Jan. 18, 2012 - Issue #848: City of champions
Fall Lines
FALL LINES: Canadian Freestylers and Rocky Mountain Terrain
» Henry Georgi/Fernie Alpine Resort
One of Canada's freestyle stars, Mikael Kingsbury, continues to dominate the World Cup mogul circuit with his third win in a row last weekend at Mont Gabriel, Quebec. Even with the country's Olympic champion, Alex Bilodeau, making his season debut, Kingsbury was not thrown off his stride and held onto his perfect score. After the first win last month, he vowed not to take off the yellow leader's bib and so far, he's been true to his word, stretching his lead to 110 points.
Our Canadian ladies weren't far behind Kingsbury's heroics in Quebec. Justine Dufour-Lapointe captured the silver medal in her mogul event and Spruce Grove's Chelsea Henitiuk wasn't far behind in fourth place—her best-ever finish on the tour. This weekend, they'll all be competing again at Lake Placid, NY, before heading west to Calgary to compete at Canada Olympic Park on January 28 and 29. If you want to see gifted athletes pounding bumps and soaring through the air, this will definitely be your best opportunity this winter. Both moguls and aerials will be contested when the tour rolls into Calgary.
Rocky Mountain resorts open terrain
Sunshine Village has announced the opening of the massive Rogers Terrain Park—one of the best in the Rockies. Located near the base of the Great Divide Chair, the park opened with about 14 features, including jumps, rails and boxes where boarders and skiers can hone their freestyle skills. The park stretches across 12 acres of ground—enough to keep any park rat entertained.
In the past, other resorts managed to overshadow Marmot Basin's terrain park, but not any longer. With its new snowmaking equipment in place, staff groomed an impressive park on the lower mountain earlier this season. This is a dramatic change from years gone by, when only a few features were gathered together at the top of Paradise. The new park comes with the bonus of great views from both high-speed quad chairs, so you can see all the action and wipeouts as they unfold.
An impressive array of expert terrain at Fernie Alpine Resort is now much easier to access, thanks to the official opening of the resort's new Polar Peak Lift. This new chair reaches the upper slopes of the Currie Bowl. You won't find any green runs up there, but for experienced skiers and boarders, this opens an awesome selection of terrain previously only reached by those willing to take a hike.
If you're looking for something to do this weekend, then be sure to take in Fernie's Raging Elk Cardboard Derby on January 21 at 1 pm. Competitors assemble their crafts from cardboard and other recyclables, dress in outrageous clothing and hurdle down the slopes to the delight of judges and spectators. The only challenge for observers is figuring out the best place to stand—at the start to enjoy the trash talking, near the middle where things inevitably start falling apart or at the finish to see competitors try to steer their craft to a halt on the target
More stories in Snow Zone »
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