Members of the Durango Winter Sports Club's Freeride Program, formerly Four Corners Freeride, have been busy competing in regional competitions.
Team members have traveled to Crested Butte, Wolf Creek, Monarch and Telluride ski areas to compete in a series of International Freeskiers Association regional competitions. The venues featured steep ungroomed faces littered with cliffs and other natural features as the athletes did their best to impress the judges and crowds.
Athletes in freeride are judged on five criteria: line selection, technique, fluidity, control and style, and energy.
“It’s basically whoever skis the cleanest, most exciting run wins” said Brian Buerger, Program Director of DWSC Freeride.
At the Crested Butte regional, one of the toughest venues in the state, DWSC freerider Jackson Nash, coached by Erik Sortland, earned fifth place in Spellbound Bowl. Nash threw down a run full of powerful, fast skiing punctuated with numerous cliff drops and airs.
“It's not as easy as go-out-there-and-huck-your-meat,” Buerger said. “You have to ski the most challenging lines perfectly, with zero loss of control and fluidity. Every athlete flat out rips, so there's not much room for mistakes. If you drag a hand or backslap off a cliff, the judges will hit you pretty hard.”
Brothers Quinn and Shay Franklin-Mathers also did well, with both earning 12th place in their respective age categories. David Moran also had a solid run by placing 20th in the 12-14 boys.
At Monarch Regional this past weekend, DWSC Freerider, Shane Rapiejko, coming off a fifth place at Wolf Creek Regional, earned himself a second-place finish in the 12-14 age group with an impressive run down High Anxiety. Rapiejko is a first year member of the team and is already scoring podiums. He has a chance at competing at nationals.
At the Telluride Regional in Black Iron Bowl, it was the DWSC ladies who led the team. Team members Kaili Thorpe and Victoria Bartletta each shredded steep lines, peppered with rocks, into large cliff airs at the bottom of the venue that they both stomped, putting them into sixth and eighth place, respectively.
The DWSC Freeride team is a youth program supporting more than 50 athletes ages 10-17. Freeskiing is a relatively new competition arena with a growing following of young athletes looking to up their skills.
“We’ve had a lot of athletes competing this season and we’re proud of all of them,” Buerger said. “Whatever their result, our athletes always come away from these events better, more confident skiers.”
The team will compete in one more regional competition at Taos this week (March 1-2).
The team’s big fundraising event, the fourth annual Hollywood Huckfest will take place on March 18 at Purgatory Resort and is sponsored by Steamworks and Homeslice.
The Huckfest is a slopestyle-freeride event featuring kickers above the cliff faces on the “Hollywood” expert terrain of the Catharsis run. Each athlete gets two runs and will be judged on air, tricks, cleanness of landing and riding technique. The event is open to skiers and riders for $45. For more information about the DWSC Freeride Program, visit durangowintersportsclub.org
