Twenty five top tele skiers took part in Crested Butte Mountain Resort's Slopestyle comp on Friday. The park was buffed and in fine shape at the start, with a course consisting of two rails and two large table top jumps. With so many tele athletes going off, the judges had a tough job scoring the three passes each competitor was given.

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At the end of the day it was Jack Tolan, recently signed by Black Diamond, who took the top honors with a score of 52.9. Max Mancini pulled a number of fine airs to take second with 49.9 points. Former Mad River Glen local and Rossignol Tele Team rider Dylan Crossman received 45.8 points to finish in third.

Choosing the top woman competitor was relatively easy. Hanna Farrar, despite a zero on her third pass through, racked up nearly twice as many points as the next highest scoring woman, taking first with 22.4. Farrar stuck a pair of huge, smooth backflips to take the the top spot among the ladies.

Spectators at the Slopestyle event got to see a variety of airs and tricks, as the "telemark in the park" scene continues to move forward. Tele athletes were pulling cork-7s, misty flips, switch 720s, Japan airs, and various other moves too numerous to list. Of special note were the young tele rippers carrying the torch for a new generation of freeheel skiers. Fourteen year old Kevin Soller impressed enough to beat out 8 other competitors to finish 14th. Thirteen year old Rayce Singer entertained the crowd, taking huge air and attempting some wild moves off the big hip built into the side of the Superpipe. After the event Rayce told us, "This was fun but I'm really here for the Tele Free Skiing comp tomorrow." Another 14 year old, Matt Heiserman, also competed in the Slopestyle and both Matt and Kevin were expected to join Rayce in the Free Ski event over the weekend. A number of high school-age Colorado Rocky Mountain School Tele Team members also competed as well, including event winner Jack Tolan.

Left to right: Rayce, Kevin & Matt	A sweet grab

The top women, left to right: Hanna Farrar, Joan Stevens and Janae Deverell

Colorado Rocky Mountain School current Telemark Team members and alumni, including Lorenzo Worster (with helmet upper right), Max Mancini and Cody Smith. Seated, lower left is Slopestyle winner Jack Tolan.

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