The Swatch Skiers Cup is rich with highlights, but Sverre Liliequist stole the show recently by launching a back-flip while being chased by an immense avalanche, which he successfully outran.
(The avalanche portion of the video begins at the 54-second mark, and the slow-motion back-flip is at about 1:50.)
Liliequist's run was being filmed from the air by Skiers Cup crew. The big-mountain and back-country competition, in Zermatt, Switzerland, runs through Friday.
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The search for six missing climbers in the aftermath of Sunday's deadly avalanche on the Nepalese peak of Manaslu has been called off. The bodies of nine climbers were recovered and several injured climbers were treated for injuries and hypothermia.
One of the lucky survivors was Glen Plake, an iconic freeskier from Lake Tahoe. Two of Plake's ski-mountaineering companions, Greg Costa and Remy Lecluse, are among the missing on the 26,759-foot peak.
Speaking from Manaslu base camp, Plake told Trey Cook of Epic Tv: "I'm OK, a bit beat up; missing some teeth and a bruised eye but write in big capital letters: GLEN PLAKE IS ALIVE AND HE'S COMING HOME."
Plake, who had been sharing a tent with Costa, also described being swept 900 feet down the mountain in the predawn darkness, in his sleeping bag, as the massive slide tore through Camp 3 at about 20,000 feet, destroying as many as 25 tents.
"We all went to sleep with avalanche transceivers on so I punched my way out of the tent and started searching," Plake said. "I searched for 10 minutes before I realized I was barefoot in the snow.
"Greg had been using my down suit for a pillow and I found my suit, I found everything that was in my tent – camera, sleeping bag, ski boots. It was like someone had thrown my gear in the back of a pickup – but there was no sign of Greg. Remy and his tent are nowhere to be found."
The slide, estimated to measure up to 2,000 feet across, also slammed tents farther down the slope at Camp 2. One of the Camp 2 survivors is Canada's Greg Hill, who in 2010 set a record for climbing and skiing 2 million vertical feet in one calendar year.
Some of the Camp 2 climbers assisted in a Sunday search that became impossible after heavy fog swept over the slope. The search was called off a day later, after it became clear there was no hope of finding any more survivors.
Eight of the nine climbers who were killed have been identified. Four are French, one is Italian, one Spanish, one German, and one is a Nepali national.
Manaslu, the world's eighth tallest peak, is among the most dangerous to climb, having claimed the lives of dozens of mountaineers in recent years.
--Image showing Glen Plake, Remy Lecluse and Greg Costa (left to right) is courtesy of EpicTv
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Sarah Burke, a star freeskier who died last January of head injuries suffered during a fall in the superpipe, is among athletes who will be inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame this summer.
Burke was one of the Canadian Freestyle Ski Assn.'s premier athletes, and the first female skier to land a 1080, or three full rotations above the superpipe.
She was instrumental in lobbying efforts to get women's freesking (superpipe and slopestyle) into the X Games and, more recently, the Olympics for their debut in 2014 at the Sochi Games in Russia.
In a news release announcing Hall of Fame inductees, Burke's mother, Jan Phelan, stated:
"Sarah was one of those extraordinary women who believed that anything was possible. I think that her belief not only helped her succeed, but inspired others to be the best that they could be. I know that Sarah would be happy that all she worked for and sought to achieve is being honored with her induction into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame."
Also being inducted, during a Sept. 21 ceremony in Toronto, are Olympic heroes Jean-Luc Brassard, Daniel Igali, Beckie Scott, the 2006 women's hockey team, 2010 men's hockey team, and longtime national synchronized swimming coach Julie Sauve.
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Residents of Midland in Ontario, Canada, have made a touching gesture to honor the memory of freeskiing star Sarah Burke, who died last month after an accident during training in a superpipe.
Burke grew up on Huron Street in Midland, and residents in the neighborhood, according to Simcoe.com, have requested that the town change the road's name to Sarah Burke Street.
"It would be a great tribute to one of Midland’s amazing, beautiful, young and inspirational athletes, who was taken from us way too soon," Rick and Debbie Dalziel stated in a letter to the city council, supported by the signatures of 11 neighbours. "Being friends and next-door neighbours of the Burke family for several years, we feel that Sarah and the entire family would be truly touched by this honour."
The entire street is in agreement regarding the name change but a councilman responded that the gesture may be too modest.
Still, many will agree that the name change ought to be granted, along with whatever larger gesture the council may come up with.
The request has been forwarded to the planning and development committee for review, after which it'll be brought to council for a decision.
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Freeskiing has lost one of its top athletes and great personalities in Canadian superpipe specialist Sarah Burke, who died Thursday of head injuries sustained Jan. 10 during a fall in the Eagle Superpipe at Park Mountain Resort in Utah.
Burke, 29, a four-time X Games champion and a favorite to win the gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi, Russia, passed away at 9:22 a.m. She was accompanied by family and new husband, Rory Bushfield.
A statement released by the family explained that Burke had suffered a ruptured vertebral artery, one of the four major arteries supplying blood to the brain. The rupture led to a severe hemorrhage, which caused her to experience cardiac arrest soon after her fall.
Burke was placed on life support while doctors repaired the artery. But she had sustained severe irreversible brain damage because of a lack of oxygen and blood flow after cardiac arrest.
In accordance with her wishes, her organs and tissues were donated to help save the lives of others.
The accident has raised the issue of safety in terms of superpipe riding at the highest level. Burke's fall occurred at the same resort at which snowboarder Kevin Pearce was critically injured while training on Dec. 31, 2009.
Pearce, who had been training for his Olympics debut, suffered traumatic brain injuries and endured a long and comprehensive rehabilitation period. Last month he rode a snowboard for the first time since his accident, but his career is over.
The sport has progressed to dangerous new heights, with more spinning and more amplitude above the superpipes' 22-foot walls. This makes it easier to become disoriented before trying to land on the walls of the U-shaped superpipes.
Snowboarding star Gretchen Blieler told ESPN while Burke was still alive that athletes are aware of the dangers.
"There are no guarantees," she said. "And that is the risk we all take with us every day in life. But that is why we must live and live well, because nothing is guaranteed. I think Sarah would tell all of us to keep going, keep waking up early to land those tricks you've been dreaming of, but only if it's done with 100 percent passion, pure fire, discipline and commitment."
Continue reading "Freeskiing star Sarah Burke dies nine days after crash" »
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*Updated Wednesday afternoon
The tight-knit freeskiing community is rallying behind superstar Sarah Burke, who was seriously injured Tuesday afternoon during a halfpipe crash in Park City, Utah. She was airlifted to University Hospital in Salt Lake City, where she remains in a coma.
"Sarah sustained serious injuries and remains intubated and sedated in critical condition," Safdar Ansari, a specialist in neurocritical care at the hospital, said in a statement issued early Wednesday afternoon.
During a conference call, Canadian Freestyle Ski Assn. team doctor Robert Foxford said it was his understanding that Burke had been placed in a medically induced coma. "That would be the standard procedure for someone with a significant brain injury," Foxford said.
Burke's publicist issued this statement: "At this time, her family is asking that everyone respect their wishes of making Sarah's health and recovery a priority. The family will send an update once they have all the information. They are with her now."
Burke's husband, Rory Bushfield, added: "Sarah is a very strong young woman and she will most certainly fight to recover."
The Park City Mountain Resort halfpipe, or superpipe, is the same venue at which snowboarder Kevin Pearce was critically injured while training on Dec. 31, 2009. Pearce, who had been training for his Olympics debut, suffered traumatic brain injuries but has since recovered. Last month he rode a snowboard for the first time since his accident.
Positive and hopeful sentiments have flooded Burke's Facebook fan page wall. Most are of the tone issued by Mike Laroche in this post: "Sending all the love and support to Sarah and her family. You are an icon to the sport and a shining light to the world. Your spirit and strength will persevere, stay strong."
Athletes have been using Twitter to deliver best wishes and Trennon Paynter, coach of Canada's halfpipe team, tweeted this message: "Even while resting, her inner strength is clearly visible. Overcoming challenges is what she has always done best."
Burke, who is from Squamish, British Columbia, is the first female skier to have landed a 1080. She was instrumental in the lobbying effort to bring women's freeskiing to the X Games, and to the Olympics. In 2007 she was voted Best Female Action Sports Athlete at the annual ESPY Awards.
—Sarah Burke action photo is courtesy of the Canadian Freestyle Ski Assn. Bottom image if from the athlete's Facebook page
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Halfpipe freeskiing will debut at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. That shows how popular the sport, for years a Winter X Games staple, has become.
But is halfpipe freeskiing -- and perhaps snowboarding -- already ripe for a drastic change as top-level athletes seek new ways by which to challenge themselves and showcase their incredible skills?
Maybe not, but Simon Dumont appears to be onto something with his "cubed" halfpipe, which he showcased recently with a performance at Squaw Valley USA. Gone is the security of a 22-foot wall for the duration of a routine. Gone, also, are points of reference for a rider who must pass 40 feet above ice while performing acrobatics between sections. Athletes might be scared of it, understandably, but they can adjust, and fans will love it. Judge for yourself:
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Pro freeskier Ryan Hawks died early Tuesday of injuries suffered during an extreme competition in Northern California. He was 25.
Hawks had been attempting a 40-foot backflip Sunday during the North American Freeskiing Championships at Kirkwood Ski Resort near Lake Tahoe. He fell upon landing and was airlifted to Reno's Renown Health Center, where he was being treated for internal injuries.
An official cause of death is pending an investigation, according to Reno's Washoe County Medical Examiner.
Dan Abrams, president of FlyLow Gear, which sponsored the athlete, told Outside magazine: "The comp was in full swing. All of the heavy hitters were skiing, but a lot of the guys were falling. There was an opportunity for Ryan to go all out get on the podium. He has a history of back flips and basically going for it in comps."
Hawks, a Utah resident originally from Vermont, belonged to a small group of Vermont-born athletes known as Green Mountain Freeride.
According to an ESPN report, Hawks' death is the third involving a competitive big-mountain freeskier in four years. It cited the 2008 death of John Nicoletta at the Freeskiing World Tour Championships at Alyeska in Alaska; and the 2007 death of Neil Valiton at an International Freeskiers Assn. event at Tignes, France.
For a helmet-cam glimpse of the Green Mountain crew in action, see the video:
-- Pete Thomas
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Chuck Patterson had skied his share of dangerous big-mountain terrain; he had also surfed plenty of large, thunderous waves.
But never, until recently, had he or anyone else donned skis and used them to surf the gargantuan swells at a notoriously treacherous spot called Jaws, off the Hawaiian island of Maui (see video).
Patterson, a trained ski racer from Lake Tahoe, who spends part of each winter in Hawaii, traveled to Jaws recently to greet an arriving swell. Dozens of tow surfers -- those who are pulled onto fast-moving swells behind personal watercraft -- were on hand. Patterson was the only one wearing two planks, boots, bindings ... and carrying ski poles.
Patterson clearly proved that with specialized skiing equipment the towering, heaving waves at Jaws can be ridden with style and poise, just like mountains of snow.
"I had a good idea that it was possible, but it really made a big difference having a solid background in skiing and big-wave tow-in surfing to really push it in big waves," Patterson told the Ski Channel. "There's a lot that goes into making it all happen safely even before you hit the water, and after that is when the fun begins."
Like the tow-surfers, Patterson also was towed onto the swells, whereupon he began his descent like an Alpine specialist trying to maintain a perfect fall line.
"Gliding into a 40-foot clean, open-faced wave has a lot of the same characteristics that you find when dropping off a cornice into a steep chute with fresh snow," he said. "Aside from the surface being water, it's almost the same feeling. Once you let go of the rope and glide down the face making turns to stay in the pocket, it's totally addicting."
The session comes 15 months after a Starr Surf Skis testing mission conducted elsewhere on Maui, and in smaller waves, by freeskiers Mike Douglas and Cody Townsend. That expedition was part of a Solomon Freeski TV web series last year. Patterson's Jaws footage will be part of a follow-up episode.
He expects surf-skiing to catch on, and it just might. Tow-surfing, with its specialized equipment, was once just an idea. So was surfing behind large kites, and aboard over-sized standup-paddleboards.
Patterson's next goal? To tuck, like a downhill racer, inside a monstrous Jaws barrel.
-- Pete Thomas
Twitter: @Pete_Thomas
Editor's note: A version of this post also appears on the GrindTV.com surf blog
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