Whitefish Mountain Resort Park Series Takes on the Night
January 31, 2011, Whitefish, MONT. – The first event in the Night Riders Park Series went down on Saturday night in the Fishbowl Terrain Park with a Best Trick competition. Forty-five skiers and snowboarders competed in the event, with a strong showing from the Whitefish Mountain Resort Freestyle Team.
Amidst the falling snow, competitors in the Grom, Amateur and Ladies’ divisions had two chances to impress the judges, while competitors in the Open division had three. Skiers and snowboarders were judged based on overall impression of the amplitude, execution and difficulty of the trick. Competitors also had a bonus run to compete for best daffy for skiers and best method for snowboarders.
Chance Ling took home the Men’s Open Snowboard division win with a Backside Rodeo 540. “It was awesome,” said Ling after taking the podium. “I saw some super sick tricks and methods tonight.”
Former WMR Freestyle Team member and coach Danner Pickering took the top spot in the Open skier division with a Cork 720 Tail Blunt. Other podium placements were: Matthew Hensley (Men’s Amateur Ski 13+); Brad Tiefenthaler (Men’s Amateur Snowboard 13+); Parkin Costain (Men’s Grom Ski 8-12); Hunter Lamoureux (Men’s Grom Snowboard 8-12); Marley Rodwick (Ladies’ Ski 8+): and Aimee Bartell (Ladies’ Snowboard 8+).
In addition to Costain and Lamoureux, the WMR Freestyle Team had a strong showing in the top three finishers for each division. For the skiers, Austin West placed third in the Men’s Amateur division, Wyatt Coe and James Heil placed second and third, respectively, in Men’s Grom, and Tatum Lannaghan placed third in the Ladies’ division. Kyle Thomsen placed second in the Men’s Amateur Snowboard division.
The Night Riders Park Series continues this weekend during the Whitefish Winter Carnival with a Rail Jam at 5:45 p.m. followed by a torchlight parade and fireworks show at 7:00 p.m. The conclusion of the series is a Slopestyle competition on Feb. 25, with a cash purse of $1200 for competitors in the series.
More information on these and other Whitefish Mountain Resort events can be found at skiwhitefish.com/calendar, or by calling the Events Department at 406-862-2910.
