Mammoth Mountain SB halfpipe preview
Jan 06, 2022·Snowboard Park & Pipe
Due to some fairly obvious reasons, last season was just the second time in six years that we didn’t get to visit California for our annual bonanza of FIS Snowboard Park & Pipe 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 a heavy day of both slopestyle and halfpipe finals on Saturday, January 8.
There’s some weather forecast to be rolling into Mammoth on Friday afternoon, so qualification schedules have been shaken up. As it stands now, slopestyle qualies at Mammoth will being with the women at 9:45 on Thursday morning, followed by the men at 13:15. Women’s halfpipe qualifications will begin at 19:00 Thursday evening, while men’s halfpipe qualifications are slated for Friday morning.
Slopestyle finals are then slated to hit Mammoth’s Unbound Terrain Park at 9:30 Saturday morning, followed later on by halfpipe finals at 18:55 in a huge day of action that will also see freeski slopestyle finals taking place in the middle of the day.
HALFPIPE PREVIEW:
CAI LOOKING FOR MAMMOTH THREE-PEAT
This week’s competition in Mammoth will be the second of three halfpipe World Cups on the calendar for this season - meaning that the battle for the first halfpipe crystal globe to be awarded in two years will reach a critical junction this weekend.
Currently sitting atop the women’s standings after her win in Copper Mountain (USA) at the start of December is the most successful rider in the history of FIS Snowboard Park & Pipe World Cup competition - Cai Xuetong of China.
The winner of the past two Mammoth Mountain halfpipe World Cups, Cai already has nine World Cup titles to her name (six in halfpipe, and three overall), along with 13 victories and 28 total podiums in 38 career World Cup starts. And, as her performance a few weeks ago at Copper illustrated, the 28-year-old still has plenty of gas left in the tank. Don’t bet against her making it a three-peat this week in Mammoth.
If Cai is able to win the halfpipe crystal globe this season she will move into sole possession of second on the all-time FIS Snowboard globes list behind only the late, great Karine Ruby (FRA). And, if Cai is able to win the next two World Cup competitions and sweep the 2021/22 season, she’ll move into a tie with Tricia Byrnes (USA) atop the all-time Park & Pipe victories rankings.
As the start list for women’s pipe competition this weekend will tell you, Cai is looking like a clear favourite for the victory on Saturday.
Neither of the U.S. team favourites Chloe Kim or Maddie Mastro are currently slated to drop in this weekend, leaving the host squad’s hopes in the hands of the likes of Zoe Kalapos and Tessa Maud. Queralt Castellet (ESP) is also out, as is Cai’s countrywomen Liu Jaiyu.
However, the Japanese team is on hand, with the likes of Copper runner-up Sena Tomita, Mitsuki Ono and Haruna Matsumoto all more than capable of grabbing a podium spot and challenging Cai’s reign at the top.
Elizabeth Hosking and Brooke d’Hondt of Canada, Berenice Wicki of Switzerland, and Emily Arthur of Australia are a few of the other names to watch out for on the women’s halfpipe side this week.
JAPAN’S BIG THREE WILL BE TOUGH TO BEAT
Over on the men’s side it’s the Japanese team rolling in at the absolute peak of their powers, with a big three that are arguably interchangeable atop the “Best in the World” list depending on the day.
The World Cup season opener was won by Ruka Hirano, who then went on to finish third at the Dew Tour just before Christmas. Third place at the Copper World Cup was reigning World Champion Yuto Totsuka, who then went on to win the Dew Tour.
First place in qualification for both those events was two-time Olympic silver medallist Ayumu Hirano, who would end up in fourth place at Copper Mountain and fifth at Dew Tour. However, his Dew Tour result comes with a big ol’ star beside it, as the 23-year-old there became the first snowboarder ever to land a triple cork in halfpipe competition when he stomped a frontside trip 1440 truck driver.
Needless to say, the Japanese team is firing on all cylinders so far this season.
Now, we know that no “Best in the World” ranking is incomplete without Scotty James (AUS) in the conversation. The problem is, Scotty hasn’t dropped in on a competition thus far in 2021/22, and this weekend isn’t going to change that status. While rumours abound about where Mr. James is and what he’s up to, for now it’s just a wait and see as to if or when he’ll get some competition warm-ups in ahead of Beijing 2022.
One man who most certainly is getting his reps in ahead of Beijing 2022 is Shaun White, as the 35-year-old is set to drop in on his third-straight World Cup competition dating back to last season, as he pushes to make the U.S. team for his fifth Olympic Winter Games birth and an outside shot at his fourth Olympic gold medal.
While White hasn’t shown the top-to-bottom technical wizardry of the Japanese contingent or Scotty James since his return to competition at the end of last season, he does still have the otherworldly amplitude, unimpeachable style and insatiable drive that few others in snowboarding history can compare to. The man can still ride the heck out of a pipe, and though he hasn’t been confirmed for Beijing 2022 yet, it seems inevitable that a there’s a spot on the U.S team with his name on it.
It also seems inevitable that there’ll be a U.S. Olympic spot for Taylor Gold, especially after the 28-year-old earned second-place behind Totsuka at Dew Tour. Gold also finished in fifth at Copper in December, just behind Ayumu Hirano and just ahead of his U.S. teammate Chase Josey, and with some strong results here in Mammoth all three of White, Gold and Josey should be locked in for Beijing.
One more rider to keep an eye on in the men’s field is German rider Andre Hoefflich, who’s looking to rediscover the form that had him finish fifth on the World Cup pipe rankings back in 2019/20. Hoefflich has struggled somewhat this season, finishing 12th in Copper and eighth at the Dew Tour, but expect him to be back amongst the best of the best soon.
Finally, watch out for Valentino Guseli, the highest-halfpipe-air-ever world-record holding 16-year-old out of Australia. While going big is his signature, a constantly evolving trick quiver has Guseli quickly rising up the ranks of the halfpipe elite, and at Dew Tour this season he finished just ahead of Shaun White in sixth place.
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 finals (with geo restrictions)
Mammoth Mountain FIS data page (start lists, live scoring, results)
Mammoth slopestyle preview
