STORY BY LIZ CHAMBERLAIN
PHOTOS BY COLLIN COLLINS
The Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation’s Big Mountain Team returned from their second stop on the IFSA Junior Series dressed in metal and coated in praise from the freeride community.
The team walked away from last weekend in Snowbird with 10 podium finishes and countless others rounding out the Top 5 as athletes made major leaps amidst unfavorable weather conditions.
Athletes battled flat light and low snow conditions on a course that featured exposed rock faces and dynamic terrain–the perfect recipe for an exciting, yet challenging competition.
Landing first-place finishes were Hank Greener, Claire Buchwalter and Alex Leahy.
Head Coach Banks Gilberti said he and the rest of the coaching staff left Utah feeling extremely proud of the team.
“For me, one of the biggest takeaways from this trip was our crew’s sheer love for skiing and the sport of freeride as well as the incredible sportsmanship and support our athletes showed to each other throughout the competition weekend,” he added.
The podiums are a singular outcome of the massive input of time and energy put into training both on and off the mountain over the past few months. Compared to larger resorts in the West that tend to breed freeride athletes, Sun Valley may not be known for its “gnarly” off-piste terrain.
However, the steeps on Baldy are steep and the bumps are deep. There is something to be said for those capable of skiing 3,000-plus feet of vertical relief in one run.
“We expect our athletes to have strong fundamentals and we constantly focus on developing and improving on them day to day,” said Gilberti. “We hold these kids to a high standard, but we always leave room for freeskiing with friends and family.”
Last weekend’s competition proved the team is capable of competing at a regional and national level despite the adverse snow conditions Baldy has been dealt this season. Turns out a 41-inch base (recently transformed into 69 inches) is all you need to succeed.
The team heads to Red Mountain Resort in British Columbia to compete in the next stop of the IFSA Junior Regional Qualifiers. IFSA is the sanctioning body for freeriding events.
RESULTS
VOLUME 1 (Day 1)
U19 Ski Men:
1st -Alex Leahy
2nd – Abel Marx
3rd – Reyn Gary
4th – Breck Lyon
U19 Ski Women:
3rd – Scarlett Carruth
4th – Addie Warden
U15 Ski Men:
4th – Hank Greener
5th – Kobi Bilbro
6th – Jude Carter
VOLUME 2 (Day 2)
U19 Ski Men:
2nd – Zack Torres
3rd – Alex Leahy
5th – Reyn Gary
U19 Ski Women:
1st – Claire Buchwalter
2nd – Ripley Scales
4th – Tess Lightner
5th – Madda Mourier-Floyd
U15 Ski Men:
1st – Hank Greener
U15 Ski Women:
2nd – Skyler Jensen