Forty-three of 54 skier men competed today; remaining men, snowboarders, all women skiers will finish semi-finals tomorrow

“You will not find better skiers than you’re going to see here today,” said MSI event organizer Dak Williams to open today’s event.

High winds and six inches of new snow overnight delayed the start over an hour to allow for avalanche control work on the Cirque’s 50-plus-degree face. Skier men ran first down Hourglasss—the far left section of this permanent closure that has been opened exclusively for this weekend’s competitors.

“It’s kind of a mix of open powder fields and iced-over billy-goat lines,” said current U.S. Series Standings leader Drew Tabke. “You have to pick the right spot to land in. Some guys find it, others have gone down pretty hard.”

Increasing winds, snow, and fog all morning shut down competition around 1 pm, after over two-thirds of the men’s field had finished. The final 16 men—including the current World Freeskiing Tour standings leader Guerlain Chicherit of Tignes, France—were put on “aggressive standby,” waiting to compete at a moment’s notice in windows of clearing.

At 2 pm, whiteout conditions forced organizers to postpone the remainder of the men’s skiers, women’s skiers, and snowboarder semi-finals until tomorrow. The afternoon was spent struggling to finish the final men’s skier competitors, amidst patchy fog and extremely flat light.

“The winds are so strong up here, it’s hard to see one turn ahead,” said official starter Mike Bittner. A few men stepped up with solid runs despite the conditions, including Matt Jackson of Squaw Valley, John Witherspoon of Jay Peak, VT, and Chicherit, who had the third highest score of the day—1.2 points out of the lead.

However, at 4 pm, with 11 men left to run, Dak was forced to make the final call. “It’s completely socked in up here—we’re done.”

Forecasters are calling for heavy storms all weekend, with two feet of snow overnight.
Weather permitting, competition will resume tomorrow with semi-final runs for women skiers, men and women snowboarders, and today’s final 11 men.

“It makes you realize how talented and determined these athletes are when they deal with weather like we had today,” said Mountain Sports International (MSI) National Logistics Director Nicole Leitner. “We count on snow to make these events happen, but weather’s unpredictable. Sometimes, there’s only so much we can do.”

Official semi-final results will be posted tomorrow after the remaining men compete.

Current Men’s U.S. Freeskiing Series leader Drew Tabke is sitting in fifth overall for the semi-finals. Second place Tyson Bolduc of Vail, CO, was knocked out of the running with a pre-release today. Currently tied with Bolduc for third in series standings, Snowbird, UT, boys Cliff Bennett and Nick Greener have yet to compete.

Greener is also sitting in third in Freeskiing World Tour standings. Tour standings second-place Olivier Meynet did not finish today, opening the door for fourth-place Mathieu Richard, who had today’s second highest score. However, eleven men are on deck to compete tomorrow, so nothing is final yet. Stay tuned.

Along with U.S. Freeskiing Series title sponsor Subaru of America and host Kirkwood Mountain Resort, strong support from tour partners Amstel Light, The North Face, Powder Magazine, Sportsinsurance.com, Nordica, and Smith Optics have allowed for a huge overall prize purse as well as expanded coverage of the competition. New for 2006, MSI is excited to present online, video-on-demand footage of all events, which will be uploaded weekly to www.usfreeskiing.com

For Kirkwood registration, schedules, news, photos, videos, and other important event information, visit the newly re-designed:

www.usfreeskiing.com/2006/Kirkwood/kirkwood_index.html

Subaru North American Freeskiing Championships Day #1 - March 31st - Hourglass Cirque
Results
SKIERS
MALE ATHLETE NAME HOME RESORT COUNTRY BIB# Total
1 Craig Garbriel Kirkwood USA 4 33.2
2 Mathieu Richard Whistler CAN 42 32.8
3 Guerlain Chicherit Tignes FRA 6 32
4 Adrien Coirier Les Arcs FRA 1 31.2
5 Tobias Lee Eaglecrest, AK USA 78 29.4
5 Drew Tabke Alta USA 45 29.4
7 Drew Billington Snowbird USA 86 28.8
7 Justin Modroo Red Lodge USA 35 28.8
9 Rick Greener Alta/Snowbird USA 69 28.6
10 Chris Tatsuno Breckenridge, CO USA 25 28.2
11 Jason Dobbs Asquawnymous USA 76 27.6
12 Shane Carmichael Whistler CAN 44 27.4
13 Brandon Wilkinson The Canyon USA 100 27.2
14 Jamie Blair Alta USA 37 26.8
15 Matt Jackson Squaw Valley USA 96 26.4
16 Tom Dockter Alta/Snowbird USA 29 26.2
17 Aurelien Ducroz Chamonix FRA 7 25.8
18 Jesse Bryan Snowbird USA 79 24.8
19 Jon Mullens Kirkwood AUS 30 24.6
19 Ryan Kindervater Mammoth USA 58 24.6
21 Jonny Manwaring Park City USA 66 24.2
Cutoff
22 Miles Clark Squaw USA 27 23.2
23 Kris Thomas Squaw Valley USA 28 23
24 Doug Severn Kirkwood USA 63 22.8
25 Griffin Post Sun Valley USA 43 22
26 Elijah Lee Mt Baker USA 48 21.8
27 Tyler Boutelle Squaw USA 26 21.6
27 John Witherspoon Jay Peak USA 38 21.6
29 OJ Abben Kirkwood USA 95 21
30 Scott McBrayer Aspen/Snowmass USA 85 19.8
31 Jamie LaValle Squaw Valley USA USA 88 18.6
32 Dex Mills Crested Butte USA 33 18
33 Lloyd Tucker Aspen/Snowmass USA 90 17.8
34 John Mason Breckenridge USA 41 17
35 Kiffor Berg Aspen/Snowmass USA 36 15
36 Eon Jarvis Snowbird USA 13 13.8
37 Chris Laub Snowbird USA 59 11.4
MALE ATHLETE NAME HOME RESORT COUNTRY BIB# Total
38 Kyle Sul A Basin USA 82 11
39 Tyson Bolduc Vail USA 62 TDQ
40 Cameron Thomson Kirkwood USA 93 TDQ
41 Mark Curry Kirkwood USA 87 TDQ
42 Fred Mooney Winter Park USA 99 TDQ
43 Olivier Meynet Bellevaux FRA 5 DNF
Did not compete due to weather - will run tomorrow as soon as control work is complete
1 Justus Meyer Jackson Hole USA 84
2 Bryce Rhodes Eureka Ski Bowl USA 73
3 Cory Zila Mammoth Mtn USA 64
4 Guy Morneault Solitude USA 60
5 Cliff Bennett Snowbird USA 21
7 Nick Greener Snowbird USA 68
8 Mike Leake Alpine Meadows USA 98
9 Eric Wilkinson Park City Mountain Resort USA 55
10 Nate Kushlan Kirkwood USA 72
11 Olin Glenne Sun Valley USA 50