More weather delays in Canadian Freeskiing Championships

The competition start area at Sweet Spot wasn't as sweet as normal because it was impossible to see anything! Clearer skies are forecasted for Sunday. Karen McColl photo

By Karen McColl

Organizers called off Day One of competition in the Canadian Freeskiing Championships at Revelstoke Mountain Resort Saturday as the heavy snow and low cloud level made it impossible for judges at the top of Ripper Chair to see into North Bowl.

18 women and 46 men were slated to compete Saturday in stop Number Three of the Subaru Freeskiing World Tour, which has already visited

All set up and no place to go. It was no surprise to anyone when organizers called off Day One of Competition at 11am on Saturday. Karen McColl

Las Lenas, Argentina, and El Colorado, Chile. This delay moves Day One to Sunday, and the finals, taking place on Mac face above Greely Bowl, to Monday. This is the second weather delay to affect the competition thus far; Thursday’s mens’ qualifier was also postponed. Luckily, two weather days were built into this year’s the schedule.

The overall prize purse in the 2011 Canadian Freesking Championships in Revelstoke is $20,000 with the first place male taking $5,000 and female taking $3000.

Revelstoke has a number of skiers competing on Sunday. The ladies compete first with Nicole Derksen starting 9th and Tatum Monod starting 15th.  Revelstoke’s men will start in the following order: Lucas Gonnthier, 18th, Gord Spurgeon 19th, Sean Cochrane, 22nd, Alex Wall 34th and Rylan Kappler, 36. About 10 women and 20 men will make the cut for the finals on Day Two.

It was certainly snowy at the top of Ripper chair! Karen McColl photo

If Day two was unable to take place due to weather, the results from Day One would be final, however this seems unlikely as a mix of sun cloud are expected for both Sunday and Monday. 77 centimetres of snow has fallen at RMR in the last seven days, helping build on the seasonally low snowpack.

Last year’s competition at RMR started in bluebird conditions and used one weather day, completing on the Sunday with the late Arne Backstrom of Squaw Valley, California, and Jess McMillan of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, taking the win.

Next on the agenda for some may be Red Mountain’s Canadian Open Freeskiing Championships January 12- 15 in Rossland, BC. Although not part of the Subaru FWT, the top two men and women finishers in this competition will be pre-qualified for the rest of the 2011 season. Three stops remain on the FWT: Crested Butte, Colorado, Kirkwood, California, and Snowbird, Utah.

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