Karker and Irving claim halfpipe globes in emotional day at Mammoth Mountain
Feb 04, 2023·Freeski Park & Pipe
One of the most emotional and challenging days in memory on the FIS Freeski World Cup tour took place on Friday at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain (USA), where a huge collection of skiers and snowboarders came together first to pay tribute to a beloved member of the snow sports community Kyle Smaine, and then to watch as friends and peers of Smaine faced down some challenging conditions to put on an inspiring halfpipe show at an iconic venue.
31-year-old Smaine died in an avalanche on Sunday in Japan, and on Friday before the halfpipe competition at Mammoth his friends and family organised a tribute memorial that saw hundreds of people gather at the top of the Mammoth Mountain halfpipe to ski or snowboard a lap in his honour, lead by his wife Jenna Dramise.
After the lap everyone on hand gathered in the finish area to hear some words about Smaine’s life and watch a video tribute, sharing hugs, tears and memories, before the focus moved over to the competition set to go down at the venue where Smaine earned his lone World Cup win in the final World Cup start of his career back I 2018.
While the gusty winds blowing across the halfpipe and heavy hearts all around it gave a sombre feel to proceedings before the start of finals, the eight women and 10 men dropping in on Friday stepped up in a big way, with Zhang Kexin (CHN) and Birk Irving (USA) earning emotional wins, and Irving and Rachael Karker (CAN) walking away as halfpipe World Cup crystal globe winners for the first time in each of their careers.
ZHANG BACK ON TOP FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2019
While she has been one of the most consistent skiers on the World Cup tour since her debut back in the 2017/18 season, and has not missed out on finals in four seasons, Friday’s competition in Mammoth was Zhang Kexin’s first time on the podium in nearly four years.
And a well-earned podium it was, as Zhang attacked the Mammoth halfpipe fearlessly in both of her first two runs, with her high-scoring second run especially strong.
Leading off with a huge right 720 tail grab, Zhang then went switch left 540 Japan, then a switch right 360 mute, a left 720, a switch right 540 safety, and finally switch left 360 Japan to finish it all off for a score of 93.50 and the World Cup season-ending victory.
Runner-up from the women was Great Britain’s Zoe Atkin, who capped off a huge week for herself with her second-straight podium, after she claimed the win at X Games last weekend despite sitting out the first half of the season to focus on her university studies.
Leading things off with a big left 540 mute and including a right 720 opp tail and a switch right 720 safety later in her run, Atkin would earn a score of 92.75 for her third career World Cup podium
Third place would go to Canada’s Rachael Karker, who entered competition all but guaranteed of earning her first career halfpipe crystal globe, and left Mammoth with the globe and an exclamation mark. Karker earned a score of 91.75 for a second run that featured her signature amplitude from top to bottom, back-to-back 900 Japans - first right, then left - and a stylish corked 720 safety.
The podium was Karker’s 11th straight on the World Cup, dating all the way back to the start of the 2019 season, and the 25-year-old was finally rewarded for her consistently elite pipe skiing with the trophy that has seemed to just slip her grasp at the end of the the past few winters.
“I came into this season just really wanting to get the globe,” Karker said from the finish area, “I was really nervous coming into today’s competition, because of the wind, and I’m really feeling the wear and tear of the last few weeks on my body. I just wanted to stay safe today and get through in one piece, and it feels pretty good to get another podium and get the globe.”
Behind Karker’s 320 points on the 2022/23 halfpipe World Cup standings would be her teammate Amy Fraser, with 216. Friday’s winner Zhang would round out the season podium in third with 205 points.
IRVING’S LAST-RUN HEROICS EARN MAMMOTH WIN AND DECISIVE CRYSTAL GLOBE
Coming into the fourth and final halfpipe World Cup competition of the 2022/23 season, the USA’s Birk Irving held a strong - but not unassailable - lead atop the men’s halfpipe standings. With his performance on Friday he put to rest any questions about who the top dog in halfpipe skiing is this season with inspired performance on home soil at Mammoth.
Irving’s U.S. teammate David Wise lead things for much of the afternoon after an exceptional first run, and that score kept him on top through most of run three as well - until it was Irving’s time to drop.
Leading things off with a switch left 1080 tail grab, Irving would then go into a right double cork 1260 Japan, into a huge left double 1440 safety, and then a switch right 720 Japan down the pipe, before finishing things off with his signature left double flatspin 720 for a score of 94.00 and his fourth career World Cup victory.
“It’s been a crazy week,” Irving said after the final results were in, “At X Games last weekend we found out our good friend and fellow competitor Kyle Smaine had passed away. Heartbreaking. But also it’s like, we’re all skiing probably the best we have because it’s like we’re all skiing with Kyle in our hearts and skiing for him. We know he’s up there and looking down on us, watching over us.
“We miss you Kyle, we love you, and thanks for keeping us all safe today.”
Second place on the day would go to last season’s halfpipe crystal globe winner, as Canada’s Brendan Mackay also used his final run of the day to leapfrog Wise on the podium.
Leading off with a huge switch left alley-oop double 900 and finishing off with left double 1260 mute to right double 1260 mute combo, Mackay would earn a score of 93.00 and his third second-place finish in four competitions this season.
Finally, the podium would be rounded out by the veteran Wise, who looked to be well on his way to his first World Cup win in almost four years, only for Irving and Mackay to snatch it away from him in the final run.
Still, with his X Games win last weekend and another inspired performance here in Mammoth, including a first run that saw him stomp a back-to-back double 1260 mute combo of his own, Wise proved this week that he is very much still in the upper echelon of the freeski halfpipe world.
And Wise also proved once again that he’s one of the nicest people in freeskiing, giving his X Games gold medal from last weekend to Kyle Smaine’s wife Jenna in one of the most emotional moments of the emotional tribute that opened a day to remember in Mammoth.
Mackay would finish second behind Irving on the 2022/23 men’s rankings, with 272 points to Irving’s 320. Rounding out the season top-3 in third place with 200 points would be Alex Ferreira (USA), who was unfortunately unable to compete in Mammoth due to and injury suffered the week earlier.
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