As I won't be skiing for a while, I thought it might be fun to keep the stoke alive by having a discussion on what you consider iconic moments/accomplishments in freeskiing.
I'll kick off the discussion with three
1) Candide Thovex - Chad's Gap, 2000. Wow, wow, wow!! Not sure words can do it justice. Just landing that thing is nuts, but throwing down a perfectly executed 120 foot d-spin while you're at it! No way. To me, redefines what is possible. It has been 20 years since Candide threw that down, and we still haven't seen anything like it since. We may easily go another twenty years before we even see something that rivals that, much less tops it.
2) Jamie Pierre - 255 foot cliff huck, 2006. The late Jamie Pierre pushed the limits of hucking big, topped off by a crazy 255 foot huck off at Grand Targhee that was estimated got him to terminal velocity and left a 12 foot bomb hole. This record was unintentionally beat by Fred Syverson two years later, albeit unintentionally. Like Candide, in my mind redefines what is even possible.
3) Veronica Paulsen - first female backflip off Corbet's Couloir, 2020 - At this year's King and Queen of Corbet's competition, Veronica Paulsen goes big and becomes the first female to land a backflip of the famed Corbet's Couloir. It got me thinking, if you see what women are doing in gymnastics, we may be just scratching the surface in terms of the aerial maneuvers on skis that are about to come from the ladies. Veronica's backflip may be a catalyst for a lot more to come.
Lots of others out there, what comes to your mind?
I'll kick off the discussion with three
1) Candide Thovex - Chad's Gap, 2000. Wow, wow, wow!! Not sure words can do it justice. Just landing that thing is nuts, but throwing down a perfectly executed 120 foot d-spin while you're at it! No way. To me, redefines what is possible. It has been 20 years since Candide threw that down, and we still haven't seen anything like it since. We may easily go another twenty years before we even see something that rivals that, much less tops it.
2) Jamie Pierre - 255 foot cliff huck, 2006. The late Jamie Pierre pushed the limits of hucking big, topped off by a crazy 255 foot huck off at Grand Targhee that was estimated got him to terminal velocity and left a 12 foot bomb hole. This record was unintentionally beat by Fred Syverson two years later, albeit unintentionally. Like Candide, in my mind redefines what is even possible.
3) Veronica Paulsen - first female backflip off Corbet's Couloir, 2020 - At this year's King and Queen of Corbet's competition, Veronica Paulsen goes big and becomes the first female to land a backflip of the famed Corbet's Couloir. It got me thinking, if you see what women are doing in gymnastics, we may be just scratching the surface in terms of the aerial maneuvers on skis that are about to come from the ladies. Veronica's backflip may be a catalyst for a lot more to come.
Lots of others out there, what comes to your mind?
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