Freeride Crystal Mountain 3*
February 19-21, 2025 - We had a huge crew of athletes at Crystal Mountain 3* nationals with incredible results. The competition started with a wild day of weather for the U15 qualifier day. With the upper mountain on windhold the crew pivoted to a new venue in the Bear Pits Zone. With almost no time to prep, our crew dived into this new venue with confidence and teamwork. Our speedy inspection paid off with 6 of our 7 athletes qualifying for finals. Standout runs included a fast double by Liam Coyle, a smooth single by Baker Cashel and a super creative cross-court by Turner Gould. One of the biggest airs of the day was put down by Abe Scholnick. Abe absolutely boosted the air with a stylish mute grab. Unfortunately Abe snagged his ski on the high speed outrun and DNFed. If his ski had stayed on he would have qualified in the top 5.
Finals found us on the mighty Silver King Face. With a 30 minute hike to the venue the King offers a unique venue on par with the venues of the Freeride World Tour. The conditions on the King were all time with 6-10” of fresh snow and our crew took full advantage of it. Liam Coyle and Baker Cashel absolutely slayed a line down the central couloir boosting large airs, big grabs, and powerful turns. Ava Fox used the steep face to show off her mastery of high speed turns. Ava linked several airs together with her classic smooth GS turns. Liam Coyle took home 4th, Baker 7th and Ava 5th! Coach Dave was filled with pride leading such an elite group of U15 athletes. Well done crew!
The U19 qualifier was held on the Throne off of chair 6. The vibes were high in the morning as we ascended the bootpack to the top of the venue. The weather was a bit hazy but the snow was excellent thanks to a generous dusting of fresh snow from the day before. Lily Cutler pushed out of the gate with power and aggression, attacking the nearly vertical face with confidence. She stomped her line placing 5th for the day. Henry Cutler slayed the top of the venue in a similar fashion, grabbing on all of his airs and placing 1st for the day. Angus Blackburn took a unique air at the top before stomping a massive air off of Flying Squirrel at the bottom placing 2nd. Henry Schrichte put down a huge air on the top of the venue followed by one of the biggest 360’s of the day at the bottom, qualifying for finals in 4th place. Matthew Shapiro laid down smooth turns out of the gate and stomped a massive cross court air off of Flying Squirrel qualifying in 22nd. Walker Beck was one of the very last athletes to drop, but that didn't stop him from stomping a huge air off of the Ice Cream Cone qualifying in 27th place. Anders Leckie fired out of the gate with a super technical top air followed by strong and powerful skiing through the rest of the venue. Unfortunately he had a bit of a back slap on his last air but still qualified for finals in 28th place.
After such a successful first day of competition, the crew was fired up to show what they could do in finals on The King. In typical PNW fashion, the weather was a bit windy and hazy, but the snow was soft and stompable. Lily Cutler kicked things off for the U19 crew showing perfect technique as she flew down her run with speed and style finishing in 2nd place. Matthew Shapiro put down another heater of a run finishing with a massive crosscourt 360 at the bottom of the venue placing 8th overall. Walker Beck had one of the biggest airs off of the tree island air which moved him up to 14th place. Anders Leckie attacked the left side of the venue with speed and confidence, but had a bit of a control issue down low placing 16th. Unfortunately things did not go according to plan for our last boys. The start order for finals day was the reverse order in which they qualified meaning our top boys dropped last. By the end of the day, the snow conditions had changed dramatically. It went from soft and forgiving in the morning to grabby mashed potatoes in the afternoon. These conditions make it much harder to stomp big airs and control speed coming out of features. Henry Schrichte dropped into the top chute with confidence, setting a huge 360 off the skier's left side. He found a fresh landing that was a bit too punchy and he ended up front punching and losing a ski. Angus Blackburn dropped in next, stomping a huge air on the top left side of the venue. Unfortunately he fell lower down in an exposed area and needed patrol assistance to exit the venue. Henry Cutler dropped last and after waiting in the start gate for over an hour, the snow conditions had deteriorated even further. Henry went for the same top air on the left side of the venue, but the light had become extremely flat and the outrun was too difficult to control causing him to crash. Fortunately Henry was able to stand right back up and finished his run in 25th place.
Snowboard athletes Tessa CulleIerton and Justin LaBar represented the snowboard side of things for Sugar Bowl Freeride. It’s clear the hard work is paying off with theses two! Tessa took on the Bear Pits venue without a fear in her mind. She charged hard and qualified in 2nd place. Finals day was presented with the Sliver King finals venue. She stepped up (literally) to the top multiple times to execute a pristine line earning herself an overall finish of 3rd Place. Justin LaBar has certainly found the rocket boosters in his quiver and has really been moving up the ranks. Qualifier day was also on Bear Pits and JLB put himself in the perfect striking position for finals qualifying in 2nd. The King did not intimidate this young man and sent one of the best comp runs of his life. Justin took home the WIN in the coveted event. Well don athletes!
