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POST AND WHITNEY WIN TELLURIDE
GRIFFIN POST AND HANNAH
WHITNEY WIN 3RD ANNUAL SUBARU TELLURIDE FREESKIING OPEN
Incredible snow conditions
and clear visibility at Telluride kicks off the 2008 Subaru US Freeskiing
Series in style
Telluride, Colo., February
9, 2008
After another day of bluebird skies and deep, steep skiing, Griffin Post and
Hannah Whitney broke away from the pack today to win the 3rd Annual
Subaru Telluride Freeskiing Open. They each sailed through some of Telluride's
most extreme terrain, dropping cliffs, slicing through couloirs and laying down
unforgettable turns.
Their
victories capped two days of extreme big-mountain skiing in the shadow of
Telluride's Palmyra Peak. The skies were jewel-clear for today's finals, and
the deep snow gave nearly 50 competitors a chance to break out their best stuff
on some truly heroic lines. With the stakes higher for the final round, both
the men and women turned up the juice. The hundreds of spectators witnessed back
and front flips, 360's off huge cornices and athletes sending it off 30-foot
cliff drops. Telluride locals marveled that the Prospect Basin had never seen
so many skiers going so big.
In
the men's super final, all of the top three finishers put on stunning
performances. Josh Daiek of Kirkwood, CA, launched off the Dihedral Chute ribs
and sailed through the tight lower turns, earning third place and an overall
score of 100.38. John Nicoletta of Aspen, CO, grabbed some of the day's biggest
air up top and took home second place, scoring 101.50 overall.
But
nobody could get by Post. He won with 107 points, a 5.5-point margin over
second place. "I'm pumped," he said. "To stay in first is just well, I'm glad
I didn't blow it."
Hannah
Whitney, of Crested Butte, CO, came into today's comps tied for second place,
but she put in a strong showing on her first run and edged past Crystal Wright,
of Jackson Hole, WY. Both women skied fast and fluid in the super final, but
Whitney held onto her lead. She won with 95.76 points, less than a point ahead
of Wright.
The
North Face Young Gun Award, which honors outstanding freeskiers under 21, went
to Scott McBrayer of Alta, UT. He put in three strong runs during the
competition and came in sixth overall. But the most poignant moment of the
competition was this year's Tobias Lee Sickbird Award, which is handed out to
the skier who puts in the most spirited, most extraordinary competition run.
The award went to Tobias's older brother, Elijah Lee, of Mount
Baker, WA,(the two brothers were
skiing a steep chute together at Mount Baker
in 2006 when an avalanche broke, killing 25-year-old Tobias). Elijah put in an
amazing, aggressive performance today in Telluride, and he was moved to tears
when the judges awarded him this year's first Sickbird buckle.
The
U.S. Freeskiing Series heads next to Squaw Valley USA, CA, February 13th
through 16th.
For
more information and a full tour schedule, please log on to www.usfreeskiing.com
Once again, MSI will be
posting same-day video webcasts on the newly redesigned usfreeskiing.com which
features state of the art video and photo player technology. The daily uploads
of video, photos, news and results of each day's competition action will be
available after each day concludes.
2008 Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series & Freeskiing
World Tour Schedule
Subaru Telluride Freeskiing
Open, Telluride CO, February 7-10
Subaru Squaw Valley
Freeskiing Open, Squaw Valley, CA, February 13-16
Subaru U.S. Extreme
Freeskiing Championships, Crested Butte, CO, February 19-23 (World Tour #1)
Subaru Jackson Hole
Freeskiing Open, Jackson Hole, WY, March 13-16
Subaru U.S. Freeskiing
Nationals, Snowbird, UT, March 18-23 (World Tour #2)
Subaru Freeskiing World
Championships and Subaru U.S.
Freeskiing Series Finals, Alyeska, AK,
April 9-13 (World Tour #3)
Special thanks go out to our sponsors:
The North Face
Subaru of America
Corona
Nordica
Coca-Cola
Powder Magazine
Emergen-C
Ski Press Magazine
Lynden Transport
Mt. Olympus Water
Sports Insurance
Scott USA
Grabber
Skull Candy
Yakima
IFSA
Resort Partners
Snowbird Ski & Summer
Resort
Jackson Hole Mountain Resort
Telluride Ski Resort
Squaw Valley USA
Crested Butte Mountain Resort