The sport of freeskiing witnessed a fantastic conclusion to the Verbier Ride 2006 presented by Peak Performance today, Wednesday 22 February. IFSA Head Judge, Jim Jack, made clear it was an epic display of phenomenal, but smart riding. He told the riders Ïyou found some routes up there that amazed us, but you still kept it safe.Ó

The 19 men and 6 women, who had made it through to the Superfinal, gathered at the bottom of the Mont Gele face this morning for the hike up the Mont Gele ridge to get to their choice of one of three start gates. An inexplicable decision by the lift company, TeleVerbier, meant that the riders werenÌt permitted to use the cable car to get to the top.

DENVER'S GRIFFIN POST AND JENNIFER ASHTON OF WHISTLER TAKE TOP HONORS AT THE U.S. EXTREME FREESKIING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Snowbird locals dominated the womenÌs field, taking the top seven spots, with Suzanne Graham emerging as the winner. ÏIt was my first big mountain competition ever,Ó said Graham. ÏI canÌt believe I won.Ó Alaina Huestis took second and Molly Baker third.

In menÌs competition, Griffin Post of Sun Valley, ID, came in third, Tres Zaglool of Snowbird was second, while Kevin OÌMeara of Squaw Valley, CA, claimed the victory.
ÏAll day I was just hoping that I qualified,Ó said OÌMeara. ÏI had never seen the course before my run, so I was lucky to watch a few Snowbird locals compete. I just went where they skied, went a little bigger, and it all came out really well.Ó

Fifteen inches of new snow overnight caused a 400-foot-wide, eight-foot-deep avalanche that blocked access to Snowbird from down the canyon. Event crews began qualifier runs with the 35 competitors who had stayed overnight at the resort, hoping the roads would open in time for the remainder of the field to compete.

In the interest of fairness, no one was able to inspect the course since those coming up the canyon would have no time for inspection. All competitors were skiing blind, hoping to find clear landings and a way out of technical rock sections and 20- to 50-foot cliff dropsÛall while still trying to impress the judges.

High winds on Hidden Peak caused periodic closures of the Snowbird Tram and Little Cloud lift, the only two lifts that accessed the course. However, excitement was high and competitors volunteered to hike 45 minutes up Regulator Bowl to compete.

Finally, by mid-afternoon, winds calmed enough to allow lifts to run, and the fog that had filled the bowl most of the day lifted to reveal 60 competitors on the ridge ready to run. In the end, MSI pulled off the impossible, finishing the last competitor just before the resort closed at 4:00 pm.