FWT Bec des Rosses 2019 replay

[Eric267]

Final throw down in Verbier

Women's ski 40:00
Men's snowboard 1:45
Men's ski 2:20

 

[James]

I can tell you that mt is incredibly intimidating even from a distance. When the helicopter flies downhill, to the bottom right is a rock ridge. Pretty sure that's the ridge over which the tram, "Jumbo", 150 + 1 people), swings over and everyone goes "wooh".

There's a groomer that goes down to La Chaux from the end of that tram. It's miles long, and you get a good look at the mountain, Bec des Rosses. Just insane. So many rocks. I really don't know how people can do it. Impressive.
From the video:

That's the terminus of the Jumbo tram. Bec des Rosses is in the background. None of that stuff is usually there except the dome building which is the "Igloo". It's a fairly small lunch place.

 

[robertc3]

After watching that I am reconsidering encouraging my son's participation in freeride. That is just insane terrane. Thankfully, for juniors IFSA emphasizes control and technique more than big air and keeps all of the juniors out of you fall you die terrain.

 

[James]

The part just after 1:16:00 talks about how they choose lines, the difference from looking at it from afar and skiing it. Really interesting. You can't go up there and practice before. Xavier talks about you really can't get that skill from just free riding. You have to do comps or filming.

Btw, Xavier de le Rue, the snowboarder, is in the film "Twenty" on vimeo or youtube. He's been around a long time. Was caught in a serious avalanche, taken for a kilometer. Almost strangled by his chin strap. (That's in "Ten" on vimeo. Excellent shortish film on freeride covering ten years. Very inspiring. Mostly Europeans and Jeremy Jones. You can watch it with non skiers) Anyway, several years ago he decides to ride over huge ice faces - because they can't slide. These are on well over 40 deg pitches.

I think it said he won the Bec des Rosses 4 times. Amazing.

 

[Primoz]

Last year or two years ago I said, FWT is one of very few sports, where I rather watch women then men racing, as at that time, women were skiing, men were dropping biggest cliffs they could find and if they stick it, they won, otherwise they were taken off mountain in heli. And most of them didn't stick it.
This year things changed, and women were still on sort of same level, but men were simply insane. There was more skiing, less failed cliff jumping attempts, and it was super fun to watch them. Bec des Rosses... well that was simply insane. Gorak, Eder and Slemet had best runs for me, sorry I'm sucker for backflips in such terrain, but what Bimboes and Turdell did is beyond anything. Maybe not most technical, maybe not most challenging jumping wise, but bombing down that face from top to bottom with 3 or 4 easy turns, that's just beyond imaginable for me. Honestly, I don't have problems thinking going straight down in Kitzbuehel on raceday, but doing something like Bimboes or Turdell did this year in Verbier is beyond my imagination. And I was since forever fan of fast GS/SG like turns in steep backcountry and lately I'm doing way more of this then skiing on piste, but that... just wauuu and hats off to these guys!!!

 

[James]

I agree, I sort of stopped paying attention. That video was the most FWT I've ever watched. Not sure I would have watched it if I hadn't seen Bec des Rosses in person. It was actually well done. Good commentary, good discussion, and not just music video and dropping cliffs.

Remember Didier Defago there in 2010 on gs skis?

 

[Primoz]

@James that's still my favorite video to show for everyone saying wide skis in backcountry are for pussies.... and the on to complement my comment is from Mancuso doing same face during FWT race week or two earlier/later.

 

[James]

Didn't realize Mancuso did it.

I presume this shot is from the hike up, but not positive:

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Mancuso missed a few features towards the bottom, surprised by the speed she built up: “I followed J.T. Holmes’ advice not to stall before taking the jump and I got so much speed I missed some features in the end.”
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https://wordstobumble.wordpress.com/2010/03/22/mancuso-gets-xtreme/

 

[Tricia]

Didn't realize Mancuso did it.

I presume this shot is from the hike up, but not positive:
View attachment 69582
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Mancuso missed a few features towards the bottom, surprised by the speed she built up: “I followed J.T. Holmes’ advice not to stall before taking the jump and I got so much speed I missed some features in the end.”
--------
https://wordstobumble.wordpress.com/2010/03/22/mancuso-gets-xtreme/

Wow, and she's pregnant. That's got to play a roll in balance.

 

[James]

Wow, and she's pregnant. That's got to play a roll in balance.

That wasn't from this year, it was 2010 when she was 26.

 

[Swede]

Hargin did it too. 2016 or 2017. Got a wild card and finnished 8th. His run was a little meh .., couldn’t do the line he wanted to.


Let me know if there’re particular passages you want translation for... lots of Swedish jibberish.

”End of season. Time to put away the SL planks and bring out these goodies...” (nodding toward phatties).

 

[Tricia]

That wasn't from this year, it was 2010 when she was 26.

Oh.

 

[robertc3]

The interesting thing that I noticed in all three racers' skiing was that their turns were really sketchy. I would have thought that would be their biggest strength, but their race skills didn't seem to translate into beautiful turns when the terrain was crazy steep. Their airs were better than I expected, but their turns were worse. The guys and gals who spend nearly all of their time skiing 40+ degree terrain are just way more confident making turns on it.

 

[James]

The interesting thing that I noticed in all three racers' skiing was that their turns were really sketchy. I would have thought that would be their biggest strength, but their race skills didn't seem to translate into beautiful turns when the terrain was crazy steep. Their airs were better than I expected, but their turns were worse. The guys and gals who spend nearly all of their time skiing 40+ degree terrain are just way more confident making turns on it.

Maybe watch it again starting with Hargin? He looked very good. There may be slighty more hesitation from inexperience, but he had very good flow. I would not describe his turns as sketchy at all. Very solid. Around 4 min are his "worst turns". Looks like that's a sloughed area. Who knows what the snow is like. All the competitors look sketchy when trying to shut down speed.

What we can't see are the snow conditions which will tend to push apart the inside/outside ski in unpredictable ways.

Mancuso had very good flow. I don't see sketchy turns at all. In the beginning she might make more to control speed. I see nearly no hesitation in the run.

Defago had 65mm gs skis on. Yeah, looked like a "normal" person coming down. Sketchy compared to the competitors.

 

[robertc3]

Maybe watch it again starting with Hargin? He looked very good. There may be slighty more hesitation from inexperience, but he had very good flow. I would not describe his turns as sketchy at all. Very solid. Around 4 min are his "worst turns". Looks like that's a sloughed area. Who knows what the snow is like. All the competitors look sketchy when trying to shut down speed.

What we can't see are the snow conditions which will tend to push apart the inside/outside ski in unpredictable ways.

Mancuso had very good flow. I don't see sketchy turns at all. In the beginning she might make more to control speed. I see nearly no hesitation in the run.

Defago had 65mm gs skis on. Yeah, looked like a "normal" person coming down. Sketchy compared to the competitors.

Hargin definitely looked the best while Defago on the GS skis was a little scary to watch for me. I am not saying these racers looked like they didn't belong there, but they were not making Kristopher Turdell turns. They skied with flow, stomped their airs and competed well in an arena totally unlike the one in which they made their fame.

 

[Swede]

The interesting thing that I noticed in all three racers' skiing was that their turns were really sketchy. I would have thought that would be their biggest strength, but their race skills didn't seem to translate into beautiful turns when the terrain was crazy steep. Their airs were better than I expected, but their turns were worse. The guys and gals who spend nearly all of their time skiing 40+ degree terrain are just way more confident making turns on it.

As an input to Hargins run, he had to improvise quite a bit due to a last minute changed start. It wasn’t the line he scouted. Otherwise he would have finished higher I’m sure. Actually he beat Turdell at Riksgränsen when he did NM (2nd after Wille L) some 7-8 years ago (also reine b and regner got a whopping). Hope to see him doing some free ride comp’s now as ”retired”.

 

[Primoz]

For Hargin and Mancuso you could hardly say they looked sketchy. For my taste, they, especially Jules looked better then real freeriders. Yeah I like those big GS/SG style turns, and she had them while rest didn't. But for jumping cliffs I understand you are not going to be doing backflips or 360 on that face unless you train them every day. So except for lack of jumps, and even that Hargin had quite few nice ones, even though not biggest one, they showed really great skiing. Defago's fight for life down there was everything else, but I always forget to ask him about that when we meet. I still don't get it, why the f**k you take race GS skis instead of proper skis. It's not like Rossi wouldn't have super good stuff for these sort of things.
@Swede I'm not really sure Hargin will be doing these sort of stuff. I'm sure he will be filming a lot, but competitions... I just don't see him in that, especially as for something like FWT you need to be not crazy, but stupid. Sorry noone half normal would throw himself down 30m cliff... and still do backflip in between

 

[James]

Yeah Mancuso was impressive. She did have a fair amount of free skiing experience in Squaw. But the Bec des Rosses is a different level. Kind of like Lake Louise downhill versus Kitzbuhel.

I think it's safe to say we won't see Mikaela at the Bec des Rosses. Unless she retires, and goes wild. But then she might have a kid which would change everything.

 

[HardDaysNight]

For Hargin and Mancuso you could hardly say they looked sketchy. For my taste, they, especially Jules looked better then real freeriders. Yeah I like those big GS/SG style turns, and she had them while rest didn't. But for jumping cliffs I understand you are not going to be doing backflips or 360 on that face unless you train them every day. So except for lack of jumps, and even that Hargin had quite few nice ones, even though not biggest one, they showed really great skiing. Defago's fight for life down there was everything else, but I always forget to ask him about that when we meet. I still don't get it, why the f**k you take race GS skis instead of proper skis. It's not like Rossi wouldn't have super good stuff for these sort of things.
@Swede I'm not really sure Hargin will be doing these sort of stuff. I'm sure he will be filming a lot, but competitions... I just don't see him in that, especially as for something like FWT you need to be not crazy, but stupid. Sorry noone half normal would throw himself down 30m cliff... and still do backflip in between

There is not much more to say!

 

[Chef23]

Just watched the women and men on the Verbier video and that is some crazy stuff. The falls that two of the men took and skied away from were unreal. Mad props to the guys that skied down and picked up their skis I am pretty sure I couldn't ski that never mind cleaning up other people's stuff and getting it to them.