Four Revelstoke skiers are moving on to the final day of competition of the Freeskiing World Tour on Monday. Sean Cochrane, Gord Spurgeon, Tatum Monod and Nicole Derksen all qualified for the final day, in which skiers will be flown by helicopter to the top of imposing Mac Face – a steep bowl littered with cliffs.
Day one of the competition saw skiers fly through the North Bowl area of Revelstoke Mountain Resort. Competitors skied various lines along "No Panic" ridge – throwing themselves off cliffs, zipping through powder and pulling off various stunts down the steep terrain.
"It looks like everybody is really pulling out some cool lines today, the level of competition is really high this year," said Cochrane, who was the only local to make the finals last year, as he watched the competition following his run. "The amount of talent in the lineup this year is huge, I think."
Leah Evans of Red Mountain, B.C., leads the women after day one while Drew Tabke currently holds the top spot on the men's side.
Monod, who only just moved to Revelstoke from Banff, led the way, finishing in third place amongst the women with 31.87 points. She started with a 15-foot cliff drop, then dropped down a steep ridge before cruising through the middle of the bowl and into the trees below.
"I tried to keep everything moving as much as possible – just do some fast, flowy skiing," the 19-year-old said. "I'm super happy with it."
Nicole Derksen qualified in fifth spot. She made her way down the ridge at the top of North Bowl to the run Meet the Neighbours before dropping off a cliff and straight-lining through a chute. She followed that up with two more drops before cruising through the finish line.
"It felt pretty good," she said after her run. "Now I'm going for a heli-ride."
Sean Cochrane finished in 14th place with 31.33 points and Gord Spurgeon wound up 18th with 30 points.
"I just went out, nailed my line. I kind of got caught with a little bit of powder at one point but pretty much did everything I wanted to," said Cochrane. "I had a fun run so those two things combined are pretty good in my books."
Rylan Kappler, 18, was the lone local skier not to make it through, finishing in 29th spot with 23 points.
"It was a prety mellow run, I'd say; not too many hits," he said. "There was a good booter in that chute that caught me and almost took me down but I stayed strong and pulled through it. I have to say it was a pretty good run."
Competitors played it up for the new judging criteria, which includes a tricks and style category, performing 360s and back-flips to try and boost their score.
For some, like Collin Collins, who pulled a 720, it paid off with a trip to the finals. For others, like Johnny Collinson, who crashed after attempting a back flip, it meant the end of their competition.
"We rewarded good skiing but if you crashed you got hit hard, if you back-slapped you got hit hard and if you weren't fluid you got hit hard," said judge and local pro-skier Chris Rubens. "We were looking for really solid, fast, entertaining skiing and there was quite a few of them up there – it was exciting to see."
A few favorites didn't make the cut: Angel Collinson, the current tour leader, somersaulted on a landing and finished 11th, while Julien Lopez, who was runner up at last year's Revelstoke competition, finished 28th on the men's side.
The final day of the competition begins at 10:30 a.m. on Monday on Mac Face. Spectators can watch from the bottom of Greeley Bowl or online at freeskiingworldtour.com/live.html.
Complete results from day one are as follows, the cut off indicates who will be skiing in the finals:
Ladies
Result Number Name Home Mountain Country Run 1
1 34 Leah Evans Red Mountain CAN 33.33
2 6 Jacqui Edgerly Aspen USA 33.27
3 37 Tatum Monod Banff CAN 31.87
4 29 Crystal Wright Jackson Hole USA 28.03
5 46 Nicole Derksen Revelstoke CAN 27.50
6 12 Sara Rose Mancuso Squaw Valley USA 25.67
7 39 Louise Lintilhac Crested Butte USA 25.53
cut off
8 23 Michelle Manning Alta USA 22.23
9 25 Martha Burley Fernie CAN 21.93
10 8 Clare Burns Val d'isere USA 19.90
11 4 Angel Collinson Snowbird USA 19.20
12 20 Sonja Lercher Blackcomb CAN 16.13
13 40 Sasha Dingle Bridger Bowl USA 15.67
14 5 Ashley Maxfield Alta USA 14.90
15 44 Tracy Chubb Sun Valley USA 13.33
16 38 Alex George Jackson Hole USA 12.73
17 31 Mckenna Peterson Alta / Snowbird USA DNF
18 36 Alexis DuPont Sun Valley USA DNS
Gents
Result Number Name Home Mountain Country Run 1
1 2 Drew Tabke El Colorado, Chile USA 38.53
2 42 Lars Chickering Ayers Mad River Glen USA 37.30
3 13 Mat Jackson Squaw Valley USA 36.43
4 49 Spencer Brinson Kirkwood USA 36.17
5 3 Griffin Post Jackson Hole USA 35.63
6 7 Aaron Schmidt Fernie Alpine Resort CAN 35.53
7 10 Carter McMillan Lake Louise CAN 34.83
8 14 North Parker Sun Valley USA 34.67
9 24 Caleb Brown Fernie Alpine Resort CAN 34.00
9 57 Sam Cohen Alta USA 34.00
11 52 Matt Luczkow Vail USA 33.90
12 33 Dylan Crossman Mad River Glen/Alta USA 32.23
13 11 Connery Lundin Squaw Valley USA 31.50
14 65 Sean Cochrane Revelstoke CAN 31.33
15 60 Collin Collins Sun Valley USA 31.27
16 9 Drew Stoecklein Alta / Snowbird USA 30.70
17 28 Matt Potter Breckenridge USA 30.67
18 36 Gord Spurgeon Revelstoke CAN 30.00
19 45 Ryan Hawks Mad River Glen USA 28.50
20 30 Dominick Malaussena Jay Peak USA 28.17
cut off
21 59 Michael Legare Blackcomb CAN 27.77
22 22 Mark Welgos Aspen USA 27.53
23 53 Phil Hudec Lake Louise CAN 26.93
23 50 Kyle Taylor Whitefish USA 26.67
24 35 Craig Garbiel Kirkwood USA 26.27
25 69 Cliff Bennett Snowbird USA 25.87
26 55 Colston VB Rossland CAN 25.77
27 51 Christian Mandahl Snowbird USA 23.60
28 27 Julien Lopez La Plagne FRA 23.33
29 64 Ryan Kappler Revelstoke CAN 23.00
30 67 Chuck Mumford Snowbird USA 22.67
31 18 Ryan Sullivan Whistler CAN 20.20
32 68 Lucas Gonnthier Revelstoke CAN 19.10
33 54 Alex Wall Revelstoke CAN 17.30
34 41 Ben Wheeler Snowbird USA 16.73
35 61 Nick Leboe Silver Star CAN 16.53
36 56 Ryan Walters Bridger Bowl USA 15.77
37 16 Johnny Collinson Snowbird USA 15.33
38 32 Whit Boucher Vail USA 14.80
39 15 Scott McBrayer Crested Butte USA 14.70
39 17 Axel Peterson Sun Valley USA 14.70
41 26 Mathieu Imbert VARS La Loral Blanche FRA 14.53
42 58 Michael Gardner Telluride USA 14.23
43 63 Silas Chickering Ayers Mad River Glen USA 14.13
44 21 Luke Nelson Fernie CAN DNF
45 48 Benjamin Ogilvie Fernie CAN DNF
46 47 Randy Evans Crested Butte USA DNF