New Zealand athletes made the podium in all four categories in the North Face Frontier two-star freeride event on the slopes above Treble Cone.
A feature on the Freeride World Qualifier Tour calendar for over a decade, the Frontier has been a proving ground for several of New Zealand’s most successful freeride athletes.
Scoring top points in a freeride competition is about demonstrating good control, style and technique on the steep face.
With no set course, competitors choose their own line through the competition venue and, while opting for a particularly difficult or creative line will pique the judges’ interest, executing the run fluidly and without hesitating before hitting any of the features is also key.
A huge field of 54 competitors in the men’s ski category meant no room for error for anyone aiming for a podium finish.
Taupo skier Fynn Powell put together a fast and fluid run with stylish tricks including one of the biggest backflips of the day, but his decision to miss one of the features at the top of the course meant he was pipped for victory by Canadian Matthew Vankka, who had 97.67 points to Powell’s 97.33.
“I wanted to keep it freestyle and action-packed ... I was stoked with my run," Powell said.
Powell, winner of both the two-star and four-star events at the 2023 Frontier, will be looking for redemption in the Winter Games four-star competition scheduled for this week.
Vankka also skied a fast and aggressive run, starting with a 360 into a huge backflip and linking in a huge air with a high safety grab off the third feature that Powell had missed. He stomped a clean landing on his backflip to finish.
Canterbury skier Ruby Hewitt won the women’s ski title, impressing the judges with her strong, well-controlled skiing and the style she added to each trick.
“I can’t remember much of my run — it went so fast," Hewitt said.
"I was pretty happy once I got off the second hit because I saw quite a few people take a slam off there and from there it was straight down into the double drop at the end.’’
British skier India Cairns, who also works as a ski judge, finished second by hitting all of the available features on course and showing some controlled turns.
Swedish star Johanna Lindqvist backed up her 2023 win with victory in the women’s snowboard category.
“I was really nervous at the top but I had planned to drop those three features in the fall line and I did that,’’ Lindqvist said.
"I was a bit worried about the last big drop. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to land but it worked out so I’m super happy. My goal was to push myself with bigger drops and I did that."
The judges were impressed by Chinese snowboarder Tong Zhang, who made a bold choice to hit a blind cliff at the top of the course. A slight control issue on her trick meant she lost a few points but it was still enough to seal second place.
Australian rider Vaughan Hardwick topped the men’s snowboard category, the judges describing his run as "epic and very smart’’.
Hardwick landed a solid backflip at the top of the course before adding a surprise third backflip off the final drop at the bottom of the course to ride away with a score of 93 points.
New Zealanders Angus Gray and John Scully rounded out the podium.
