The NZ Extreme snowboarding challenge at Cardrona Alpine Resort today was
full of gut turning spectator action. In clear sunny weather the top
riders in NZ had a brilliant day out.
Snow conditions were variable with a mix of deep dry powder in the gullies
and faces and firmer snow on the ridges. Thirty competitors entered and
contested the $2000 prize pool over three runs. "Definitely the best group
of riders we have ever seen in the event" said organiser Nigel Kerr.
The first run was held in "Tulips", a section of Captains basin so named
for the large and prominent rocks scattered down the steep slope. "It was
very tight riding, hard to score big points and dangerous to carry any sort
of speed" according to head judge Mike Hygemann.
The second two runs were held in the Arcadia Chutes. Some of the riders
utilised the very narrow chutes at the south end of the basin. This lead
to some long jumps to clear the bluffs mixed with some horrendous spills.
In the woman's division Louisa Muir wearing hard boots was a consistently
aggressive performer, fast and controlled. She took first place ahead of a
very tight bunch of free riders who were looking for hard lines and landing
some good airs all day. North American Rene Hollis was in second, followed
by Juliane Bray and Lucy Marcus. A points spread of 1.5 separated the top
4 women.
In the men's section it was a definite case of one upmanship that went
beyond the event itself according to judge Jean Clairmonte. "We weren't
judging air as a specific category but it appeared to become a big issue
between the competitors as the day went on."
The men's final results followed the best-run scores of the day. Jimmy
Hunt stuck a double cliff band without any hesitation and at a speed that
saw him skimming many small jumps on the way to the finish area. That
final run pushed him to first place ahead of previous winner Shaun McComb.
