FREESKI NEWS
ELYSE SAUGSTAD WINS SQUAW VALLEY FREESKIING OPEN
16.02.2008
16.02.2008
Competitive big mountain freeskiers pushed the limits at the Subaru Squaw Valley USA Freeskiing Open while crowds of sun-drenched spectators indulged in the top-shelf performance. Athletes took turns negotiating The Headwall’s ominous vertical playground of wind-buffed stashes, cliffs, and chimney-wide chutes for what became a tit-for-tat showdown that lasted through the entire day’s final rounds.
Salomon rider Elyse Saugstad of Alyeska, Alaska, won the women’s title with a total of 97.51 points, with Squaw Valley’s Allie Donovan taking second with 92.26 points, and Crested Butte, Colorado’s Tanya Christensen claiming third place with 89.14 points. A few days after her victory at the Sochi Freeride World Tour Event, Elyse confirmed her domination on the women’s competitions.
“It was pretty unnerving standing up at the top and seeing just how much everyone was going for it,” said event champion Saugstad, “As it came down to it, I just took a deep breath and did what I knew I was capable of. I wanted to ski an aggressive line, but to also ski smart. It worked out to stick to my game plan.”
The men’s competition was an explosive line-up of powerhouse skiing, unexpected backflips, and plenty of crowd-pleasing air time as skiers sent themselves into flight over 80-foot rock faces. Kirkwood, California’s Craig Garbiel claimed victory, sticking several extremely technical line choices and blowing the judges away with a series of perfectly executed multi-hit cliff drops, garnering 115.01 points. On his heels were Mt. Bachelor, Oregon’s Jesse Bryan with 110.76 points and Bryce Newcomb of Sun Valley, ID, who put in a hard-charging performance to earn third place, with 110.63 total points.
STAY TUNED AS THE SUBARU U.S. FREESKIING SERIES TRAVELS TO CRESTED BUTTE, COLORADO, NEXT WEEK FOR THE LONGEST RUNNING EXTREME FREESKIING CONTEST IN THE SPORT’S HISTORY.
DON’T MISS LIVE SAME-DAY COVERAGE OF THE FINAL ROUNDS ON WWW.USFREESKIING.COM
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