Hamish Acland, this year's NZ Freeski winner at Treble Cone, has confirmed he will be competing. Hamish is also the World Freeski Tour #5 ranked athlete!! We are in for a great battle for NZ freeski supremacy as Geoff Small has won the NZ Freeski title 7 times (as well as being a three times North American Freeski Champion) and came a controversial 2nd to Hamish this year. We'll be witnessing Round 2 this weekend!

It's not only top Kiwis competing; we also have quite a few top internationals competing;
•Andria Huskinson (USA) - 5th place US Freeskiing Nationals 2006, 2nd place Semi-Finals Subaru Open, 7th overall 2006 Freeskiing World Tour, 8th overall 2006 US Freeskiing Series
•Janina Kuzma (Aust) - Won the women's Volkl Freeski this year at Treble Cone for the 2nd time, equal 1st in the Fernie Free, 3rd Lake Louise Big Mountain Comp and 3rd at the Molson Canadian Freeskiing Championships
•Klas Englund (Sweden) - Twice 2nd place in the Swedish Freeski Comp
•Tim Haggerty (Canada) - 7th 2005 and 11th 2006 in the Lake Louise Big Mountain, 3rd in the Marmot/Galliano Extreme Comp 2005
•Alex Lynden (NZ) - 1st in the inaugural Marmot Extreme Comp, 7th in Volkl Big Mountain Comp at Treble Cone

Last year the inaugural Marmot Extreme Comp exceeded all expectations! This event is the only type of its kind on the North Island. It is also one of a very small number of Big Mountain competitions in the world that includes skiing and snowboarding (and telemarkers!). The Prize Pool is only second in the country to the NZ Burton Open for a single event and is bigger than many of the same type of events overseas.

This year there’s competitors from NZ, Germany, Scotland, England, Andorra, Australia, Sweden, Canada, and the US.

“If the weather cooperates were are in for an awesome competition! I’m stoked at the calibre of athletes we have this year. In only its 2nd year, the Marmot Extreme Skiing and Boarding Comp is attracting some big names in the Freeskiing scene as well as getting athletes from overseas to come to NZ to specifically compete in this event. We’re in for a real treat this weekend!” Mt. Ruapehu Marketing Coordinator Tim Wilkinson said. More details on www.mtruapehu.com/extremecomp

Located in the central North Island of New Zealand, Mt Ruapehu operates Whakapapa and Turoa Ski Areas, the two largest in the country (550ha/1360 acres and 500ha/1236 acres respectively). Turoa also has Australasia’s biggest vertical drop of 722m. Conveniently located between Auckland and Wellington, it is an easy 4-5hr drive on sealed roads. Mt Ruapehu recently announced $30 million on on-mountain investments including three new high speed chairs. This is the biggest investment in the NZ ski industry. For more information visit www.mtruapehu.com