Comp Confirmed: Freeride World Tour Names Start Date for Eagerly-Anticipated Haines Alaska Pro
After a series of cancellations, the Freeride World Tour confirmed the planned start date of the eagerly anticipated Haines Alaska Pro.
The event, set on the flanks of Alaska’s imposing mountains, begins the morning of Friday, March 13. As with its other events, the FWT will stream the show live and for free on its website at 10:30 a.m. local time.
Skiers will test their mettle on a venue that, somewhat confusingly, is called The Venue. The slope appeared during the FWT’s latest Alaskan foray in 2017.
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The Venue drops more than 2,000 vertical feet, making it the longest face the skiers have tackled so far this season. In true Alaskan fashion, spines and cliffs pepper the slope, creating ample opportunities for big sends—and, most likely, big bails.
The return to Alaska makes sense for the FWT.
The Alps, where many of the circuit’s events take place, are one of freeride’s meccas, with stout venues like the famed Bec des Rosses.
Alaska is another one, having seen countless big mountain movie moments and, all the way back in 1992, hosting the first-ever World Extreme Skiing Championships. Against that backdrop, you could call Friday’s competition a homecoming.
The Haines Alaska Pro marks the FWT’s first event this season beyond the “Cut,” a qualification process that slims down the number of competitors ahead of the finals.
Based on their scores at previous competitions, the top 13 men and the top 6 women moved forward. After throwing down in Alaska, they’ll gather one more time for the Xtreme Verbier, where the skiers who ranked highest will take home the overall titles.
This season, unstable snow and uncooperative weather truncated that process, trimming the Georgia Pro and the Fieberbrunn Pro from the calendar. Four chances to score points before the finals became two, and several favorites, like Astrid Cheylus and Valentin Rainer, didn’t make the Cut.
As of now, Ben Richards and Agostina Vietti hold the top spots. Richards, the men’s leader, has had a perfect season so far, winning both FWT stops alongside the inaugural Freeride World Championships with a gutsy run. Vietti, a rookie, won the Val Thorens Pro.
This is who they’re up against.
Qualified Women
- Agostina Vietti
- Justine Dufour Lapointe
- Sybille Blanjean
- Zoe Delzoppo
- Wynter McBride
- Lou Barin
Qualified Men
- Ben Richards
- Ross Tester
- Max Hitzig
- Joey Leonardo
- Toby Rafford
- WeiTien Ho
- Ugo Troubat
- Marcus Goguen
- Jack Kolesch
- Tiemo Rolshoven
- Abel Moga
- Victor Hale-Woods
- Fynn Powell