Valdez, AK--The third and final day of competition in the World Extreme Skiing Championships ended early when low clouds and snow forced officials to call off the event. “There is just no way to get all the skiers up and down the mountain in the remaining time under these weather conditions,” said Mark Johnson, co-race director. “This has been a really tough year for WESC all the way around. I think it is in the best interest of the event to call the race now rather than push the envelope.”

That decision left Brant Moles of Park City, Utah, yesterday’s top finisher with a combined score of 82.2, taking home the title of World Extreme Champion. “I feel great. It hasn’t really set in,” Moles said, following the announcement. “I really wanted to get in another run, but I was hoping they would either call it or do it. Waiting around is tough.”

The decision to call off the event was made approximately 4:45 p.m. with more than 20 skiers left to compete. “After seeing some of the other guys ski I really wanted to get in another run. I think it would have been a good battle, going down to the wire. Anything can happen in these events. Yesterday we shuffled around quite a bit and I think that would have happened again today.”

Moles said, despite the event being cut short, he was pleased with his performance. “I’m really happy I made the decisions I did. I skied well. I was psyched. This is an awesome cap for the year.”

Dave “Swany” Swanwick of Crested Butte, Colorado, who led the competition after day one, takes home the number two spot with a combined score of 79.8. Swanwick, the ‘94 WESC champion, said he held back on his second run and was disappointed he didn’t have the opportunity to come back and turn up the heat.

Aaron McGovern, the 24-year-old originally from Vermont who now calls Lake Tahoe home, earned third place with his overall score of 72. “I’m really happy finishing on the podium this year,” he said. “I’m really glad that Brant won. I think he really deserved it. But it’s hard to have a competition with only two runs. I really think the world’s best extreme skier was definitely not decided with this competition.”

Wendy Fisher, the pixie bombshell from Crested Butte, Colorado, hung on to her lead to re-capture the crown for a second year with a combined score of 65. Fisher said she was disappointed in her final run because she didn’t go on the route she had planned. “I’m really bummed,” she said, shaking her head after her second run of the competition. “I didn’t go at all where I wanted to go. I’m psyched that I was able to put a good run together, but I didn’t know where the heck I was. I had a totally different line planned and I was really psyched about doing it, but we were waiting so long. I was definitely getting the jitters sitting up.”

Despite the accidents and problems with weather, Fisher said she loves Valdez and hopes to return to the competition in the future. “I think the conditions are great. It’s a fun place. I hope everybody gets psyched about coming back.”

A.J. Cargill, a licensed river guide in three states who calls Teton Village, Wyoming home, took home second place for the women. Cargill turned in a smooth, fluid run on the second day to earn a combined score of 59.6. “I had a fun run,” she said. “But I definitely held back because of the accidents. I definitely wanted to turn it up but I did what I knew I had to do.”

Jill Sickles-Matlock, another skier from Crested Butte, Colorado and long time WESC competitor took third place with her score of 59, a mere .6 of a point behind Cargill. “I was happy with my run,” she said, looking up at the rugged peaks towering above her. “It’s just that everything is so much bigger up there than it looks from down here. It’s so easy to get lost.”

The winners of this year’s event each earn a trip to Japan for the Japanese Extreme’s as well as a return trip to Valdez for the 1998 Extreme’s.

Valdez, AK--Day two of the World Extreme’s, held on the massive peaks of Wilbur Mountain at mile 40.5 of the Richardson Highway, featured fast, powerful performances along with a surprising number of skiers who tumbled on the steep, rugged terrain.

“About five guys had good, solid runs,” said Chris Anthony of Edwards, Colorado, who has competed in WESC for the past six years. “The rest of us got lost or took a tumble.” Anthony said the mountain is so big it’s easy to get lost between the valleys and chutes that ridge the face.

Brant Moles, of Park City, Utah, who tied for fourth place after day one, moved up to capture the number one spot on day two. His solid performance impressed the judges enough to earn him a total score of 82.2, nearly three points higher than his closest competitor.

Dave “Swany” Swanwick, who took the top slot after the first day of competition, turned in another strong performance for the second day. Swanwick moved to the number two position with his total score of 79.8. “I skied where I wanted to go,” he said. “I didn’t get lost and I had fun. I didn’t charge as hard as I could have but I kept it under control and skied a tight, technical line.” Swany said, although he’d scouted out his route from the highway, he got a new perspective during his ride up the mountain. “I got a new variation from the helicopter which was cool so I skied that.”

Day two, like the first day of skiing, was marred by a serious fall. Anna Kanarowski of Lake Tahoe, California, who finished in the number two spot for the women the first day, fell as she made her way down an open, exposed face. She caught a ski and rolled, tumbling several hundred feet, before finally coming to rest. She was airlifted to Valdez Community Hospital where her condition was listed as stable. X-rays revealed no broken bones. She was medivaced to Providence Hospital in Anchorage to determine if she had suffered from internal injuries.

Kanarowski was the fourth woman to compete on day two. It was nearly 6 p.m. when she fell and officials decided it was too late to reposition the safety patrol and opted to call off the competition for the women. Jennifer Berg, of Truckee, California also fell during her run. She lost both skies but was uninjured. Heidi VanWinkle of Teton Village, Wyoming and Barbara Peters of Crested Butte, Colorado, the two women who completed successful runs, will have their scores scratched. All the women will have the opportunity to make two runs on day three if time and weather permit.

Aaron McGovern of Lake Tahoe, California captured the number three spot with a score of 72.0 and Denis Rey, from Les Adrets, France made a roaring run to capture the number four slot with his score of 71.2.

Olympic gold medalist Tommy Moe was on hand to forerun today’s event. Moe says he loves Valdez and came to ski and cheer on his friends. “I have a lot of friends competing and I wanted to check them out. Plus I just love being here. It’s a pretty awesome place.” Day three of the competition will also be held on Wilbur Peak and is set to begin at 10 a.m.

Second Day Men's Results

1. Brandt Moles
2. Aaron McGovern
3. Dave Swanwick
4. Robby Rollins
5. Scott Kennett
6. Sebastien Michaud
7. Janez Demsar
8. John Dill
9. Tie: Denis Rey & Jason Prigge

Valdez, AK--Although flat light seemed to be the order of the day, Dave “Swany” Swanwick, of Crested Butte, Colorado and the ‘94 WESC champion, ripped down Odyssey Mountain to capture day one of the World Extreme Skiing Championships with a score of 41.6.

Swany picked an aggressive line, skied hard and nailed his run. “It was really fun. Good skiing, good snow. I had my line picked out and I went for it and it worked out well for me,” he said, pleased with his performance. “I really scored on the light. It was almost sunshine and I could see the snow texture really well. By the bottom half of the run the light flattened out and I couldn’t see that well, but it went okay.”

The day didn’t start out so well for Brigitte Mead of Wanaka, New Zealand. Mead, the sixth skier of the day, made an aggressive turn into a tight colouir at the top of the mountain and fell, tumbling over a band of rocks. She was stabilized on site by Doctor John Cullen, then airlifted to the Valdez Community Hospital where her condition was further assessed. She suffered a trauma to the head as well as multiple bumps and bruises. She was airlifted to Providence Hospital in Anchorage where an MRI revealed no internal injures. Mead suffered a stress facture to her back and is in stable condition.

Mead’s fall put a halt to the competition for more than an hour-and-a-half while safety personnel repositioned themselves on the mountain.

Jesse Tol, the 20-year-old from Valdez, Alaska, captured the number two spot for the day with his score of 39.8. This is Tol’s third run in WESC. In ‘95 and ‘96 he finished near the bottom of the field but has spent the past two winters competing around the globe in events like the South American Extremes and the European Extremes. Tol was all smiles following his run. “I feel really good,” he said. “I had to stop at one gnarly section to decide if I really wanted to do it or not, but other than the stop I was pretty happy.” Tol launched over a huge band of rocks and sailed to a perfect landing capturing the “big air” of the day.

Jeremy Nobis, a professional skier and mountain biker from Park City, Utah, and Brant Moles, also from Park City, tied for third place with a score of 39.6. Nobis has skied on the US Ski Team for eight years as well as being a member of three world championship teams and two Olympic teams. Moles has been skiing since he could stand up.

Wendy Fisher, the ‘96 WESC champion from Crested Butte, Colorado, came back to capture the first place position for the women with her score of 35.00. “I was up there thinking about Brigitte and I felt really bad. I was getting worried. But then, just before my turn, the light improved enough that I could see the cornice and I thought, I’m going for it.” Fisher shot off the top and made fresh tracks through a tight band of rocks. “I’m really psyched about my run,” she said grinning happily. “I wanted to ski where no one else had gone and I did. The snow was killer and I thought, take advantage of this. Don’t think about the competition, just ski and have fun. And that’s what I did.”

Anna Kanarowski, who grew up skiing in Germany and throughout Europe but now calls Lake Tahoe, California home, captured the number two spot for the women with her 33.5 score. A.J. Cargill, of Teton Village, Wyoming, took third place with 31.20.

Day two of the competition is set to begin at 11:00 a.m. on Wilbur Peak at mile 40.5 of the Richardson Highway. Tony Davis, of the National Weather Service, says the Monday forecast is for light rain and snow in the morning with conditions improving throughout the day.

First Day Men's Results

1. Dave Swanwick
2. Jesse Tol
3. Jeremy Nobis
4. Brandt moles
5. Chris Davenport
6. Matt Herriger
7. Denis Rey
8. Daisuke Sasaki
9. Matt Belleville
10. Chris Murphy
11. Chris Anthony
12. Robby Rollins

First Day Women's Results

1. Wendy Fisher
2. Anna Kanarowski
3. A.J. Cargill
4. Jill Sickels Matlock
5. Heidi Van Winkle

Men:
1. Brant Moles: 82.2
2. Dave Swanwick: 79.8
3. Aaron McGovern: 72.0
4. Denis Rey: 71.2
5. Rollins, Robby: 71.0
6. Nobis, Jeremy: 69.6
6. Kennett, Scott: 69.6
8. Sasaki, Daisuke: 68.4
9. Dill, John: 67.4
9. Demsar, Janez: 67.4
9. Chris Murphy: 67.4
12. Jesse Tol
13. Jason Prigge
14. Matt Belleville
15. Chris Davenport

Women:
1. Wendy Fisher: 65.0
2. A.J. Cargill: 59.6
3. Jill Sickels Matlock: 59.0
4. Heidi Van Winkle: 57.0

• Jan. 22-26 Jackson Hole
  
• Feb. 10-14 Bridger Bowl
  
• Feb. 23-28 Crested Butte
  
• Mar. 19-23 Kirkwood
  
• Apr. 2-7 World Champs