This past weekend, Mount Snow played host to the third and final stop of the Paul Mitchell Opens Freeski Tour. Mother nature was reaping havoc on the east coast this week, torrential downpours and grey skies plagued the days prior to the competition, instilling doubt and fear that the course would resemble a bobsled track. Thankfully the day before the comp saw low temperatures, 6 inches of snow leading into 4 straight days of bluebird skies and temperatures in the mid 30’s. In other words, mother nature hit the reboot switch and everything came out just fine.
Day 1: Superpipe
Our first day of competition was over on the superpipe. Hundreds of spectators came out to witness the action, soak up some rays and expose themselves to a side of skiing that they may have never been aware of. Being the Opens Freeski Tour the morning was filled with a jam format, this encouraged creativity and a relaxed atmosphere. No need to call bib numbers, simply get to the top of the pipe and drop in as many times as you want. Taylor Felton and Dan Marion were wowing the crowd with their synchronized pipe runs, Scott Hibbert was throwing his patented backflips at the bottom of the pipe and Willis Brown was boosting off the skiers right side wall.
After a morning session that seemed to fly bye, everyone gathered for a free lunch, the some maintenance was performed on the pipe, the walls were slipped and the finalists bibs were handed out.
Finalists names being announced during lunchtime. (Photo: Henrik Lampert)
The finals saw some great action, however it was no surprise that Dan Marion and Opens Freeski Tour veteran, Dania Assaly were going away with the top podium spots. Dan’s runs were clean and big, his switch 7 was flawless and he wasn’t having issues with the left wall being baked out and over-vert. Dania was throwing down smooth 540’s and sticking her grabs.
Other competitors were having some issues with the inconsistency of the pipe. Many people were landing far down on the skiers left transition and washing out due to it having the consistency of mashed potatoes. Chances are, if you were throwing left wall 900’s, you’d have a 33% chance of riding away.
Marion rolls home with $2,000 in cash and some sweet Paul Mitchell products, the audience gets a great show, people go home to unexpectedly discover they have goggle tan and we gave away a free pair of Fischer Addict (181cm) skis by having a dizzy pole race to the middle of the halfpipe. Sweet day!
The Dizzy pole scramble. Spin around on a ski pole for 30 seconds, then its a race to the middle of the pipe to claim a new pair of Fischer Addict skis.
Yep, told you it was really bluebird. (Photo: Henrik Lampert)
Dan Marion celebrates the 10% rule after the awards ceremony and shows off his proud March mustache.
Halfpipe Results
Men
1. Dan Marion
2. Tucker Perkins
3. Scott Nelson
4. Brian Kish
5. Clayton Villa
6. Evan Schwartz
7. Marshall Lacroix
8. Tony Seibert
9. Evan Walls
10. Matt Duhamel
Women
1. Dania Assaly
2. Miyuki Hatanaka
3. Devin Logan
4. Jillian Kazley
5. Abigail Miles
