What’s new in the world of skiing this week, from death-defying freeride runs to life-affirming comeback stories, and a potentially season-changing item for your shopping list.
SETTING THE STANDARD
Canada’s Marcus Goguen left mouths agape in Georgia this week at the last stop on the Freeride World Tour. The 19-year-old alumnae of the Whistler Freeride Club left little room for his competitors to best him, scoring 98 out of 100 on a run that started with a 360 before moving into a huge backflip. These were just warmups for the corked 720 Goguen threw in to leave little doubt he’d be qualifying for the tour finals. With the video commentators at a loss for words, Goguen summed up his own ride in the finish pen; “I don’t know how I managed to pull that together.” See the video of his run here. We’re looking forward to seeing if he knows how to “pull another one together” at the tour finals at Fieberbrunn in Austria March 12-18 and Verbier in Switzerland March 23-31.
BACK ON TOP
For anyone who has tweaked a knee and needs a bit of reassurance—and inspiration—Ortovox has just released a six-minute video of the comeback story of one of its athletes. Barely three years (or 1000 Days as the video is named) after crashing into a tree and hearing he might have to have his leg amputated, Chris Ebenbichler is back on the summit. Ebenbichler and his companion were wearing GoPro cameras, so the footage is complete, but the thrust of the video is not the breaking down, but the building back up. As the Austrian freeskier and former ski cross racer notes, “The magic most people look for in moments like this can be found in the work we don’t want to do.”
GET YOUR TICKETS!
You might still have the best skiing of this season ahead of you, but it’s never too early to think about next year. March 1 marks the sales release of 2024/2025 Indy Passes. The Indy Base Pass (US$279) costs less than a day ticket at some resorts and grants two days of access at 180 resorts around the world, including 13 downhill ski areas in Canada. Upgrade to an Indy+ Pass for US$379 with no blackout dates. Today’s release is for returning or lapsed passholders and those on the waitlist. General sales begin on March 8.
LIGHTNING FLASHES
Lightning alerts are par for the course on golf, um, courses, but ski hills? Race organizers had to use their PA system to warn high school racers off the hills during unseasonal weather at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations championships at Osler Bluff Ski Club on Wednesday. While school board health and safety protocols might be out of control these days, being on a chairlift is probably low on the list of ideal situations during a lightning storm. Medals were awarded based on previous runs completed.
ROCK KEEPS ROLLING
Newfoundlad’s Marble Mountain will be reopening Saturday after a weeklong effort to repair damage done by heavy rains last weekend. Outdoor operations manager Christian Patten said crews are having to remove roughly 500 tonnes of mud from around the base of a chairlift after a rainstorm ate through the snowpack and into the topsoil on the Musgrave trail. Erosion was extensive, but there was not enough rain to wash away Newfoundland optimism. Says manager Richard Wells, “It held up really well.”
