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With the news of a return
to a three-comp lineup-- Alpine Meadows, Crested Butte and a
true Telemark Freesking World Championship to be held at Alaska's
Alyeska Resort (see Tele
News)-- we thought
it a good time to bring back a Classic TeleVision video from
2003, featuring Dylan Crossman's Crested Butte championship comp
winning 80 foot front flip, easily the most amazing moment I've
ever witnessed in covering more than a dozen such events through
the years.
It was such a shock. I
was sitting with Big Tim and a few onlookers on a small mid-course
ridge, filming the competitors negotiating a large cliff band
above when Crossman, making his debut at Crested Butte, worked
his way onto rock high above the venue. With no visibly skiable
line below him, the crowd began to hoot and holler, unsure of
what Dylan had in mind, but excited nontheless. All of us were
stunned when he launched, arms extended out, pulling a classic
front flip and landing nearly a hundred feet below in an explosion
of snow.
I was left with the impression
that Crossman had come about as close to sticking the landing
as one can get after dropping that kind of air, and as it turned
out Dylan told me later that the only thing that held him up
from immediately skiing away was that one of his skis came off--
his cable binding having found its limit I guess. Anyway, it
was a helluva a way for the young man from Mad River Glen to
begin what would be a series of dominant wins year after year,
and again, easily the most remarkable run I've ever witnessed.
The athletes and promoters
like to call these events "freeskiing" comps, but make
no mistake, these are extreme sking competitions in every sense.
The athletes take incredible risks where mistakes can have harsh,
sometimes even tragic, consequences. Still, these athletes are
out there pushing the boundaries and the perceptions of what
can be accomplished on tele gear, and they have our total respect
in every way. If you haven't witnessed one of these comps first
hand, try to check one out sometime, the spirit of competition
and camaraderie is as impressive and memorable as Dylan's 80
foot front flip.
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The link to this pre-HD
era video is below and Crossman's air segment begins at 1:30,
following comp pioneer Scott Murray's run.
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