Freeski slopestyle season set to pick back up in Mammoth
Jan 06, 2022·Freeski Park & Pipe
It’s been a hot minute, but this week the FIS Freeski slopestyle World Cup is set to resume at Mammoth Mountain (USA), where the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix is back on the calendar after being cancelled last season due to obvious reasons that need not be named (but which we will anyhow for clarity - the Covid-19 pandemic).
Last season was the first in six years that we didn’t get to visit California for our annual bonanza of FIS Freeski World Cup action at the Mammoth Mountain Toyota U.S. Grand Prix. However, despite the many challenges faced by organisers in the lead-up to this week’s competitions, we are back at Mammoth and hugely excited for a big week of action leading up to halfpipe finals on Friday, January 8th, followed by slopestyle finals on Saturday, January 8.
Slopestyle qualifications at Mammoth’s pristine Unbound Terrain Park will begin at 9:45 on Thursday morning with the women, followed by men’s qualifications on Friday morning, time TBD. Slopestyle finals are slate to begin on Saturday at 13:00 in a huge day of action that will also see snowboard slopestyle and halfpipe finals taking place on the same day.
GU LOOKS TO KEEP MOMENTUM ROLLING IN SLOPESTYLE
The slopestyle World Cup season opened way back on November 20th at the Stubai Zoo in Austria, meaning that for some athletes it’s been six weeks since their last slopestyle competition. This week’s event in Mammoth will be the second of six slopestyle competitions on the 2021/22 FIS Freeski World Cup calendar.
The 2021 World Champion and X Games champion in both slopestyle and halfpipe (as well as big air bronze medallist in both those events), Gu has done nothing but win so far this season, with one big air World Cup victory and three in the halfpipe in her four World Cups entered.
Fresh off of back-to-back halfpipe World Cup victories in Calgary and set to receive the first crystal globe of her career at Friday evening’s Mammoth halfpipe competition, Gu is essentially unstoppable right now, it seems inevitable that she’ll carry her momentum over to the slopestyle course on Saturday.
It won’t be a walk in the park for 18-year-old Gu, however, as Estonia’s Kelly Sildaru is also on the scene and looking to dial up the intensity ahead of what will also be her first Olympic Winter Games appearance in Beijing. Sildaru claimed victory in commanding fashion at the slopestyle World Cup season opener in Stubai (AUT) back in November, and though she didn’t compete at the Dew Tour slopestyle just before Christmas, there’s no reason to believe she won’t be a major podium threat again this week in Mammoth.
Others who could challenge Gu on the women’s side include Stubai third-place finisher Johanne Killi and her teammate Sandra Eie of Norway, Katie Summerhayes and Kirsty Muir of Great Britain, and the always-strong host U.S. squad, with Maggie Voisin, Caroline Claire and Marin Hamill leading the way.
HEAVY MENS TEAMS ON HAND FOR HOST USA AND CANADIANS
Top spot for the men at Stubai this season went to Norway’s Birk Ruud, who isn’t in attendance her in Stubai. Just behind Ruud there in Austria, however, was Max Moffat (CAN), and the 23-year-old has looked exceptional in training here in Mammoth thus far.
Moffat will be leading an explosive Canadian squad that also features Big Air Chur second-place finisher Teal Harle, Evan McEachran, Mark Henderson, Edouard Therriault and Etienne Geoffroy Gangnon.
While Canadian squad is solid, deep and hungry as their top skiers battle it out for for a few Olympic team spots, the host U.S. squad as all that and more, with one of the heaviest starting line-ups we’ve ever seen from the Americans.
Starting at the top with last season’s slopestyle World Championships silver medallist and slopestyle and Freeski overall crystal globe winner Colby Stevenson, the U.S. will also be fielding two-time Olympic gold medallist Nick Goepper, Alex Hall, Mac Forehand, Cody Laplante, Hunter Henderson…the list goes on and on, and with only four Olympic team spots to be shared amongst those names, you know we’ll be seeing our best from some of the best to ever do it this weekend.
Looking outside of North America there’s some serious heavyweights to consider, as well.
Fabian Boesch of Switzerland, Sweden’s Jesper Tjader, a strong Norwegian team featuring Ferdinand Dahl, Christian Nummedal and Sebastian Schjerve, James Woods of Great Britain, New Zealand’s Finn Bilous…they’re all here and ready to throw down.
WHERE TO WATCH
We’ll be updating this section on the web story closer to finals time. Find livestream links below and check back later for TV broadcast info.
QUICK LINKS:
Livestream for halfpipe finals (with geo restrictions)
Livestream for slopestyle finals (with geo restrictions)
Mammoth Mountain FIS data page (start lists, live scoring, results)
Halfpipe: Photos (FIS Freeski) / Photos 2 (US Ski & Snowboard)
Slopestyle: Photos (FIS Freeski) / Photos 2 (US Ski & Snowboard)
