They took advantage of Telluride's record snow totals by conquering lines and launching off rocks that are usually too exposed to ski. Skiers were throwing 360's off the top of the course, back-flipping off rock spines and sticking 20-foot jumps with landings as smooth as cream.

And for the second year in a row, Crystal Wright and Griffin Post were sitting in first place after the opening day's competition. After stunning first-day runs last year that put them at the head of the pack, Post finished second overall while Wright crashed during the finals and fell down in the standings.

This year, both were skiing strong out of the gate, and they said they're hoping to hold onto first place. Nine women, 36 men and three juniors will head back to Telluride's Black Iron Bowl tomorrow morning for the finals.

Wright, of Jackson Hole, WY, claimed the women's top spot with a fast, fluid run, full of floating turns down the double-black Westlake run. Other women chose more technical lines, but Wright said she wanted to showcase the strength and style of her skiing.

"I've learned not to ski something that's out of my comfort zone, because that's when I don't ski as well," she said. Wright was jittery going into last year's second-day competition, but this year, she said she was going to stay cool and collected. "Mentally, I can do it. I'm a lot better."

Her plans paid off with a score of 31.88, almost six points better than her first-day score last year. But Wright has some tough competitors this year, with Galena Gleason of Telluride and Hannah Whitney of Whitcomb Mountain less than a point behind.
On the men's side, Post, of Sun Valley, ID, beat out more than 70 skiers from across the West and as far away as Japan to nab the top position. Post ripped up with mountain with a run down the spine of Genevieve, full of big air, steep straight-lining and postcard-perfect turns.

"I'm stoked, for sure," he said. "I had my line picked out, and I got to ski exactly what I wanted to. I felt super solid."

Post ended the day with a score of 34.50, a .75-point advantage on second-place finisher Jake Cohn of Telluride. Oliver Holmes of Arapahoe Basin is right behind them, with a score of 33.13. Tomorrow, Post said he's going to ski more aggressively than last year and take a trickier route down the mountain.

"I've got it pretty much picked out," he said.

Head IFSA judge Jim Jack said the judges saw some beautiful turns, smart skiing and aggressive line choices during today's qualifiers. They'll be looking for more of the same tomorrow, as they critique skiers on line difficulty, control, technique, fluidity and aggressiveness.

Tomorrow's finals will take skiers farther up Telluride's high-alpine Prospect Ridge. They'll have a chance to make powder turns down the steep and snowy Mountain Quail run, shoot through the trees on Review and huck themselves off big cliffs on the Dihedral Chutes.

"There's a lot of mountain to choose from," Jack said.

Once again, MSI will be posting same-day video webcasts on the newly redesigned www.usfreeskiing.com which features state of the art video and photo player technology. The daily uploads of video, photos, news and results of each day’s competition action will be available after each day concludes.

2008 Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series & Freeskiing World Tour Schedule

• Subaru Telluride Freeskiing Open, Telluride CO, February 7-10

• Subaru Squaw Valley Freeskiing Open, Squaw Valley, CA, February 13-16

• Subaru U.S. Extreme Freeskiing Championships, Crested Butte, CO, February 19-23 (World Tour #1)

• Subaru Jackson Hole Freeskiing Open, Jackson Hole, WY, March 13-16

• Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Nationals, Snowbird, UT, March 18-23 (World Tour #2)

• Subaru Freeskiing World Championships and Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series Finals, Alyeska, AK, April 9-13 (World Tour #3


Special thanks to our sponsors:
Subaru of America
The North Face
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Powder Magazine
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Ski Press Magazine
Mt. Olympus Water
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Yakima
IFSA

Special thanks to our Resort partners:
Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort
Jackson Hole Mountain Resort
Telluride Ski Resort
Squaw Valley USA
Crested Butte Mountain Resort
Alyeska Resort


For more information log onto www.usfreeskiing.com