WINTER DEW TOUR AT MOUNT SNOW

I arrived for the Winter Dew Tour at Mt. Snow and the competition turned out to be really exciting. Mt. Snow is a large New England ski area located about an hour and a half east of Albany, NY in southern Vermont. I have been there to ski and cover major events on numerous occasions. This ski area was under new management and all the people I talked to who work there were very pleased with the improvements that the new owners have made.

ACCOMMODATIONS
I was staying at The Lodge at Mt. Snow. I was located on RT. 100, almost at the junction of the Mt. Snow access road. This turned out to be a really lively place. They had a bar that was the apres ski headquarters for the Mt. Snow Ski Patrol and The Lodge hosted one of the best Happy Hours to be found at Mt. Snow on Saturday. I had a very comfortable room with all the amenities, including air-conditioning, cable TV, refrigerator, spectacular mountain views, free country breakfast, daily maid service, laundry facilities, pool, hot tubs, game room, and more. Prices range from: $55.00 – $255.00. For reservations call: (800) 451-4289 and tell them that the Ski Bum News is where you found out about them.

I always forget how big Mt. Snow is. This is a really large New England ski area with more trails than you can easily ski in a weekend. I got in a few runs before I went over to watch the slopestyle competition.

SLOPESTYLE
It was exciting to watch the skiers and snowboarders battle it out on the slopestyle course. Bobby Brown won the ski slopestyle at the Toyota Championship at Mt. Snow. These skiers hit rails, jumps, tabletops and more jumps at the Winter Dew Tour’s Toyota Championship.To secure his victory, Brown did flips off rails, a number of spins and ended his run with a double cork 1260. Andreas Hatveit was 2nd and Sammy Carlson placed 3rd . Hatveit became the overall Dew Cup champion for the 2009-10 season. I saw skiers go down the hill and turn around to take jump backward and/or land backward as they did flips, 720’s, 900’s, 1080’s, 1260’s and more.

For the women, Jamie Anderson (South Lake Tahoe, CA) won the gold with a flawless 720 that gave her the winning score. Jenny Jones (Great Britain) came in 2nd and Canadian Spencer O’Brien (Canada) was 3rd. Anderson was named the Dew Cup champion and Female Athlete of the Year after winning the final.

 

Torstein Horgmo (Norway) won the men’s snowboard slopestyle final, Sage Kostenburg (Park City, UT) was 2nd and was named the overall Dew Cup champion. At 16, he is the youngest Dew Cup winner in the history of the contest. Horgmo threw a switch 270 on the skate feature and a switch backside 1260 to give him the top score. Ian Thorley (Marquette, MI) placed 3rd in this thrilling contest.

FREESKI SUPERPIPE
Simon Dumont, (Bethel, ME) won the freeski superpipe with Tucker Perkins, (North Hampton, NH) 2nd, and Justin Dorey (Canada) placed 3rd joing him on the podium. Jossi Wells who came in 5th had enough overall points to crown him the overall Dew Cup champion in freeski superpipe..

Dumont’s winning run included a 900, double flip in the middle of his run, an alley-oop 720 and a switch 700, giving him the winning score. Dumont complemented the freeskiers who all put on a good show.

 

SNOWBOARD SUPERPIPE
Kaitlyn Farrington (Sun Valley,ID) landed her first Winter Dew Tour victory. On the podium with her were Maddy Schaffrick (Steamboat Springs, CO) was 2nd and Kjersti Østgaard Buaas (Norway) was 3rd. Farrington had a strong run that featured a backside 540, inverted 720 with a grab, a stalefish and a backside 720. This win was enough to give her the oveerall championship. “I’m so stoked to win the Dew Cup,” said Farrington. “It been a pretty awesome season.”

For the Men, it was JJ Thomas who racked up the top score and won the gold, Brennen Swanson, Stillwater (MN) was 2nd, and Steve Fisher ( Breckenridge, CO) was 3rd under the lights. Thomas’ winning run included a McTwist, 1080 and a frontside 900.

Brennen Swanson popped a huge double cork to end his run Thomas’ 245 points over the season gave him his first overall Dew Cup victory. I couldn’t be more excited, and I never imagined winning an entire Tour,” said Thomas.

GATORADE FREE FLOW TOUR
Norwegian Steffen Hamre (Norway) won the freeski slopestyle competition, Austin Torvinen (Duluth, MN) was 2nd and Jason Arens (South Lake Tahoe, CA) placed 3rd. Hamre’s first run included a 540 with a mute grab and a switch cab mute to land him in 1st place. with an 86.75.

14-year-old Torin Yater-Wallace ( Basalt, CO) landed 1st place in the freeski superpipe with Patrick Baskins (Vail, CO) 2nd and Michael Bochenek (Truckee, CA) 3rd. Yater-Wallace’s winning run included a cork 540 grabbed mute, an alley-oop flatspin 540 and a 720, giving him the top final score.

 

For the men, Scott Moline (Phelps, WI) won the men’s snowboard superpipe competition. Kyle Mack (W. Bloomfield, MI) was 2nd and Mark Speicher (Salt Lake City, UT) was 3rd. Moline threw a huge frontside air, front 900 into back 540 and a cab 700 to give him the top score.

Summer Fenton ( San Francisco, CA) led the women’s snowboard superpipe competition to victory with Kirby Kelly (Chicago, IL) 2nd and Amber Arazny, (Australia) 3rd. An indie on her first hit, a backside 540 stalefish and a front 500 gave Fenton the top score.

In the snowboard slopestyle competition for the men, Cody Boan of South Park, Colo. claimed the gold, Ian Hart (Meredith, NH) was 2nd and Alexander Rodway (Rangeley, ME) was 3rd. Boan’s first run included a back lipslide on the rail, a front 540 and a cab 700 which was enough to cinch the win.

For the gals, it was Taylor Owen (New London, NH) who claimed the victory with Elle Kaylor (Mammoth Lakes, CA) 2nd and Mary Rand (Saunderstown, RI) 3rd. Huge amplitude, a 50-50 on the down box and a tail tap to switch landing on the Gatorade bonk aided Owen in winning the women’s snowboard slopestyle.

With the wins at the Gatorade Free Flow Tour Finals, Moline, Fenton, Boan and Owen each earned a spot with the pros of the Winter Dew Tour at the first stop of the 2010-11 season.

DEW CUP FINAL STANDINGS

· Freeski slopestyle – Andreas Hatveit, 23, Norway

· Women’s snowboard slopestyle – Jamie Anderson, 19, South Lake Tahoe, Calif.

· Men’s snowboard slopestyle – Sage Kotsenburg, 16, Park City, Utah

· Freeski superpipe – Jossi Wells, 19, New Zealand

· Women’s snowboard superpipe – Kaitlyn Farrington, 20, Sun Valley, Idaho

· Men’s snowboard superpipe – JJ Thomas, 28, Breckenridge, Colo.

Athlete of the Year – Honors the male and female athlete who earned the most overall points in any one discipline.

· Male – Andreas Hatveit

· Female – Jamie Anderson

Rookie of the Year – The rookies with the highest number of points in snowboarding and freeskiing.

· Freeski – Andreas Hatveit

· Snowboard – Sage Kotsenburg

Trick of the Year – The athlete who performed the single best trick throughout the Winter Dew Tour season.

· Halldor Helgasson, 19, Iceland, snowboard slopestyle – double cork frontside 1080, performed at the Totino’s Open at Breckenridge Ski Resort

Performance of the Year – Recognizing a single performance by an athlete that may be either the highest score or one that was clutch under pressure when it was needed most.

· Mike Riddle, 23, Canada, freeski superpipe – His huge second run during finals at the Totino’s Open in Breckenridge allowed him to come up through the pack and win the event

Breakthrough Athlete of the Year – Voted on by the athletes, this award recognizes an athlete who does something that surpasses expectations.

· Elias Ambuhl, 17, Switzerland, freeski slopestyle – He came in new to the Winter Dew Tour as an Open Qualifier, winning the OQ round. As a Tour rookie, Ambuhl showed his consistency and finished seventh overall.

Ian Fehler
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