King of the Hill 2010 World Extreme Freeride Championships Alaska
Saturday the 4th of April on Thompsons Pass Alaska, we awoke to a picture perfect bluebird day...after a 10 year break the King of the Hill was on!! We were driven by sleds up to Bro Bowl our competition venue. It was untracked and looked awesome, except for an area in the middle that had avalanched a few days before. The slide and the words of the guides reminded us strongly that we were about to ride in an uncontrolled environment.."This is not a ski resort" they told us over and over again. Sleds took us up to the top where we could hike to the peak. I held off as I wanted to see how the snow reacted to the first few riders. The first few guys went for it, they didn’t tip toe around the chance of instability, they charged right through into tight chutes without fear, and the snow looked great. I was middle of the pack to go so I didn’t get to see more than the first few turns of alot of the rider’s runs, but even that was great to watch. My first run I chose to ride a spine then out through some exposure, it went well and I was stoked. I was happy that the snow felt stable and I could relax for my next run. My next run I chose to go further down the ridge where it was steeper. Anne-Flore Marxer and a few of the guys went there for their first run, and I had eyed off that section the day before. By the time I got to go for my next run the snow was in the shade and it wasn’t great condition, it was a little crunchy but I stayed on my feet and was happy with my run. The sun was starting to go down as we moved around for our 3rd and final run which was down through a long natural gully to the finish. Sounds good, except the snow was a combination of melt/freeze old snow as it was at much lower elevation than our first venue. This run was supposed to be a freestyle run...easier said than done as the snow was so hard to ride. It was exhausting but still fun, trying to put in any tricks we could and stay on our feet. When we got down the beers were flowing, everyone was stoked on an incredible day set amongst one of the most breathtaking surroundings you can imagine. That night we went down to Rendezvous Heli Guides for a bonfire in honour of Shane McConkey, Doug Coombs, and Jesse Tol. It was a fitting way to finish the day, celebrating the lives of extraordinary athletes that have inspired us all. The next night we moved down to Valdez for the King and Queen of the Hill awards party at the Totem Inn. The place was buzzing, everyone was psyched on such a great competition day and looking forward to the results. I came 6th; I was excited to have been amongst such a high level of women’s riding. Vera Janssen took the title of Queen throwing down a couple of impressive big lines incorporating some freestyle moves. She was followed by Anne-Flore Marxer then Shannan Yates. Travis Rice took the title as King of the Hill, with Rob Kingwell and Scotty Lago finishing the podium. It was great to speak to some people who had come up just to watch, they said it was an awesome show. I wish I could've bottled the energy and the excitement that was radiating from everyone up at Tailgate and King of the Hill, it was brilliant.
In the last 12 months I have been fortunate enough to take part in the resurrection of both the King of the Hill in Alaska ,and the World Heli Challenge in New Zealand, two of the most legendary free ride events on the planet. Good times to say the least!
For more information on Tailgate Alaska Festival and King of the Hill go to www.tailgatealaska.com
I have more photos and stories from AK to come soon......
Comments: