WESC Competitor Profiles
Men’s Division
Jan Aiko
Jan is from Sweden.
Scott Aitken
Scott resides in Rossland, British Columbia, Canada where he
recently took first place in the men’s division. This is his
first time competing in WESC, and he is looking forward to skiing
the new terrain of the Chugach. Scott comes with 13 years of
skiing experience including 5 years as a snowboarder. Scott is
sponsored by the Rossland Ski Resort.
Chris Anthony
Chris returns to WESC for his fifth
competition. He is a producer in Edward's, CO and has
competed in the New Zealand Extremes, World Cup, Nationals, and
the Alaskan Extremes in Girdwood where he took first place. He
has also been a member of both the US Ski Team and the US
Technical Team. His sponsors include Salomon, Spyder, and Bolle.
Arnuad Adam
Arnuad is a professional skier from
Chamonix, France. He has competed in two Red Bull Snow Thrill
competitions in Chamonix as well as Le Grave Competition.
Adam's skiing objective is to take pleasure and be in
control. Arnuadšs sponsors include Dynastar, Fila, and Vuarnet
Extreme.
Matt Belleville
Matt hails from Breckenridge, Colorado. He
is a PSIA accredited trainer and has been competing as a free
skier for four years. This is his third time competing in WESC.
His sponsors are Racers Edge Ski Shop, Nerve Clothing, Braemar
Ship Brokers, and Smith Eyewear. April will mark Matt’s 31st
consecutive month skiing.
Curt Clemetson
Curt lives in Girdwood, Alaska, and recently
took 2nd place in
the Alaska Extremes. He is excited to represent Alyeska Ski
Resort and is looking forward to schredding it up.
Dean Conway
Dean has competed in four previous
WESC’s, consistently placing in the top ten. He also
competed in the U.S. Extremes three times taking 1st, 2nd, and
4th place. His sponsors are Oakley, K-2, Technica, and Rip Curl.
Dean hopes to ski for free forever.
John Dill
John is from Truckee, California and has
been skiing for 30 years. He comes with 20 years of racing
experience, 15 years of telemarking, and 5 years of snowboarding.
He won the All Mountain Extremes in 1992 and 1995, placing 2nd in
1996. He is returning to WESC for his third competition, where he
previously placed in the top ten consistently. He is sponsored by
Kahlua Liquor, Squaw Valley USA, Volant Skis, and Bell Helmets.
Aaron McGovern
Aaron currently resides in Lake Tahoe,
California and has been skiing for 20 years. He has competed in
over 10 competitions always landing in the top ten overall, and
consistently placing in the top 3. Aaron likes to ski fast,
taking air that leaves people in awe. His sponsors are Blizzard,
Oakley, LifeLink, Swiss Army, and Ultra Nectar.
Sebastien Michaud
Seb is a French aerialist with 5 years experience on the French
Freestyle Team. He won the Red Bull Snow Thrill in Chamonix in
1997. This marks his 2nd year at WESC where he hopes to repeat
the results of Chamonix. His sponsors are Scott USA, Sun Valley
Clothes, La Clusaz, Cassin, and Ortovox. Seb has a need for speed
and fluidity.
Greg Morris
Greg is from Anchorage, Alaska, and is a
true veteran of the World Extreme Skiing Championship. He is the
only man to return for the 8th year in a row.
Chris Murphy
Chris is from Big Sky, Montana and has been
skiing since the age of six. He has been free skiing for the last
6 years in places like Utah and Montana. His sponsors are
Moonstone and Smith. Chris' motivation comes from skiing
steep, long, fast powder runs and tight technical lines.
Anders Norin
Anders hails from Chamonix, France where he
competed in the Red Bull Snow Thrill. His sponsors are Peak
Performance, Hestra, Briko, K2 Skis, and Footworks. Anders loves
skiing claiming the bigger the mountain the better ski.
Gordy Peifer
Gordy is the current champion of the
Canadian Free Skiing Championships in Whistler and placed 6th at
the Chamonix Red Bull Snow Thrill. His sponsors are Rossignol,
Smith, Gordini, Leedom, Mental, Powerbar, and Thorlo. His
objective is simply to keep on skiing.
Jason Prigge
Jason grew up skiing at Red Lodge Mountain
and Bridger Bowl in Montana and currently resides in Jackson
Hole, Wyoming. His motivation stems from steep powder faces like
the ones found here in the Chugach. He is sponsored by Dynastar,
Look, Lange, Oakley, Boulder Gear, Clif Bar, Scott Poles, Swany,
and Boeri.
Miles Rany
Miles just took first place in the Alaskan
Extremes and is competing for his second time here in the
Chugach. He lives in Wasilla, Alaska. This 20 year old has been
skiing for 13 years, 5 of which were in the backcountry of the
Talkeetna Mountains in Alaska. Miles is currently a ski
technician when he is not seeking out unexplored mountain
terrain.
Robby Rollins
Robby currently works for Alyeska Ski Resort
as a ski patroller, and resides in Anchorage, Alaska. His
personal motivation is to provide inspiration for the Alaskan
Rippers. Skiing in the competition for his 2nd time, where he
placed 5th overall in the men’s division in 1997.
Robby’s sponsors are his friends and family.
Jesper Ronnback
Jesper recently competed in the Nagano
Olympics placing 6th in the mogul division. This world cup
competitor has won 4 competitions, while competing
internationally in the sport of extreme skiing. He has won the
Scandinavian Championships 4 times in a row.
Daisuke Sasaki
Daisuke is a 21-year-old ski instructor and
mountain guide from Sapporo, Japan. He has skied several
impressive mountains in Japan, including Mt. Niseko, Mt. Teine,
and Mt. Asahidake as well as participated in two expeditions on
mountains in Nepal. Daisuke’s sponsors include Nomad, SOS,
Hestran, Haglofs, Oakley, Raichele, and Salomon.
Henrik Sjoblom
Henrik has been skiing since the age of 5,
and enjoys skiing full time in Chamonix and Sweden. Where he has
been skiing in different free skiing competitions since 1994, and
has gained a strong respect for the mountains as a result. Henrik
is a member of the European K2 team, and is sponsored by the
Swedish clothing company Tierra.
Geoff Small
Geoff travels to this year’s
competition from Huntly, New Zealand. This ski tuner and part
time mechanical engineer started skiing at age 5. Geoff recently
place 3rd in the U.S. Extremes and 1st in the North American
Freeriding event, and is looking forward to utilizing the
knowledge gained from last year’s event. Geoff’s
sponsors include Oliphant clothing, Catucs climbing gear, K2
skis, and Briko tuning equipment.
Dave Swanwick
Swany is a professional freerider who has
been featured on MTV, ESPN, NEC Dalelme, Prime, and ESPN2. Swany
comes to this year’s event as the 1994 World Champion. He
was a member of the Crested Butte Ski Patrol and currently works
with Mountain Sports International promoting the world cup tour
of free skiing. His sponsors are Aloe up, Clifbar, Swany gloves,
Smith, Ramer, Lange boots, Dynastar skis, and Fila clothing.
Brian Swinson
Brian has been skiing for 27 years, and took
1st in the Freestyle ski team competition. Brian recently
competed in the U.S. Extremes placing 4th, and is looking forward
to discovering the terrain in the Chugach. He is currently
employed by the Boot Doctors at Taos Ski Valley. His sponsors are
Salomon, Taos Ski Valley, St. Bernard, Fate clothing, Orosi
Helmets, and of course the Boot Doctor.
Stephane Tchiknavorian
Stephane currently resides in France and
enjoys skiing in areas such as La Grave, Courchevel-Chamonix, and
Val D’Isere. His sponsors are K2, Raichle, Sun Valley
clothing, Vuarnet Extreme, Liki, Marker, and Floura. Stephane
placed 12th at the Red Bull Snow Thrill in Chamonix. Stephane
gets his motivation from freeskiing and enjoying the pow.
Jesse Tol
The only Valdez resident entrant,
21-year-old Jesse has skied numerous peaks in the Chugach Range.
He will be competing in his fourth WESC this year, placing 9th<
last time. He rounds out his extreme background with experience
in the South American Extremes and the European Extremes.
Jesse’s sponsors include Arnette Optics and Volant.
Rex Wehrman
Rex arrives from Dillion, Colorado for his
first time to Valdez. He has currently spent 1/3rd of total ski
days in the Colorado backcountry. His sponsors are K2, Smith
Sport, Arapohoe Basin, Headbandz, Surefoot, Alpine Trekker, and
BFA. Rex has skied 25 of Colorado’s hardest peaks, where he
feels comfortable with the exposure. He is looking forward to
utilizing the Chugach to bring him to the next level.
Women’s Division
A. J. Cargill
A. J. calls Teton Village, Wyoming home.
This 31-year-old likes to live life fully and is driven by her
intense desire for perfection. She says she enjoys competition
because it motivates her to continually improve. This will be her
third time skiing in WESC. She has competed in slalom, GS,
downhill, super G, moguls, aerials, and telemark events. More
recently she has participated in several extreme ski
competitions, placing 2nd in the 1998 Canadian Free Skiing
Championships, 5th in the South American Extremes, and 5th in the
U. S. Extremes. A. J.’s sponsors include K2 skis, Scheffel
apparel, Smith Sport eyewear, Jackson Hole, Swany gloves,
Life-Link, and Clif Bar.
Wendy Fisher
Wendy returns to Valdez as WESC’s 1997
1st-place finisher in the Women’s Division. This 26-year-old
from Crested Butte, Colorado has been skiing since age two and
skied with the U.S. Ski Team for over eight years. She skied in
the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. In 1996 she
became the first female down South Maroon Peak. More recently she
has participated in several extreme ski competitions, placing 1st
in the 1998 Canadian Free Skiing Championships, 1st in the1998
South American Extremes, 2nd in the 1998 Red Bull Snow Thrill of
Chamonix. Wendy’s sponsors include Salomon, J. Crew, Smith
Sport, Life-Link, Clif Bar, Swany, and Mount Crested Butte.
Alison Gannett
Alison calls Crested Butte, Colorado her
home. She says her skiing objective is to have fun and travel the
world. Alison’s sponsors include Smith goggles, Swany
gloves, Dynastar, Look, Lange, Scott USA poles, Columbia,
Life-Link, Clif Bar, and Crested Butte.
Christine Hutcheson
Christine travels to Valdez from her
hometown of Aspen, Colorado. This 27-year-old grew up skiing in
Vermont and has skied for 25 years. She has competed in five
extreme skiing competitions placing 13th in the 1997 U. S.
Extremes, 4th in the 1998 U. S. Extremes, 4th in the 1997 South
American Extremes, and 5th in the 1998 Canadian Free Skiing
Championships. Christinešs sponsors include Obermeyer and Smith
Sport.
Kirsten Kremer
Kirsten calls Rialto, California home. This
26-year-old is a professional skiing and whitewater guide.
Kirsten says she loves Alaska, the mountains, skiing, and pushing
herself to excel. She placed 7th in the 1996 U. S. Extremes, 3rd
in the All Mountain Extremes, and 1st in the 1998 Red Bull Snow
Thrill of Chamonix. Kirsten’s sponsors include Dynastar,
Life-Link, Smith Sport, Thorlo, Nea Limbo, and her mom and dad.
Raphaelle Monod
Raphaelle comes to Valdez all the way from
Talloires, France. This 29-year-old is a professional ski
instructor who focuses on technique. She has skied on the French
Freestyle Ski Team for 10 years, landing 22 victories in the
Moguls World Cup as well as being a three-time world champion.
Raphaelle’s sponsors include Dynastar, OšNeill, Arnette,
and Da Kine.
Francine Moreillon
Francine travels to the 1998 WESC from
Coppet, Switzerland. When she is not skiing Francine works in
public relations as a special events consultant. This 28-year-old
has competed in alpine racing with the Swiss Junior Team for ten
years and has skied backcountry and powder for as long as she can
remember. Francinešs motivation is to ride the most extreme
mountains in Alaska. Francine’s sponsors include Rossignol
and Scott.
Heidi VanWinkle
Heidi returns to her second WESC from Teton
Village, Wyoming. This 26-year-old competitor is a certified ski
instructor and a certified sailing instructor. She has been a ski
instructor since 1994 and continually looks to challenge herself
mentally and physically with her skiing. Her skiing objective is
to ski competitively while skiing safely. Heidi placed 4th in the
1998 U. S. Extremes, and 4th in the 1997 WESC. Heidi’s
sponsors include Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, K2, Smith Sport,
Life-Link, Powerbar, and Ramer Products.