Johnson named National Sales Manager for Australia and New Zealand.
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A consortium of New Zealand and Australian investors that bought the Porters Ski Area 2 1/2 years ago wants to build European-style accommodation for up to 3000 people at the foot of the mountain and expand the 700-hectare ski area into the adjoining Crystal Valley.
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All eyes were on Shaun White (Carlsbad, CA) to double cork his way to another win on Wednesday and the 2006 Olympic gold medalist did not disappoint as he grabbed the top spot during the season’s first World Cup competition in New Zealand. He was joined on the podium steps by fellow Games hardware owners Kelly Clark (Mt. Snow, VT) and Gretchen Bleiler (Aspen, CO), who were second and third.
White pulled a straight air, backside 900, frontside 720, cab double cork 1080, to a front 1080 in his first run, and a straight air, backside 500, frontside 720, cab double cork 1080, front double cork 1080 on his second run for his second win in the southern hemisphere this month. The first was at the Burton New Zealand Open where he also won after landing of a double double-corked run.
“I show up here and I didn’t plan on competing. I actually postponed my flight home so that I could stay and ride longer and get my tricks down because this year is the big one,” White said. “All the people that are probably going to be at the Olympics are here, so the win was amazing.”
White had originally planned on making a quick exit after the Open, but threw his name in the hat for the World Cup at the last minute in order to test out his double-cork laden runs on a panel of rather important judges - the Olympic panel.
“It felt great to break these new tricks out in front of the judges because they’re the ones who are going to be there in the end to decide who is riding the best during the Olympics. I didn’t want a situation where I’m throwing a new trick that’s innovative, but that they don’t know how to judge,” White said.
Thankfully, according to U.S. Snowboarding’s Bud Keene who coached White during the 2006 Olympics and will again coach him through the Games this season, the panel of judges knew exactly what the hype was all about.
“There’s nobody out there doing it as big and as well, or as perfectly executed and as stylish [as Shaun]. He has total command of these new tricks and they’re very impressed with that,” Keene said.
The women of U.S. Snowboarding were in their element with Clark and Bleiler laying claim on the second and third podium spots, while Jiayu Liu of China got the win.
Clark, just off her season’s first win at the Open, put down a frontside air, backside 540, frontside 720, cab 720, frontside 540 for her podium.
Bleiler followed things up with a frontside air, backside 540, frontside 540, cab 720, to straight air for third.
“It’s hard to think of this contest as the first contest of the season because it’s August, but it’s great to compete against everyone in the world and get third,” Bleiler said. “I’m looking at it as good practice. The summer training is where I’m polishing everything I need to polish so that I go into the season at 100 percent and ready to throw my runs at any given time.”
Ellery Hollingsworth (Stratton, VT) also had a killer day as the new high school grad sealed a solid run for a fifth-place finish to round out the top-10 results for U.S. women.
The halfpipe World Cup hits the brakes until its next competition Nov. 4 in Switzerland, but snowboardcross kicks its World Cup tour off Sept. 12 in Argentina.
OFFICIAL RESULTS
2010 LG SNOWBOARD FIS WORLD CUP
Aug. 26, 2009
Halfpipe
Men
1. Shaun White, Carlsbad, CA, 47.1
2. Iouri Podladtchikov, Switzerland, 44.4
3. Kazuhiro Kokubo, Japan, 43.2
4. Markus Malin, Finland, 42.1
5. Kohhei Kudoh, Japan, 40.7
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13. Mason Aguirre, Duluth, MN, 27.7
15. Scotty Lago, Seabrook, NH, 12.6
17. Danny Davis, Highland, MI, 6.8
Women
1. Jiayu Liu, China, 44.1
2. Kelly Clark, Mt. Snow, VT, 40.5
3. Gretchen Bleiler, Aspen, CO, 37.1
4. Queralt Castellet, Spain, 35.3
5. Ellery Hollingsworth, Stratton, VT, 34.2
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11. Maddy Schaffrick, Steamboat Springs, CO, 25.8
13. Jamie Anderson, South Lake Tahoe, CA, 23.4
Heavy snowfall and limited visibility delayed the start of the second day of the seventh annual Burton New Zealand Open, but the riders and course crew overcame the challenging conditions with a full day of competition.
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SOS to start its first year of programs outside North America. SOS Outreach expands into New Zealand giving lil Kiwi’s a opportunity to shred!
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Snow Sports NZ and Winter Games NZ announced today that they will combine resources to host the first stop of the 2009/10 LG FIS Snowboard World Cup Halfpipe tour by scheduling the competition as one of the signature events of Winter Games NZ 2009.
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Snow is falling in New Zealand and Mount Hutt is scheduled to open early! Check it out!
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A new contest is hitting the southern scene. Some of the world’s top riders will come to New Zealand in late August to compete in pipe, slopestyle, big air, and boarder cross at the Winter Games NZ.
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Queenstown, New Zealand - Coronet Peak Ski Area is to close this Sunday, 21 September after a “momentous winter season.” Hamish McCrostie, Coronet Peak Ski Area Manager, says this year had provided a fantastic challenge for ski area staff and a wonderful winter for its customers.
“Only one year ago we were packing up our old building. It’s been a huge journey through a major redevelopment programme to get to this point.”
“Built a brand new base building and installed a world leading snowmaking system all by early June, we then hurtled full bore into winter. The snowmaking was outstanding. We had a rollercoaster June then by July there was full coverage across the mountain - mostly machine made snow. This laid a fantastic base for the natural snow to come. Throughout August and into September we’ve all enjoyed amazing skiing and riding.”
He said the new base building had made a massive difference to mountain operations and customer service.
“We’ve all loved working in here. We’ve been able to put on some great parties, had a fantastic Winter Festival and have hosted some awesome bands. Feedback from our customers has been wonderful as well. I feel like we can take our learners’ plates off now and look forward to a summer season then to doing it all again next year – we’ve learned how to drive it.”
Mr McCrostie was philosophical about closing this weekend saying the spring warm up was underway despite hopes for a chill down.
“That’s life in the mountains,” he said.
NZSki Ltd CEO James Coddington said Coronet Peak had enjoyed a record season this winter, largely due to the efficiencies of the new developments.
“Coronet has enjoyed record visitor numbers. The SnowSports School and food and beverage departments have also broken records. It’s been very satisfying following the challenge of redeveloping the base building and installing a major new snowmaking system.”
The season finishes in true Coronet style with a party – the ski area’s inaugural International Day.
“It’ll be a colourful day – we’ve got people from all over the world working at the Peak and they’re planning to arrive in their national colours and celebrate their home countries. There will be international food stands on the deck and live music. It’ll be a fun, family friendly way to finish the season,” says Mr Coddington.
Friday, September 19 will be the last night skiing night with a two-for-one pass offer.
The Queenstown ski season continues at The Remarkables Ski Area where good spring skiing conditions prevail and at Mt Hutt near Christchurch where record snow depth (just shy of 3m) is promising a long season. The tentative closing date for The Remarkables is October 12.
Whakapapa, New Zealand - Ruapehu Alpine Lifts (RAL), operator of Mt Ruapehu ski area, is celebrating a major milestone today with Turoa experiencing the biggest snow base ever recorded at any New Zealand ski area.
The snow measuring stake at Turoa previously only stood at 380cm (149 inches) so had to be extended to measure today’s amazing 455cm (179 inches) snow base.
The Whakapapa side of the Mountain also has a fantastic base, with 350cm (137 inches) of snow, the biggest since 1995.
Mt Ruapehu marketing manager, Mike Smith, says the fresh snow will provide fantastic boarding and riding opportunities.
“The record-breaking snow base at Turoa and the great levels at Whakapapa will be paradise for skiers and boarders, and the good news is that with such large bases we expect to be able to extend the season and potentially keep going into November.”
To help skiers and boarders enjoy the awesome, powder-covered slopes, Mt Ruapehu has a range of great value mid-week deals available, such as the Midweek Shortbreak. The package includes a “three of five day” midweek All Mountain Lift Pass and a one-hour Midweek Short Break Lesson with no more than two people. The Midweek Shortbreak is priced at $199 for adults and $139 for youths.
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