If you're a young park skier trying to get into big contests, like the Winter X Games or the Dew Tour, it can be tough to get one those coveted invite spots. And nowadays, it seems like there are fewer and fewer open contests where anyone can sign up for a chance at glory and an oversized check with their name on it.
Which is why The North Face Park and Pipe Open series, which is brand new for this year, is something the sport of freeskiing really needed. The second and final stop of the series took place this weekend at Waterville Valley, New Hampshire. (If you missed January's first stop at Northstar, check out results here.)
At Waterville Valley, in men's Superpipe finals, which took place Sunday, Christian Allen took first with a switch alley oop 7 and a 1080, followed by Dan Marion and Evan Schwartz. "Halfway through my run, I was feeling good, and the left 10 came to me and I just went for it," said Allen. "It just felt right and I'm happy the judges liked it." In the women's Superpipe finals, Annalisa Drew got her second podium of the weekend with a win over Julia Krass and Jess Breda.
In Saturday's Slopestyle finals, Chris Laker took the win after being the only skier to try a double cork. Laker's run included a switch left 900 and a left dub cork 1080 Japan. Dale Talkington, who placed first in the Slope semi-finals, took second in finals with a switch right 720 and a switch left 1080. Tim McChesney, who won Slopestyle at last week's Aspen/Snowmass Open, took third.
"I was feeling pretty comfortable with my plan but then today was really challenging with the weather conditions," said Laker. "I wasn't sure what my plan would be for my run, but once I got in the gate, I knew I wanted this and I just went for it."
In women's Slopestyle, Dara Howell took first with a 720 and a 540 on the final jumps. She was followed by Julia Krass, age 13, who took second, and third place's Annalisa Drew, who also nabbed third last week in women's Superpipe at the Aspen/Snowmass Open.
"Great to have an AFP sanctioned event on the east coast," said Jess Breda. "The Park and Pipe Open Series can put any skier on the path to get to X Games and beyond. It's great to have the opportunity to compete in an open, yet pro event."