The following are Melissa Cronin's perspectives on the recent freeride competition at Targhee:
On March 21st- 23rd the Big Sky Ski Education Foundation's Freeride Team traveled to Grand Targhee for the Jr. Freeride competition. Erin Kempt (12) and Frances Cronin (11) represented our team for in the girls 11 to 14 year old division and Micha Robin (12), Joey Manship (14), Solly Amsden(14) and Jackson Bodker(14) skied in the men's 11-14 year division. There were two age divisions 11-14 and 15 to 17 years old, all of BSSEF's athletes were in the younger category.
The young athletes arrived in Targhee to a fantastic venue that spanned the ridge off of Peaked Peak for 300 to 400 yards. There had been fresh snow several days prior which helped soften the very hard conditions that Targhee had the previous week. Fortunately Targhee's Freeride Competition Venue faces north so it withstood the extremely warm spring temperatures that defined the weekend. The venue is one of the better Freeride venues in the country so it attracted 80 young athletes from all over the Western United States. Some of the things that make this venue so great are that it is entirely visible from a safe viewing area, has many interesting feature, like cliffs and chutes, for the athletes to use in selecting and skiing their lines. The venue was also access by hiking so it does not see as much traffic as the rest of Grand Targhee.
Judging is based on line choice. The judges will rate how will the participants choose their line and how interesting their choice was. Then the judges decide how fluidly, how aggressively, how quickly, and how well technically the line was skied. The judges try not to put too much emphasis on big air but all of the best rated lines included more than one big air. Several of the top placing participants wowed the crowd with fantastic arial acrobatics.
It was very interesting to compare the styles of the various teams and participants and see what caught the judges fancy. A favorite with judges, participants and spectators was a 17 year old wonder-kin from Utah named Alex George. Alex thru down some of the most impressive skiing that many at the competition have ever seen. Alex also caught some of the biggest air and was appreciative and encouraging to the younger participant. Alex placed 2nd over ALL (both sexes) and Alex is a girl, what a cool thing to get to see, I look forward to seeing Alex help shape the sport of Freeride competition in the coming years.
I learned some interesting things about the way our young team skies in comparison to the other participants from other resorts. The BSSEF kids have all improved significantly in their technical skiing ability. Their skiing reminded me of years ago when I watched my first Freeride Competition and saw the legend Doug Combs ski. Doug skied with a mountaineering style, he skied well, smooth and direct, Doug seldom faltered or fell (before Doug's death I had skied with him on a few occasions). With the mountain and the guidance of our coaches, Kraig Kempt, Kelli Rohrig and Matt Migel, our athletes are beginning to follow in Doug's solid and confident footsteps. The BSSEF athletes skied so smoothly and solidly they made their choices of lines look easy. With some of the other athletes the lines and the style of skiing were about showmanship and the wow factor, the other athletes choose flashier lines with more air that criss-crossed the fall-line.
Jackson, Joey and Solly qualified for the second day of competition. The organizers only took %40 of the field because fears that day two would be shortened by an incoming low pressure cell. In Frances and Erin's group there were only 10 girls so only 4 moved on to the second day.
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