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Greg Morris
Rex Wehrman
Shane McConkey
Skiing Home
Mountain Zone
Francine Moreillon (FRA) |
Sunday, April 5, 1998
DAY 1: Europeans Dominate First Round
"Skiing in Alaska is like bear hunting," says Greg Morris, "days of waiting followed by moments of terror." A clear window in the clouds surrounding Alaska after two days of weather cancellations gave way to a day of free skiing competition on Odyssey Mountain allowing the European competitors to dominate both the men's and women's divisions.
The women were psyched to begin and we joined the first four competitors in the helicopter on their way up to the summit for their first run. Listen to the audio from the helicopter. So far Francine Moreillon, winner of this year's Red Bull Snow Thrill competition in Chamonix, is currently leading the women with 62 points. Frenchwoman Raphaelle Monod is right behind her with 61.4 points followed by last year's champion Wendy Fisher. Hear what Wendy had to say about skiing down extreme terrain when we talked before her run.
A.J. Cargill was strong in the first run but fell back to 4th place after her second run. The women are close in points so far with no big gaps in the spread, which goes to show the talent in this group of women.
Arnaud Adam (FRA) |
Most competitors picked their way through the center rock garden area called "chocolate chips." The slopes here on Odyssey reach 45 to 50 degrees and the snow pack on the steeps was good today. The lower part of the run, toward the finish, had heavier snow with an avalanche debris runout that caused some problems for a few, like Alison Gannett who fell and lost a ski during her first run but came back strong in her second attempt. Listen to Alison and A.J. Cargill talk about Polaroids.
Shane McConkey is out with a bad knee, which he injured in Red Mountain earlier this year, but that didn't stop him from pulling off extreme acts. Shane skydived from a helicopter, free falling for a while before pulling his chute and landing directly in front of the judges.
Tomorrow's venue will move to a new location.
— Michelle Quigley, Mountain Zone Staff
First Day Results
Women Name Bib# Sex Day1R1 Day1R2 Total Moreillon, Francine 17 F 30.20 31.80 62.0 Monod, Raphaelle 6 F 30.60 30.80 61.4 Fisher, Wendy 13 F 30.60 30.60 61.2 Cargill, A. J. 7 F 31.80 26.00 57.8 Gannett, Alison 32 F 22.00 31.20 53.2 Kremer, Kirsten (1) 22 F 29.00 24.00 53.0 Hutcheson, Chris 4 F 29.00 22.60 51.6 Van Winkle, Heidi 3 F 22.80 27.80 50.6 Men Name Bib# Sex Day1R1 Day1R2 Total Adam, Arnaud 19 M 39.40 0.00 39.4 Murphy, Chris 31 M 39.00 0.00 39.0 McGovern Aaron 28 M 38.20 0.00 38.2 Raney, Miles 8 M 37.40 0.00 37.4 Michaud Seb 15 M 36.80 0.00 36.8 Prigge, Jason 9 M 36.60 0.00 36.6 Rollins, Robbie 11 M 35.20 0.00 35.2 Morris, Greg 30 M 34.80 0.00 34.8 Swanwick, Dave 5 M 34.60 0.00 34.6 Dan, Stephane 16 M 33.20 0.00 33.2 Wehrman, Rex 36 M 32.80 0.00 32.8 Norin, Anders 21 M 32.60 0.00 32.6 Ronnback, Jesper 35 M 32.00 0.00 32.0 Johnston, Jon 12 M 31.40 0.00 31.4 Anthony, Chris 33 M 31.40 0.00 31.4 Peifer, Gordy 20 M 31.20 0.00 31.2 Dill, John 25 M 31.20 0.00 31.2 Sjoblom, Henrik 18 M 30.80 0.00 30.8 Tchiknavorian, Steph 14 M 30.00 0.00 30.0 Aitken, Scott 2 M 28.60 0.00 28.6 Belleville, Matt 34 M 28.40 0.00 28.4 Clemetson, Curt 23 M 27.40 0.00 27.4 Swinson, Brian 27 M 27.00 0.00 27.0 Tol, Jesse 24 M 26.60 0.00 26.6 Conway, Dean 29 M 26.20 0.00 26.2 Sasaki, Daisuke 10 M 24.80 0.00 24.8 Small, Geoff 26 M 23.60 0.00 23.6 Aiko, Jan 37 M 21.20 0.00 21.2 Moles, Brant NA M 0.00 0.00 0.0