David Wise led the pack in men’s ski superpipe qualifiers today with a score of 93.33. His first and highest scoring run included likely the highest amplitude of the day on his first hit, a switch right 720. He followed that with a series of four hits that showcased his technical prowess in the pipe, including a right dub 12 mute, a left dub 12 mute, and a switch left 720 taipan.
Photos by Jamie Walter

Alex Ferreira and Torin Yater-Wallace rounded out the top three, with scores of 89.66 and 88.33, respectively. Ferreira hit a huge right 900 with a tail grab to start his run, and followed it with five technical hits including a left dub 12 mute, a switch right 720 Japan, and a down the pipe right dub flat 9. Yater-Wallace increased his score by 5 points in his second run, laying down the same first four tricks as his first go-round, but hitting them bigger and cleaner. He wrapped up with a down the pipe dub flat 900 Japan.

Of the 24 athletes, the top 12 moved on to finals. Taylor Seaton moved on in 12th ahead of Simon D’artois, beating him by just 1.3 points. Though D’artois put down more difficult runs, his execution was sloppy—with missed grabs and low landings—while Seaton’s slightly less technical run was incredibly clean.

Skiers dropped in on a newly-shaped pipe in flat light this morning. Tahoe’s Kyle Smaine, who finished tenth, said, “You just can’t see. You can see the wall but you can’t see the tranny.” Jaxin Hoertner, who will not be moving on to finals, explained, “On Monday, the pipe was a bit undervert, so the pipe builders definitely got it a bit more straight up and down. We can go a bit bigger without the chance of landing on the deck.”

The men started the morning off with an eventful practice. In his final practice run, Beau-James Wells took a fall to the lip, injured his hip, and dropped out of the competition.

Tune in and watch the men’s ski superpipe final live on Saturday at 12:30pm MST on DewTour.com.

Men’s Ski Superpipe Qualifier Results

1.) David Wise (USA) 93.33
2.) Alexander Ferreira (USA) 89.66
3.) Torin-Yater Wallace (USA) 88.33
4.) Birk Irving (USA) 87.33
5.) Gus Kenworthy (USA) 85.33
6.) Aaron Blunck (USA) 84.00
7.) Kevin Rolland (FRA) 83.66
8.) Noah Bowman (CAN) 83.00
9.) Miguel Porteus (NZL) 82.66
10.) Kyle Smaine (USA) 82.33
11.) Mike Riddle (CAN) 82.00
12.) Taylor Seaton (USA) 81.33

David Wise Leads the Field in Ski Superpipe Qualifiers

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David Wise takes flight in the superpipe confident in today’s difficult lighting
Torin Yater-Wallace put on an electrifying run that landed him a third-place finish in qualifiers.
Alex Ferreira high above the deck on his first hit. Alex placed second in today’s qualifier.
Tweaking a massive air to fakie upon entering, Aaron Blunck knows how to start off a good run.
Birk Irving had a solid performance and was sitting in third until Torin bump him out of the top three.
Gus Kenworthy placed a solid 5th in today's qualifying event. Will he be able to step it up in Friday's finals?
Young French men Kevin Rollan throwing down a pipe slaying run.
Kyle Smaine having the ultimate fun in this year's superpipe.
Kiwi taking flight Miguel Porteus spreading his wings.
We're stoked to have Mike Riddle apart of this year's competition and making it into the finals!
All around athlete Noah Bowman making it within the top 12 qualifiers with an 8th place finish.
Making the cusp Taylor Seaton managed secure the last but not least place in qualifiers to move onto finals.

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