Big Mountain Finals Blows Up!
Kiwis Sweep the Men's Podium at The North Face Freeski Open
"This was the highest level of competition we've seen at the freeski open," said head judge Dion Newport "The progression of the sport showed through with freestyle being incorporated well in the winning runs." The competition was held in the Alta Chutes at The Remarkables where snow conditions were great offering the competitors soft powder landings. "The conditions were incredible, even when compared to the two days prior at the qualifiers," said Newport. "The new snow really helped improve coverage." 16-year-old George Pengelly, from Canterbury, took his second big win of the season and first in a competition of this level. "George nailed it," said Newport. "He showed the progression of freeriding on his winning run, skiing incredibly fast and starting his run with a 360 off the top followed by two big solid airs and a forty foot plus flat 360 with a beautiful Japan grab." "This sport is progressing to more of a freestyle influence in the big mountain terrain and that's what clinched the win for George today." Pengelly, who was named to the Snow Sports NZ development team last year said, "This was completely unexpected. It's incredible. I could have gone bigger in the middle airs but I'm really happy overall. I usually try to do something different in each competition, something interesting. This time it paid off." Taking second was teammate Charlie Lyons. "Charlie skied two really nice lines, executing nice grabs and solid landings on all his cliff jumps," said Newport. "With heavy snow falling and low visibility his execution on the second run was impressive." New Zealand's top ranked big mountain skier, Sam Smoothy, rounded out the men's podium. "Sam was in form, skiing aggressively with speed and going huge off every cliff jump," said Newport. "Had he landed the biggest cliff jump of the day on his first run he would have been in contention for the top of the podium." In an unexpected turn of events, Norway's Anja Gardii captured the title from six-time winner and the world's third ranked big mountain skier Janina Kuzma. "Anja skied really fast and really clean, getting grabs on some of her airs," said Newport. "She dealt with the challenging conditions really well taking the cliffs fall line with no hesitation." "Janina came back in her second run after crashing on her first run," said Newport. "She showed consistent skiing by linking a clean run together but it just wasn't quite enough to clinch the title this year." Rounding out the women's podium was NZ's Mitchey Greig. "Mitchey showed her ski racing background by skiing very fast in the venue and taking a good line," said Newport. "While powder makes for great landings, it is challenging for the skiing because it hides the rocks and creates variable conditions. Mitchey handled the conditions really well." For full results click here: "This wraps up another successful freeski open in New Zealand," said Event Director Cameron Craighead. "With the backing of our title sponsor The North Face and presenting sponsor Volkl along with the support from Snow Sports New Zealand and a fantastic events team we're looking forward to continuing to grow this event into something bigger and better each year. And now, the planning starts for the 2012 North Face Freeski Open of NZ." For more information on The North Face Freeski Open of New Zealand, presented by Volkl, click here.
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