Tickets are already sold out for many of the Telus Whistler Ski and Snowboard's iconic events, like the Olympus Pro Photographer Showdown and the 72 Hour Filmmaker Showdown, and most of the other cultural events are expected to sell out when all is said and done.
The festival mainstage - actually, pretty much every stage in Whistler - is crammed with musical acts, starting with Fort Knox Five on April 15 and finishing with Ozomatli on April 24.
There's the dog parade. The return of the Slush Cup. A late-night DJ party. Arts shows. Even if one swore off sleep for 10 days you still wouldn't be able to see everything.
But while the festival has grown and the arts, music and culture side has grown, the heart of the festival - the middle S and S - have always been Ski and Snowboard.
The festival hosted some of the first freeski competitions in the world and was one of the first venues to host the sport of ski halfpipe.
Tanner Hall, now recognized as one of the top park skiers in the world, used to come to Whistler with his parents as a teenager and win thousands of dollars - though he was still too young to take part in the after-parties. The World Skiing Invitational was also the coming out party for Silver Star freestyle alums Justin Dorey and T.J. Schiller, as well as current halfpipe world champion Mike Riddle.
On the snowboard side, the event has hosted the best in the world over the years, from freeride pioneer Terje Haakonson to a teenage Shaun White. More recently it's evolved into a community event, where athletes focus on the fun as much as the progression of the sport - a welcome addition to a competitive calendar that ramps up in November and goes non-stop for close to five months. And it's never been this entertaining - dual moguls might not be an Olympic event, but it's as entertaining as snowboarding gets and shows off a level of all-around skill that's nothing short of impressive. It's snowboarding for the love of snowboarding, beer and hot dogs.
2011 is kind of a big deal...
There were two pieces of big news coming into the 2011 WSSF.
The first was the announcement that the World Skiing Invitational - April 20 to 24 - was going to be the world championship event in the newly created Association of Freeskiing Professionals (AFP) world tour - one of only a few platinum level events on the tour, alongside the X Games and the Dew Tour. Athletes can earn points in superpipe, slopestyle and big air, and overall tour winners will be recognized alongside the World Skiing Invitational winners.
The next big announcement came last week when the International Olympic Committee gave the thumbs up to ski halfpipe in 2014. The World Skiing Invitational is now officially the first major pro event since the announcement, setting the tone for the next three seasons as we build up to the Games.
Nathalie Grether, the athlete manager for the festival, said it all just came together.
"Last year was the first year for the AFP, where they had a systematic tool with rankings and different events would be recognized based on prize money and other elements," explained Grether. "The AFP approached the World Skiing Invitational because it's the last major event of the season, and it just made sense to coincide with the world championships."
Festival sponsors have stepped up with a huge amount of money, and more than $123,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded over the three events - including a car worth $24,000.
The platinum status has already attracted some top names, including Bobby Brown, Sammy Carlson, Simon Dumont, Sarah Burke, current AFP tour leader Devon Logan, Freeskier Magazine "Skier of the Year" Tomm Wallisch, and several others. Members of Canada's ski halfpipe team will be in the field as well, like Justin Dorey, Mike Riddle and FIS World Champion Rosalind Groenewoud. The list of athletes is constantly updated and posted online at www.wssf.com.
The World Skiing Invitational has seen its prominence rise and fall over the years, and mostly because of outside factors.
For one thing, spring is prime filming time in Alaska and Bella Coola, and athletes are usually too busy earning a living to compete. As well, Sweden's Jon Olsson - a five-time WSI Big Air winner - is now hosting his own pro event, which conflicts with the festival. The past three seasons the Orage Masters also joined the WSSF, and while that was a great event it also diminished the need for additional ski events.
Now, with AFP status, the WSI is on the upswing again.
"The sporting element has always been a priority for the festival," said Grether. "Other elements like the music and arts have caught up as they've grown, but the emphasis on sports has never declined even as the other parts have grown."
The WSI also sticks out in the freeski world as one of the only events where anybody can sign up for the qualifier and get a spot in the final. Skiers like Walter Woods, Tanner Hall, Justin Dorey, T.J. Schiller and Mike Riddle are examples of skiers who used the WSSF to springboard their careers.
"That's always been a special element of the WSI," said Grether. "While prequalified and invited athletes always make up a significant part of the field, we've always tried to give an opportunity for younger, up-and-coming athletes to qualify and compete in the same events as the best athletes. And we've had some breakout performances over the years."
There are qualifiers for the ski superpipe, where the top five qualifiers will move on to the finals. As well, there are 10 wildcard spots in big air and slopestyle that are up for grabs.
The events themselves have also featured a lot of firsts. Part of that has to do with the venues themselves - like a newly rebuilt superpipe and professionally designed big air ramps - that give athletes an opportunity to try out new tricks. The atmosphere is also laid back, with no pressure to perform as athletes celebrate the end of their season. The WSSF featured some of the biggest jumps and spins in competition, like 1,440 spins in the pipe and double inverted tricks.
The addition of ski halfpipe to the Olympics will also create a lot of interest this year. According to WSSF communications manager Jess Smith, the announcement has already created a lot of buzz for the WSI superpipe.
"From our end, definitely the media has rejuvenated interest in it," said Smith. "Since yesterday (April 6) the media interest has been a lot higher, and we're hearing from a lot of athletes that are excited to come and be part of it because it's day one in their bids to compete in the Olympics. It's where the AFB world champions are going to be crowned.
"We've got MTV coming in, as well as ESPN, The Score, and other major networks. We cater to a wide range of media, most of them in lifestyle sports, but there's a really wide selection coming this year. It's really great the amount of interest."
Riders keep it real
For two years, snowboard superstar Danny Kass brought his Grenade Games snowboarding event to the WSSF, but the event has moved on to another venue. The event replacing it, The Show: a Snowboard Event from April 15 to 19 has worked hard to keep the vibe alive by bringing back events and the atmosphere.
"We're not a six-star TTR contest, our focus is on making it a good fun way to finish the season," said Dano Pendygrasse, who is organizing the five-day event with Monster Energy. "It's not a stressful competition situation, which is antithetical to what we want to accomplish over the week. We do want the best guys in the world here, but not at the expense of a good time."
The Show is wide open. The events are capped at around 300 riders, with roughly 100 spots set aside for invited athletes and past participants. The other 200 spots are expected to sell out, as in past years.
The Show doesn't take itself too seriously. The opening event is the Grand Opening slopestyle at the base of the mountain, followed by Moguls Mash dual moguls elimination competition on the steep Catskinner run. Riders are also encouraged to make the most out of the on-hill jumps.
From there, The Show progresses to a completely new Boarderstyle/Stylecross event - a race down a snowboardcross course with special terrain park features built in, which riders can get extra points for hitting with style.
The next event is Dustin Craven's FUN Pipe Jam, which is basically a traditional superpipe contest with a twist - it's an elimination event, and every round the field will get smaller until there's just one man - and woman - left standing.
While it's grass roots, there's still over $33,000 in prizes up for grabs - a lot of it in actual cash that will get handed out to riders who step up or show the judges something special.
As well as the three main snowboard events, The Show also features four parties - The Sh*t Show opening party, The Late Show, Pub Night and The Sideshow.
For a complete schedule of both events visit www.wssf.com.
