A few weeks ago I got an email asking if Newschoolers would like to send someone to the Kicking Horse stop of the Freeride World Tour. Being based in Canmore, I jumped at the opportunity, filled my car with every warm thing I owned and drove out to the old mining town of Golden, BC for my first freeride comp experience at an absolutely classic venue.
So let's set the scene. I'm from the UK originally, I am by most definitions a Park Rat and despite a few seasons under my belt, I've spent more time in snowdomes than in big mountain terrain. My event coverage experience under the Newschoolers moniker isn’t massive either, although my first foray into this side of operations was being sent around Europe last spring to catch DaniHell Hanka Invitational, BLDZ Leysin Invitational, and The Nines. A baptism of fire courtesy of Twig. This was to be an entirely different box of cheese... and an eye-opener.
At the opening ceremony, the juxtaposition of Newschoolers journalist-turned-social-media-guy and a room full of FWT athletes was immediately apparent. Arsenic and Capeesh stick out against a sea of Arc’teryx and Peak Performance like a stylish thumb - although trendy fleece hats have permeated all of skiing it would seem - and I began to wonder if packing an HVX was really the right move.
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After standing around feeling a little lost I hunted down some familiar faces, Mark Warner of the Low Pressure Podcast and stalwart of FWT coverage and the Kiwi contingent. Thank you Finn Bilous for being the bridge between worlds here. I got to work getting the lay of the land for the following day. The headlines were, you’re gonna wake up fucking early and get ready to be cold. A far cry from sunny spring park sessions but an exciting prospect once I’d rationalized my fear of a 5am alarm knowing the sunrise would blow the sleep out of my eyes in seconds.
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And so, the alarm rang early, and I dragged myself to Kicking Horse, unsure of what to expect and asking far too many questions about the day ahead. I still had no real plan of attack and the best advice I’d received was to enjoy myself and capture what I thought was cool. So that’s exactly what I did. Uploading early and watching the sky illuminate the gorgeous mountains while the fevered excitement of what promised to be a banger day reverberated around gondola cabins and windy outcrops.
Despite the low snow season in Canada (fuck you Utah) the resort was blessed with a healthy dose of fresh and the Ozone face was primed with the sun bathing the face and the sharks hiding well amongst the pow.
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I watched the first few runs from the ridge overlooking Ozone, where the commentators and announcers were commentating. It was evident early on that one of the aspects I’d negated to consider was the sheer scale of a freeride event and the proximity, or lack thereof, to the action (note to self: pack binoculars next time) and the challenges this presents to capturing the event. At a park event, the laps are fast, it’s easy to move around and readjust. As the sun hit the finish area this seemed like the pound seat, sheltered, crowd vibes and athletes rolling in so I made my way down and parked up to watch the madness unfold. As may be apparent with some of the clips, riders would appear over the horizon with little warning (the comms did not link to the finish area) and this meant I missed some of the action, that Max Hitzig backflip being the one that will haunt me the most. Although the consolation prize was some snacks from Mr. Bilous so my distraction was somewhat warranted.
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My favorite aspect of watching high-level skiing is how much it humanizes these insane feats that often feel unrelatable and highlights the true scale and technicality of what’s on display. It’s often easy to forget, or through arrogance ignore, the fact that these freeride skiers are as loose if not looser than the park skiers Newschoolers has been a home for nearly a quarter of a century. The potential hazards are often much more hidden on a face such as Ozone compared to a pristine park. Though the venue and style of skiing may be different the core principles of what makes watching pro skiing live will forever remain. The comradery, hype, and love for the sport are what shine through. Hopefully, this cut gives you a little insight into my perspective from the day. Big thanks to everyone at FWT for putting on an incredible event, the athletes, and the homies for being so welcoming and converting me even further to the world of freeride skiing! I'll remember my transceiver next time.
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