Latest News from the Races Friday, February 28, 1997
Bridger Bowl February 10-14, 1997
New and Old Talent Shines at Bridger Bowl Extremes
A mixture of established 'stars' and young newcomers turned out for the second event of the Big Mountain Extreme Tour at Bridger Bowl during a snowy week in Montana. Due to unusually high winds which had scoured snow from the higher slopes of Big Sky ski resort earlier this month, contest organizers were forced to move the event from Big Sky to nearby Bridger Bowl, 15 miles north of Bozeman. Despite the last minute change, and snowfall accumulations of almost three feet during the contest week, Bridger Bowl was able to supply two qualifying runs, two Semi-Final runs and a Final run on its upper 'Out of Sight' and 'Ridge' areas. An ex-Bridger Bowl local, two-time World Extreme Ski Champion, Doug Coombs, showed the youngsters that he still has what it takes to conquer the steeps. In a three-way tie for the lead going in to the last run, Coombs picked a tight 'technical' line through a 50 degree cliff packed with trees and emerged with the highest run score of the contest. Chris Murphy, a 'ripper' from nearby Ennis, MT was a close second. Bozeman's John Martinsen recovered from a disappointing Jackson Hole performance to take third place among men's skiers. Martinsen's 14th place in the Men's snowboarding division was also good enough to secure him an upset over Combined favorite Chuck Patterson of Tahoe City, CA. However, Patterson's 50 foot 'tail-grab' vaulted him into third in the Men's Snowboarding division from the first day of the contest. A newcomer to competition, Korey led a contingent of undiscovered local talent including second place boarder Chris Ankeny. The Women's Snowboard division was a see-saw battle between current U.S. Extreme Champ[ion, Janet Antram, Salt lake City's Elizabeth Walker and local favorite Amanda House. Walker risked it all with a dangerous line choice through the cliffs of Out of Sight on the last run and came away with first. Antram's narrow second place finish over House combines with her victory at the Jackson Hole event to maintained her overall Tour Point lead. New Zealand's Brigitte Mead dominated the women ski field, winning by a 10 point margin. Heidi Van Winkle, determined to recover from her disappointing qualifying performance at Jackson Hole, out distanced Brie MacDonald of Vancouver, BC to finish second. The Tour Point battle going into Crested Butte became tight when Jackson's A.J. Cargill 'kicked a shoe' (binding release) in the Semi Finals. That opened the door for Asia Jenkins to grab the current Tour Point lead. The Big Mountain Extreme Tour now moves on to the Butte's seminal US Extreme skiing Championships. The Ski Tour Point contest is a wide open affair as many of the top contenders can be expected to emerge at 'the Butte' where the point values are higher than in previous events.
Men's Extreme Skiing Total Tour Standings:
Men's Extreme Snowboarding Total Tour Standings: Men's Extreme Combined Tour Standings:
Women's Extreme Skiing Tour Standings:
Women's Extreme Snowboarding Tour Standings:
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