the 2011-12 season.
“We’re happy to once again host this event in New Zealand,” said Snow Sports NZ’s acting general manager, Ross McRobie. “It’s amazing to have athletes of this caliber competing here on our soil and even more exciting to think that many of the competitors will be our future Olympians when ski halfpipe and slopestyle debut at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.”
Saturday’s spectators were treated to a first with the appearance of the famous banana bar, a tradition that was started at the European Freeski Open in Laax.
Full results and video highlight from today’s competition are available at www.nzfreeskiopen.com.
The North Face Freeski Open, presented by Volkl continues September 14 with the big mountain qualifiers. - Blog post
- 2 years ago
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Yvan and the Rockstars Yvan and the Rockstars
- From: johnforrest
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Posted by Ann Hofer
The past heli season at Northern Escape Heli-Skiing saw the return of celluloid and the antics of a strong crew of filmers, riders and athletes or proskiers. There were familiar faces from Standard Films Travis Robb and Ondo filming as well Mads Jonsson, Lonnie Kauk, Torstein Horgmo, Mathieu Crepel all familiar with the style of riding and snow conditions of the Skeena Mountains. It is always a relief to see familiar faces cause our guiding job includes developing a profile of each individual rider. This allows us to chose appropriate terrain that meets their style. I’ll talk about terrain later so for the moment I’ll mention the newbies that showed up. Mark Carter, Sammy Luebke, Aaron Bittner, Blair Habenacht and lastly perhaps the most performing rider Kazu Kobiko. Yes, as Mads stated and proclaimed he has a new found belief that Kazu may be the most talented rider he’s witnessed of any style. Honestly we were all taken aback by Kazu’s choice of lines, be it tech pillows or big mountain spine freestyle. Wow! To be present and witness 80 foot trick airs to stomp. Individually these riders are all world class and the NEH team had the their work cut out for them.
The synergy between the riders we met this season was exceptional, as the senior or more experienced riders often shared opinions on terrain choice. This exchange builds confidence in per say a line choice as quite often unknowns are always present. The key element for a rider is to remain calm and not get frustrated in times when things aren’t falling in place perfectly. A perfectionist that is hard on himself can often fall out of balance if too critical of oneself.
The man Finding new lines such as the Samurai Spines and revisiting Hell’s Gate a pillow zone that has epic sized drops that are hard to comprehend until your standing in the drop zone. The other challenge we faced was of course the weather. We started the month long tour with some clear, cold bluebird conditions which made for long days. This high pressure system blew in from the North with some severity which affected most every piece of exposed terrain so we were forced to move to sheltered tree runs. Here’s a couple tricks the riders use to maintain there energy on icy cold days. Pack and extra pair of goggles and mitts instead of gloves, snack often and stay hydrated.
What makes Northern Escape so desirable to film crews is the diversity of terrain. In any condition we can get into the mountains and put together a day of filming. Mark Carter stated “ It’s like being in AK but you have the advantage of having reference points so things aren’t so scary.” The guiding policy when things are tough and we are getting pushed around by weather is to break the terrain down and isolate features instead of looking at a whole mountain.
TB20 will be released for premiere viewing in Sept. so stay tuned for the trailer. Standard Films has always been known for putting together solid productions with a compliment of great music and historical footage. This DVD will be a must for your library.They have also made a huge production change and are shooting mostly digital, so your wide screen TV will transport you to the scene. Riders were also shooting POV with Contour so you’ll feel vertigo all in the comfort of your couch and bowl of buttered popcorn.
Our season was just about done and we were down to the last couple of weeks when John was contacted by Matchstick Productions. Alaskan Ranges had been subjected to the same cold fronts we experienced in
Terrace although they were severely short of snow and spines and the mountains were wind raked. After crunching a budget John told us it’s on. Two weeks of film with producer cinematographer Scott Gaffney and Mattias Fredriksson, Swede shooting still and Fred Arne Wergeland from Norway shooting RED.My first question to John was okay who is skiing? That question wasn’t answered until I was at the airport picking up the crew and delivering them with there private chef from Crested Butte Colorado. Kevin this dude can cook ribs and has inspired me to make my own rubs and make the best breakfast sandwich on the planet.
Back on track, I could easily turn this blog into a foodie column, Cody Townsend with his oversize mustache was familiar to me, as he skied with Team 13 and had the opportunity to be in the Skeena Range for one bluebird day during our premiere season back in 2005. We actually got his segment done in one day production quality was more of B Movie style at Team 13. Also at the airport I greeted Henrik Windstedt from Sweden, as the pro male model... He does the role justice. I’m talking about skiing, he is a Big Mountain Free ride skier to the bone. He and Cody met on the World Free ride Extremes circuit in Europe some years ago and have been doing segments for Matchstick for the past couple seasons. For the first week our crew consisted of two skiers and three crew. Quantum Helicopters flew a B2 A Star for us. The last member to join us was Rory Bushfield , he had been here in Terrace twice before. Rory is big on freestyle tricks, jumping off structures such as bridges into freezing cold rivers or crashing through some kind of inferno.
The highlight of the trip in my eyes came down to the crunch. It was like a play at a baseball game. The base were loaded and we had the star batter in the box. The pitcher had a huge wad of chewing gum and was a cool player under pressure.
So let me summarize a day in the life of a Rockstar skier. The guides made arrangements to lift early with the heli as the weather was the most promising we’d observed in two weeks. We lifted to the sunrise morning glow inbound to Umpa Lumpa Spines while the skiers discussed line choices. I flew with the pilot to establish landing zones on a knife edge ridge at the entrances for Henrik, Rory and Cody. This ridge is notorious for having huge cornices so it’s actually a invaluable to observe conditions without pressure from the skiers. It was a go, with skiers in place and filmers ready a cloud built between skiers and filmers obscuring the view so we played the waiting game. All the skiers acomplished the lines after some patience was practiced from ridgecrest. Just over the ridge in the adjacent valley I was able to keep an eye on the weather pattern so we moved to Wonderland Spines and slaughtered the zone. As filming was about to end we went for a check flight to the north which led us to the Star Creek headwaters. West Hustler Peak and a new zone waiting for a 1st descent was in perfect light so line choices and logistics were the task at hand.
Light was moving quickly on the east face of the new spine zone so we chose to get this in the can. Establishing a new zone is always exciting, the unknown always has a certain appeal although this piece of terrain I’d been observing and photographing for several years already. Present conditions being stable from avalanches and daylight being optimal although fading due to moving shadows we had to be hasty and get the job done. Cody dropped in from the highest landing and skied an obvious spines in classic big mountain style and transfered onto a lower angle spine to hit a couple pillows off the main spine. Minimal sluffing occurred on his descent so we had good information about the face so with greater confidence we proceeded with Rory’s descent which was more face skiing with a trick feature. The next skier was Henrik who was posted on a pillar landing with terrain falling away from him in all directions. His line choice was an esthetic, spine to short couloir to another major spine and a final transfer to a third spine to the valley bottom. Naming rights always come in the event of a first descent. Saucerboy Spines is the newest film venue at Northern Escape. If you don’t understand who or what signifigance Saucerboy has in this game you should watch the film called Gnar. Soon to be another classic film production from MSP visit skimovie.com for to build your DVD collection.
Scott Gaffney made the call to shoot from the heli for this feature so you’ll be on the edge of your seat watching this production. POV headcams are a mainstay so check out the action packed trailer called - La Nina The Bitch is Back.
BY THE WAY! I CAN’T BELIEVE CODY TOWNSEND IS A PRO IN THIS FILM. I’m a way better skier than him.
Yvan is a founding guide at Northern Escape Heli-Skiing and has been instrumental developing and guiding the film program and ensuring the evolution of the sport and film productions..
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