The Vill: Sun to shine; Hucksters to huck; be your best

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

By Brigid Mander

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-Long days are upon us with the sun getting higher in the sky. Backcountry days now are that much lighter and an evening run on the pass is a nice end to a day at the ski hill. Après season has entered full swing, with an extra hour after the lifts close to drink beer and chill in the sun before the cold shadow of the Tetons sends everyone fleeing indoors.

The third annual Jackson Hole Freeskiing competition returns this week, with some of the world’s top competitive free skiers arriving in Jackson to huck, billy goat, and straightline their way to cash purses and notoriety at the finish. As the fourth stop on the US Freeskiing tour, competitors are well into the battle for the top spots and the overall tour title.

Local skier Crystal Wright is currently sitting in 4th on the tour, and will be looking to improve her ranking on familiar territory against an extremely competitive field on the women’s side. With last year’s defending champion Jess McMillan in Europe competing on the World Freeride Tour, Wright and last year’s second place finisher on this venue, Hannah Horrigan, are set to defend the home field.

There will be a good showing from locals on both the men’s and women’s side with top level, low-key players like Rob LaPier ready to pit themselves again against the tour leaders and other unknown rippers. Final venue decisions have not been made yet, but last year’s venues of Casper Bowl, Unskiable, and perhaps Alta Zero are under consideration by the judges.

Competition will be held on Friday and Saturday, with Sunday as a weather day.  All potential venues are great for spectators, and hopefully the snow holds up. But no matter what, you can expect to see these skiers take things to a level most people only dream about doing.

Plenty of local skiers are always trying to take it to the next level without the incentive of cash and sponsors. Unfortunately, while skiing is a sport rife with risk, there have been a lot of curious incidents this year in the backcountry, not necessarily involving things like avalanches.

Some locals have put forth the observation that there might be some skiers - not just confused and overly gung ho tourists - who are taking their skiing to terrain that their level doesn’t exactly match just yet, with disastrous consequences, cutting happy ski seasons short. Injuries and scary tomahawking falls aside, there has also been a lot of wasting of Search and Rescue’s time for freaked out backcountry travelers in easily avoidable situations.

Base area bars are good places to improve your skiing and knowledge safely by listening to others talk about how rad they are in a secure environment, as everyone knows. But that is not enough. You must get out and practice. So that you can take it to the superstar level in a timely manner without incident, you may need this: the Village Café’s small magazine library at the end of the bar contains this title: Sports Illustrated’s 6 Ways to Reach Your Skiing Potential (c. 1985).

This book will help you re-live the fundamentals of skiing, like how to sidestep, all the parts of a turn, how to get on and off the lift and how to keep your balance in the sport of skiing. You can learn how to fall properly, and how to style the steep and gnarly in perfect 80s steeze. With this book in hand, and another season practicing its wisdom inbound before attacking the supergnar of certain backcountry lines, maybe we can see a reduction in these things we don’t want to see: happy skiers getting hurt (or near misses).

When you can flash 10 Alta Zero runs in a row, in stretch pants, in perfect synchronism with a friend or two, you will be ready for the backcountry. And as a bonus, if you don’t know how to dress for gaper day…you need look no farther.

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The Vill: Sun to shine; Hucksters to huck; be your best | Planet JH News Article: Sports & Recreation

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