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Whistler skiers rule at Alaska big mountain skiing finals

"What do you feed those guys up there in Canada?" That was the question most everyone was asking at the prestigious Red Bull Snowthrill of Alaska competition held in the remote Chugach Mountains of southwestern Alaska last week.

"What do you feed those guys up there in Canada?"

That was the question most everyone was asking at the prestigious Red Bull Snowthrill of Alaska competition held in the remote Chugach Mountains of southwestern Alaska last week.

And they were justified in asking the question. With the world’s best 12 men and top four women gathered together in Cordova, Alaska to determine bragging rights for 2001, the field was a stellar one (it included past champions Chris Davenport and Wendy Fisher, French ace Guerlain Chicherit and Swedish star Kaj Zackrisson). Yet once again, Whistler’s big-mountain skiing fraternity completely dominated the proceedings.

Capping a tremendous competitive season, Whistler Freeride Team member, Hugo Harrison won all four runs in Alaska, becoming the first person to win back-to-back World Tour titles.

"He’s a deserving champion," said event organizer Adam Comey. "And a great ambassador for the sport."

Easily the most consistent skier on the big-mountain circuit (his worst finish in two seasons of competition was a fifth-place in Tignes two weeks ago), Harrison is a soft-spoken 23 year old who, most often, just lets his skis do the talking.

"I finished second twice this season (Whistler and Snowbird), and I was determined not let the victory slip though my fingers here," he admits in his typically understated way. "So I skied hard from the very first run. And it seemed to work for me."

Indeed. On an extremely steep and wind-scoured venue on Day 1 (where a fall would have enormous consequences), Harrison offered up a display of 21 st century power skiing that left everyone in awe. "It seemed like he was on a totally different level than anybody else in the event," said Powder Magazine editor, Keith Carlsen. "He really set the tone for the rest of the week."

But it was another Whistlerite, 2001 breakout star Ryan Oakden (recently crowned World Champion in Tignes), who really got tongues wagging on the second day of competition.

With nearly a week of downtime due to bad weather, competitors were forced to sit idle while nasty Alaskan storms dumped snow on the coastal peaks. When the weather finally cleared, the safety crew deemed the conditions safe enough for competition. But barely.

Given that these remote mountain venues were all helicopter-accessed, an inspection run on the course was out of the question. So skiers had no other alternative but to inspect their skiing lines through binoculars from the bottom of the venue (imagine downhillers being asked to run a course without the benefit of an inspection run…). "I wish it was always that way," says Harrison. "It really benefits bold, confident skiers."

And Ryan Oakden is nothing if not bold. Choosing one of the most dangerous – and exposed – lines on the mountain (many competitors had talked of it, no other dared to go there), the 21-year-old phenom charged it like there was no tomorrow. Bridging a harrowing double cliff jump (culminating in a 50 footer to hard snow), Oakden skied out of it like he was on a Sunday powder cruise.

"Geez, I’m glad I didn’t look at it too closely," he said after his run. "If I’d realized just how desperate that double was, I probably wouldn’t have gone there."

For his efforts (and his chutzpah), he was awarded the "Sick Bird" trophy (given to the most daring skier of the week).

But Oakden wasn’t finished. In a tight battle for third place, he interrupted his final run to recover a competitor’s lost ski in a dizzyingly-steep no-fall zone. And while it didn’t seem to faze him much, the rest of his run lacked the usual Oakden pizzazz. His final standing – fourth overall, by less than 2 points!

"I knew there wouldn’t be too many people capable of recovering that ski," he says. "So I didn’t really think about it much. I just grabbed it. I guess I wasn’t really focused on my run after that…"

To add to Whistler’s total, Leif Zapf-Gilje, 23, managed four solid runs to finish seventh overall. "I was really shooting for a top five here," said a disappointed Zapf-Gilje. "But this was a tough field of competitors and I am satisfied that I gave it everything I had."

In the men’s final standings, Canada (read Whistler) was the only country to boast more than one skier in the top eight!

Whistler’s lone female competitor, Jennifer Ashton, was looking for big things in Alaska. Coming off a heady win in a big mountain contest in California, the Whistler Freeride Team member had confidence to spare. Unfortunately, all chance of victory was snatched away on her first run when an inadvertent fall near the finish line robbed her of valuable points. And though she skied really well in the next three runs (she finished second on Day 2), the gap between her and the leaders was just too big to bridge.

Ashton: "What can you say? I skied hard, paid the price and then had to play catch-up. That’s what competition is all about."

The final event to a hectic World Tour of big mountain skiing that included stops at Whistler, Snowbird, Utah, Tignes, France and Cordova Alaska, the Red Bull contest offered up the ultimate confirmation of Whistler’s status as big-mountain skiing capital of the world.

"It’s a pretty amazing thing actually," said event organizer Comey. "No one country has ever dominated the sport the way Canada did this year. The fact that most of the skiers come from Whistler is all the more impressive!"

Final Standings

Men

1: Hugo Harrison Canada — 161 points

2: Kaj Zackrisson, Sweden — 153.333

3: Daisuke Sasaki, Japan — 145.5

4: Ryan Oakden, Canada — 143.5

5: Chris Davenport, USA — 139

6: Styan Hagen, Norway — 137

7- Leif Zapf-Gilje, Canada — 134.33

8: Phillipe Troubat, France — 127.83

Women

1:Anne Cattelin, France — 135.33

2: Aleisha Cline, Canada — 126.5

3: Wendy Fisher, USA — 112

4: Jennifer Ashton, Canada — 107.33