JON OLSSON INVITATIONAL
By 2005, park and pipe competitions had begun to sprout up every weekend. But despite an increased interest in the sport, the riders were becoming less enthusiastic. Basically, most events were not making competitions fun for the athletes. It was this disdain that led Jon Olsson to create the JOI in his hometown of Åre, Sweden. By inviting prime athletes from around the world, the event truly has an international feel. He painstakingly engineers a massive, yet safe feature where the progression of tricks can expand exponentially. And by catering to the riders’ wants and needs, the JOI is far and away the rider’s favorite competition of the year. No event, regarding camaraderie, attitude or general enthusiasm, can compare to the Jon Olsson Invitational.
ANDY MAHRE ZERO SPINS PYRAMID GAP
“That was an absolute defining moment in ski movie history,” says Johnny deCesare of Andy Mahre’s zero spin on pyramid gap, the same year the switch 9 session went down on neighboring Chad’s gap. Andy was already known as that guy who could do things switch in powder that few can do regular, but after his session on pyramid (that also included a 540 and a 180), the level of landing switch in powder was forever raised to a new level. Johnny adds, “After That, everyone was like, ‘holy shit, you can do that!’.”
ICER AIR BRINGS FREESKIING TO A NEW AUDIENCE
in 1998, Jonny Moseley showcased newschool skiing to the greater ski and sporting community at the Nagano Olympics. in 2005, he brought newschool skiing to the general public in San francisco. By holding a big air on the streets of the city (and later the Sf Giants baseball stadium) he exposed the greater Bay area to superstars like CR Johnson, TJ Schiller and Corey vanular. Icer Air has brought a taste of our sport to the general, non-skiing population of America. “The idea of icer Air is sick… The location is just amazing,” says Simon dumont. “Getting the best skiers to hit a jump in a location where people don’t often think about skiing is pretty cool.”
2005 Part II
