Chinese downhill

"The reaction of the competitors ranged from awe, to praise, to out-right fear..."

The Chinese Downhill is competition in its purest form, testing the limits of courage and ability as competitors race at lightning-fast speed down steep, undulating terrain in a "no rules, first to the bottom wins" format. It was unanimously agreed that today's races were the most challenging in the event's five year history, with both skiers and snowboarders reaching speeds of up to 110kph on the 1.5km virgin slope.

As Tony Harrington, event director, put it, "This place is a jewel, I've been waiting five years to bring the event to this amazingly beautiful place and today the dream came true — New Zealand's mountains at their finest."

	Broken Ski

The reaction of the competitors to the one-and-a-half kilometer course, run on variable wind affected powder snow, ranged from awe to praise to out-right fear. A sharp drop-away halfway down the course, which the competitors hit at top speed, caused a number of big falls, but no major injuries were incurred.

Reigning snowboarding champion and current Queen of the Hill champ Karleen Jeffery (CAN) summed it up best: "This here was probably the most gnarly Chinese Downhill run in the world. It was awesome, the most terrifyingly fun course I've ridden. It was so fast, you actually had to try to keep some sort of a check on your speed, and the drop-away in the middle of the course was gnarly."

Head judge Cisco Oldlani was glowing in his praise of the athletes, recognizing that at least limbs, if not life, were on the line.

"The riders and skiers would have been hitting 110kph — that's as fast as you'd drive down the road in your car."

Jeffery conquered the challenging terrain to claim another victory in the women's snowboarding event, using her considerable skills and outright bravery honed in the mountains of Alaska to triumph over local New Zealand girl Julianne Bray.

"This event is screwball, totally wild, there were people flying all over the place..."— Ashley Call, snowboarder

The world's second ranked boardercross racer Marguerite Cossettini (AUS) landed third position, acknowledging that a little luck was needed to negotiate a few out of control competitors.

"That's why they usually have this day of competition last, it's a full contact sport," said Cossettini.

Nineteen-year-old Alaskan snowboarder Ashley Call drew on the courage of youth to bust open the elite international men's field, displaying an all out attack style. "This event is screwball, totally wild, there were people flying all over the place. The key for me was not turning. There ain't no strategy, just point it down the hill and go fast!" he said.

Extreme snowboarding legend Matt Goodwill (USA) came in a very close second with Australian rider Tim Vlandis third. Snowboard speed specialist, Rip Curl's Jayson Onley from Australia, led the world class field for over half the steep course before a spectacular high speed crash ended his hopes of back to back victories in the Chinese Downhill.

"There was no way I was going to turn," said Onley. "I guess I put it all on the line and went straight down the hill, but I unexpectedly took huge air, and landing at that speed was near impossible. I just exploded."

American skier Charlotte Moats emerged victorious in the women's ski event. Drawing on a background of downhill racing and some smart tactics, she blitzed the field with smooth, swooping turns down the steep and long course.

"You just had to get out in front. You really wanted to keep away from all the other riders because you could easily get taken out. I'm so happy everything just went to plan. I got a little more air than I wanted but I was just trying to stomp that one high speed air," she said.

"There was no way I was going to turn..."— Jayson Onley, snowboarder

Young Australian skier Andrea Binning, from Mount Hotham, continued her good form in the Rip Curl World Heli Challenge to take second place, with overall reigning champion Samala Singer coming in third.

New Zealand speed merchant Geoff Small, who won last year's downhill, came from behind in the men's skiing event to make it back-to-back victories. "I'm stoked, I knew what I had to do and just did it. I cruised up the top of the course; I knew no one could point it from the top and then over the roller in the middle. I just went for it. I'm so happy, but they'll be coming after me next year," he said.

French skiers Stephan Lagarde and Guerlain Chicherit, current World Extreme Skiing Champion, battled out a hard fought duel for second and third positions.

Paul Lacy, Rip Curl's event manager, commented, "Today's event was incredible. To be in such a beautiful and remote alpine location and witness the world's best freeriders going ballistic was an incredible experience. And everyone had so much fun. It was full adrenaline, but everyone had grins from ear to ear. These competitors are a very special breed of people — incredibly talented and so free in their approach to life in general."

	Charlotte Moats

Commenting on the unique nature of this event — how it combines both skiing and snowboarding in one event, head ski judge Dan Warbrick said, "These people share a passion for mountains. It really doesn't matter to them whether someone rides down a mountain on one plank or two. It's just about having fun, and putting beautiful turns on steep mountain faces with your buddies."

With only one day of the three-day Rip Curl World Heli Challenge competition remaining, the Backcountry Heli Extreme Day, event organizers will utilize the remaining week's waiting period to hold off for more fresh snow which is expected over the next few days.

— Reports supplied by Tony Harrington