IFSA - This is the way the 2008 Telluride U.S. Freeskiing Open ends, not with a whimper

elijahbird writes "BUT A THUNDEROUS BANG!

Telluride hosted the 2008 U.S. Freeskiing Open, and most gracious was their welcome. There was powder aplenty, the skies broke to bluebird conditions; even the rocks seemed a little gentler than usual. Then again, maybe it wasn’t the rocks, but the prowess and skills of the competitors, who softened the edges of those rocks.

Rippers abounded, but only one woman and one man stood at the top of the podium this past Saturday, February the ninth: Hannah Whitney and Griffin Post, respectively. The battle for first place in the women’s division was intense. Even though Hannah and second place finisher Crystal Wright are good friends, there was no backing down during the competition. Less than a point separated the two from the first run, and it stayed that close all the way to the podium. Props as well must go out to third place finisher Rebecca Selig. It was her first comp! She skied hard and controlled, start to finish. The field wasn’t as tight in the men’s division. Post held a commanding lead right from the start, going bigger, stomping harder and skiing more technical lines than anyone else. His skiing is fluid like water and solid like rock. Luck will be needed to steal a podium from him. John Nicoletta, a relative newcomer, took second and impressed us all with his skiing, stomping perhaps the biggest air of the competition with aplomb. Rounding out the men, and definitely no newcomer to the sport (despite his age), Josh Daiek skied with nary a hitch to take third.

The final party was another to remember, lost cell-phones and pants, up-ended Corona bottles and broken shot glasses, dancing and howling and sweating and kissing and celebrating, all till well past dawn broke in the eastern sky, and then some, pretty much par for course for these events.

Freeskiers migrated back to their nesting grounds on Sunday, in groups of two or three or four, by van, car, plane, Shred-wagen. But their stay in the nest shall be short, as the flock re-unites at Squaw Valley for stop number two this coming Wednesday, February the thirteenth.

As the impressive mountains around Telluride fade into the distance, my mind wanders back through the events of the past couple days, the skiing, the partying, the amazing group of friends that has evolved around freeskiing, thanks in no small part to the IFSA. The show! I adjust the rear-view mirror in the van…. Much better. Now I can drive down the road and keep my eye on the Sickbird belt-buckle still secured tightly around my waist. That is right, the last award, and perhaps the most prestigious, the Tobias Botkin Lee Memorial Award, went to yours truly: Elijah Lee. Tears well up in my eyes, my throat constricts. I remember watching Tobias receive his Sickbird, and how proud I was of him, how proud I still am. There is no end to the honor bestowed upon me. To receive the very award that is dedicated to my brother. I ski for you Tob, every day.

The pall of death has hung over the freeeking community these past couple of years. Billy Poole, Neal Valiton, Tobias Lee, Coombs…. But more important than the flesh is the spirit. The spirit of our deceased ones rages on, coursing through the veins of the freeskiing community. In the gnarliest, iciest couloirs of death, we shall trust our edges, plant our pole and make turn after turn. Not looking left or right at the pitfalls of life, but looking straight down the chute to the sunny powder turns that await.

The tears have dried from my eyes; I put the van on cruise and turn up the music. Today, is a beautiful day.

elijahbird"