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Shelley Osterloh ReportingDavid Crichton, Winner, World Super Pipe Ski Championships: "Especially now lately in the past couple of years, half pipe skiing is taking it to levels and amplitude and tricks, and I think we'll see a lot of good things to come in the next year or so."
There was plenty of amplitude and good tricks today at the World Super Pipe Ski Championships as ten men competed for $30,000 in prizes and bragging rights.
It’s a fairly new sport and this is only the second World Championship contest for skiers.
There’s no reason the snowboarders should have all the fun, now skiers are taking over the half pipe. Their skis are curved up at the heel so they can ski backward as well as forward. Skiers do many of the same spins and flips, and are linking their tricks together in complicated combinations that, combined with lots of amplitude, are what the judges are looking for.
When it comes to getting really big air, skiers actually beat the snowboarders. That’s because skis go faster in the pipe. It can also make for messy falls, but these daredevils keep pushing to please the crowd.
Tanner Hall placed second. His run included tricks like an alley oop rodeo 540, his favorite and a real crowd pleaser. He won last year's championship and his prize money helped pay for a home in Park City.
Tanner Hall, 2nd Super Pipe Ski Championships: "Yeah I bought a condo out in Pine Brook and it’s pretty nice out there, just hanging out. I love this place."
The big winner was David Crichton of Canada. Until now his best finish was fifth in the X-games. But his amplitude and tricky combinations earned him one of the highest scores ever given in this sport.
David Crichton, World Super Pipe Ski Champion: "Just to get this at this event couldn't be any better. Pretty much did the run I've been trying to work on all year and it all came together at the end. So it was awesome."
There will be more spectacular tricks tomorrow, when Snowboarders take over the super pipe with several Olympians returning to the hill where they won medals in 2002. Both Olympic Gold medallists, Kelly Clark and Ross Powers, are expected to compete tomorrow. Competition gets underway at the Park City Mountain Resort tomorrow at 11.
