By all accounts, the inaugural junior big mountain freeride event at Grand Targhee this past weekend was a success. The organizer of the event hopes to create a series of such competitions throughout the region next year. The future looks bright for BSSEF's big mountain freeride team!
Erin Kempt took top honors among the younger girls. Solomon Amsden and Joey Manship didn't make the cut for the finals on Sunday, but competed well against tough, mostly older Alpine and tele-skiers. Here's what Kelli Rohrig had to say about yesterday's competition:
To the kids delight...Grand Targhee dug out a vintage snow cat (circa 1960 something) to tow the racers up the hill. Today's event was a little higher up the ridge line, so the welcomed snow cat saved the kids a hearty 30 minute hike. With the competitors legs being fresher, the kids went bigger. Both the girls and boys threw down huge and skied lines that impressed even the most critical of spectators. The older girls' overall winner, Alex George, hucked a substantial 10 plus feet, and quite a few of the boys had no problem heaving 10, 20, and even 30 plus feet of air. Judges, parents, and spectators were entertained with back flips, mute grabs, and even some old school spread eagles. Big Sky's Erin Kempt did some air time, too, flinging her little body off a cliff that caught the audience, her coach, and her dad by surprise...Perfect skies, a fantastic venue and real tournament-style trophies to the winners made this event top notch.
