Horgmo, Anderson Top Slope Prelim

By Mary Walsh

The first day of the Mount Snow stop of The Dew Tour saw some very classic Vermont weather: overnight, 8-10 inches of fresh snow had fallen and it showed no signs of stopping as the day went on. Cold temperatures and gusty winds contributed to make conditions gnarly on the hill, but this type of meteorological surprise is just part of the charm of riding in New England. The shred must go on! Snowboarding Slopestyle Preliminaries went down successfully — if not with more powder slashes than usual — and the fields of men and women were narrowed down to the riders who will compete in Saturday’s Finals.

The lady shreds took to the hill first, braving a well-made Slopestyle course made treacherous by the new snow. All of the women who rode in the Prelims are contest veterans, but as Chanelle Sladics pointed out, it seemed to be an ongoing challenge to find speed and visibility, and many competitors were getting to know the knuckles of the jumps more closely than they had planned. Chanelle was able to navigate through the weather as she took her first run, slaying the course’s jib line before landing a front 360 on the first jump and throwing down a solid tail grab to stalefish on the bottom jumps. The run earned her second place behind top standout Jamie Anderson, lofted a big 3 before sliding a back board down the rail, setting herself for a backside 180 on the last jump. Megan Ginter pushed a 50-50 on the down rail, chucked a smooth 3, before blasting her own brand of 180 on the last jump.

The men hit the course next and started off solid despite worsening conditions. The snow was blowing straight sideways and the riders were battling Mother Nature as much as they were competing against each other. Torstein Horgmo didn’t seem deterred, though, and started off by stomping a banger first run, which consisted of a front blunt 270 out on the first jib and a switch backside 900 off the first jump, which he finished strong with a cab five to frontside 10 like no big deal. The run earned a 90.33 and secured first-place. “I’m just glad I cleared all the jumps — it’s really hard to see right now,” Torstein said. “It’s not really the best day, but I guess you gotta run it anyways!” The run landed him in first place, a lead he carried through the rest of the Prelims. Local New Englander Sam Hulbert was at home in the weather and secured his spot in finals by stomping a second-place-securing first run, which earned him an 81.83. Regarding his fifth-place finish at Breck, Sam said it was a considerable confidence booster. “Getting second feels good, I just want to do better in finals,” Sam said.

The top-nine dude shreds join Breck Slope pre-qualifiers Shaun White, Mikkel Bang, and Janne Korpi at Saturday’s Slope Final. The lady shreds compete against pre-qualifier Spencer O’Brien.

RESULTS:

Men’s:
1. Torstein Horgmo 90.33
2. Sam Hulbert 81.83
3. Charles Reid 81.33
4. Andreas Wiig 79.50
5. Eric Willett 78.50
6. Brandon Reis 78.33
7. Scotty Lago 75.33
8. Madison Ellsworth 70.00
9. Kevin Pearce 68.67
10. Yale Cousino 67.67

Women’s:
1. Jamie Anderson 76.50
2. Chanelle Sladics 76.00
3. Megan Ginter 74.00
4. Jenny Jones 66.67
5. Marie-France Roy 56.00
6. Bev Vuilleumier 54.83
7. Christina Curry 50.67
8. Kimberly Fasani 43.17
9. Kjersti Ostgaard Buaas 39.17
10. Hana Beaman 34.17