Welcome to the slopestyle finals, or should we say… welcome to the jungle.

Just when we thought Mother Nature had thrown her last card on the table, she went and pulled the joker from her back pocket and threw it straight at the slope course. For the past three days the forecast had called for Friday and Saturday to be the nicest of the entire week… but, as we know far too well, weathermen lie. Waking up to near blizzard conditions the slope course was completely socked in by one of the milkiest storm clouds you could imagine. With up to two inches accumulating per hour, the course proved to be a challenge for both the men and women. But despite poor visibility and a lack of speed the semi finals started on schedule.

The athlete roster consisted of skiing’s top invited athletes and a slew of up and comers eager prove that they too deserve some time in the spotlight. Rising stars like Canada’s Joe Schuster faired more than well in the most heavily stacked heat of the day. Riding in heat one were names like Simon Dumont, Tim Russell, TJ Schiller, Sammy Carlson and Jacob Wester. From each heat, six would move on to the finals.

The crowd on hand witnessed it all. Everything from never before seen use of course features to top name riders being thrown off their game to new comers showing the veterans what was up. First up were the ladies who were each given two runs to prove they deserved a shot in the Finals. Just like the weather as of late, the women’s semi finals showed just about every side of a slope event, both the good and the bad. Fighting slow speeds and deep snow Orage team rider, Michelle Parker came up short on the first jump and had to be taken to the hospital for evaluation with a suspected knee injury. Thankfully, she had only strained it and did not do any serious damage… she was back in the Rider’s Palace within hours.

In the end it was Grete Eliassen claiming third place with near perfect runs and rail mastery. Back in a familiar place (on the podium) was Ashley Battersby who blew the judges away with her unique style and use of every feature on the course. But in the end, there was one lady who came to the big dance fully prepared to do whatever it took to defend her crown. Despite the weather, the wind, the competition and the pressure Virginie Faivre pulled out all the stops. Somehow mustering up enough speed to not only clear the big kickers but being able to throw down huge spins on both jumps after greasing the entire rail garden in the upper section Virginie walked away for the second year in a row with the top honor in the slope event at The Orage European Open.

When the men filed into the starting gate everyone on hand knew that a showdown was about to take place. Not only did the 12 riders who made it to the finals have to outdo the rest of the field, they also had to overcome the weather… or so we thought. The first of two rounds were certainly less than ideal… in some spots there was a good 5 inches of snow on the course and speed was certainly a concern. The majority of the riders were lucky to clear both jumps once making it through the rail garden, much less being able to throw down the way they’re used to. In an attempt to outsmart Mother Nature, the event staff and judges got together with the riders to make a tough decision. Never would these athletes decide to intentionally skip features in a slope event but in order to maintain enough speed to clear both jumps the decision to allow competitors to bi-pass the third set of rails was just about to be made.

Just as the call was about to go down the skies parted, the clouds cleared and the sun made its first and overly anticipated appearance of the day. And it couldn’t have come at a better time. Filmers and photographers rushed the course to get the long awaited shots they so desired, and the park crew called a 15-minute pause in the action to clear off the run. Once the course was clear and the riders had brushed the snow off themselves it was time for some action.

With ample amounts of speed and the opportunity to ride the way they had wanted since the beginning, the 12 finalists regrouped, put on their game faces and began to throw down. The competition was fierce, and when it was all said and done, only 2.8 points separated the top three riders. Jossi Wells, the young Kiwi knew exactly what the judges were looking for. Spinning on and off every rail with precision and throwing huge spins throughout the bottom section allowed him to take home the third place prize. Coming in second was none other than Simon Dumont. As he claimed on his way to the podium, Simon proved once again that he’s “more than just a pipe rider”. Throwing one of the most unique tricks of the day, run after run Simon dropped into the course and attacked the side by side elevated rainbow rail with a hand plant 360 flip over the gap. From there Simon proceeded to grease every rail and stomp huge nines and cab ten’s throughout the jump section. But it was the Norwegian, PK Hunder who once again found himself on the podium. PK put on a clinic when it came to grabbing spins from start to finish, he threw a huge cork nine nose and gigantic cab ten’s on top of some of the most tech rail trickery of the day. His 450 disaster on 450 out of the flat down box was absolutely ridiculous.

When it was all said and done, the Orage European Freeski Open Laax saw over 200 slope runs from more than 100 riders who came from 19 different nations. The weather was certainly not what we had hoped for but the athletes put on the show of a lifetime. Overcoming all odds and putting it down like the world’s top riders should, we want to give a big shout out to Virginie, Ashley, Grete, Jossi, Simon and PK. Congratulations!

We’ll see you next year. Stay tuned for the Superpipe Finals going down tomorrow.

For related articles please visit www.freeskier.com and www.newschoolers.com