SUN VALLEY, Idaho — Dollar Mountain was the scene of a jam-packed extended weekend of speed, style and big air from the skiers and riders of the Jackson Hole Ski Club’s (JHSC) Freeride Program who competed in U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association’s (USASA) ski cross, boardercross and slopestyle events.
Sun Valley is the only venue in the Big Mountain West region to offer skier and boardercross, so four races were jammed into two days: Feb. 9 and 10. Skier or boardercross is an event where athletes race against as many as four skiers or boarders through a series of rollers and banked turns.
JHSC skiers proved to be their own toughest competition as Jackson skiers Emeleyan Baev, Max Lynch and Ashe Bessette finished, first, second and third in the final ski cross race of the week in the boys freeski 13-14 division. JHSC skier Eli Oda also found success in ski cross with a first and second-place finish. On the boy’s snowboard side JHSC athletes Noah Robertson and Ace Emery were able to grab second and third-place finishes.
Next, it was the slopestyle, where skiers and riders are judged on their style, trick selection and difficulty through a series of jumps and rails.
JHSC snowboarder Ellis swain was on fire all weekend as he came away with two first-place slopestyle finishes and the Beverly Hay Snowboard Cup, an award from the Sun Valley program that celebrates the overall best finisher in the snowboard event. His name will be engraved on the trophy at their club and is the first JHSC athlete to be awarded the cup in many years. Ellis’s sister Ivy, JHSC’s female snowboard representative, also found success in boardercross in the snowboard girls’ 11-12 division with a third-place finish.
The Jackson boys skiers also took him some noteworthy results in slopestyle. JHSC skier Liam Thompson was a mainstay on the podium with a first-place slopestyle finish on Sunday, a second on Saturday and a pair of first-place ski cross finishes. JHSC skier Winston Ochs joined Thompson on the podium with a second-place finish in Sunday’s slopestyle thanks to his newly learned cork 900. In the boys 13-14 freeski division, JHSC athlete Cormac Healy landed his best run of the weekend and took home second place, with fellow teammate Taz McBride not far behind with a fourth-place finish.
Congrats on a busy and successful weekend for all JHSC athletes in Sun Valley!
