Alpine Meadows
Telemark Extreme Freeskiing Comp 2006-- Finals Highlights
It was a tough comp for
me to get to ... after driving for 10 hours in all kinds of weather
and traffic up from So Cal on Friday, the final 60 miles over
the pass and down to my hotel room in Kings Beach took 5 hours,
and I got there at 3:00 am. But by the end of the finals on Sunday,
despite some of the most difficult light and weather to film
in at any comp ever, I was stoked to have made it to Alpine Meadows
to see these athletes in action.
The conditions can only
be described as horrendous for Sunday's final when this video
was filmed. Bad light and terrible snow combined to make this
the most challenging comp for the athletes that I have witnessed
in the 6 years that I have been covering these events. Crust,
ice and wind affected fresh, that was the snow, and the light
was so flat by the end that you can see (in this video) perennial
comp champ Dylan Crossman fall down on a traverse due
to vertigo.
Things don't always go
as planned at these comps--- the wind and weather were so bad
for Sunday's final that up until just ten minutes prior to the
athlete's morning meeting, Alpine Meadows ski patrol officials
had declared the comp officially cancelled due to the unfavorable
snow conditions and bad weather. At the last minute patrol officials
reversed their decision and let the comp go forward, despite
the fact that they kept the public off of all of Alpine's upper
mountain for the entire day.
Some of you who watch this
video and were not there might be tempted to say, "wow,
those skiers suck." I was there you can take it from me,
the skiers don't suck, but the conditions they had to compete
in certainly did.
Still, the camaraderie
and friendship these athletes share at the comps guarantees that
the experience will be worthwhile, and as always they did their
best in trying to put on a good show.
Thanks to the Powderwhores
for helping out with their footage of the last two competitors--
Nick Devore and Dylan Crossman.
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