It was 15˚C in Chamonix last week and even though there might still be one, or at the very most two, measly powder days ahead the curiously intelligent and devilishly handsome are already looking forward to the day when they hang up the skis and light out for the coast.
In doing our part to clean out our own lineup and add to someone else’s the ChamonixInsider presents this inspiring little teaser in the hopes of encouraging you to bump up your surf plans by a few weeks.
On March 17th the first south major swell of the season slammed into Tahiti resulting in what some of the old salts are saying is the biggest Teahupoo ever ridden. Whether that’s true or not, this beefy slab of South Pacific thunder and the crew who ride it always command respect.
So waddaya say? Why endure the hardship and danger of three or four more weeks of cold wet miserable snow when you could be kicking back on a warm sunny beach somewhere? Just sayin’.
I know, I know. I’m pretty far off the back with this news but hey, that’s what happens when you dare to venture outside the wifi bubble for a week or so.
So the big (though unsurprising) news for those of us in the valley is certainly Chamonix loc Xavier de Le Rue bringing home the snowboarding gold (and some say, the best run of the day) in the Verbier event as well as the Freeride World Tour overall trophy. Well deserved. Xavier is truly The Man.
Verbier Xtreme Men’s Snowboard
1. Xavier DE LE RUE – FRA
2. Cyril NERI – SUI
3. Mitch TOELDERER – AUT
The ski division on the other hand was more hotly contested going into the final event at Verbier with several riders having a good shot at the overall title. Chamonix homeboy Kaj Zackrisson was the dude of the day, just edging out CHX loc Aurélien Ducroz’s near-identical run. The win was enough to earn Zackrisson second overall behind Candide Thovex with Henrik Windstedt third.
Verbier Xtreme Men’s Ski
1. Kaj ZACKRISSON – SWE
2. Aurélien DUCROZ – FRA
3. Candide THOVEX – FRA
So who do you believe had the best run of the day. Vote in our ChamonixInsider Poll-a-tron below.
Also interesting to note is the number of views the vids have generated. With that in mind, The Insider has decided to present our own Media Domination award. Sponsors, take note.
ChamonixInsider’s FWT Media Domination Award 2010 (as of 31 March)
1. Xavier DE LE RUE – 26,342 views
2. Julia MANCUSO – 22, 483 views
3. Kaj ZACKRISSON – 7,978 views
Seems as though Olympic fever is still strong, eh? In any case you gotta respect a girl who grabs third in her first freeride event ever and scores the most hits ever for a women’s freeski event. Nice one, Julia.
Freeride World Tour 2010 Overall Standings
Men’s Ski
1. Candide THOVEX – FRA
2. Kaj ZACKRISSON – SWE
3. Henrik WINDSTEDT – SWE
Men’s Snowboard
1. Xavier DE LE RUE – FRA
2. Mitch TOELDERER – AUT
3. Matt ANNETTS – USA
Women’s Ski
1. Ane ENDERUD – NOR
2. Jess MC MILLAN – USA
3. Jaclyn PAASO – USA
Women’s Snowboard
1. Aline BOCK – GER
2. Susan MOL – USA
3. Nathalie ZENKLUSEN – SUI
Finally, I’ve heard there were some pretty gnarly crashes at the Verbier event. If anyone knows where to find them on the interwebs hit me back with a link and I’ll throw ‘em up.
My teammates from Denali, The Ripper Dave Schipper and James ‘Over Easy’ Healy, thought they’d get a last blast of skiing in before the season ends. For these guys that involves 12,000 meters of climbing over more than 200 kilometers at over 3500 meters. With what sounds to me like very heavy packs. Erm … thanks for the invite guys but maybe I’ll catch you next year for a couple of powder turns in Silverton instead.
Check out the gear list as they prepare for their departure on 28 March at which point you’ll be able to follow their progress on a regular basis at http://outdoorlabs.wordpress.com/.
The 2010 Boss des Bosses was an event not to be missed with blazing sun, brilliant costumes and more mogul skiing than you’d ever care to see – no, seriously. Way more.
Chamonix met arch-nemesis Zermatt in a tightly contested final and in the end Chamonix battled their way to victory. Hooray the conquering heroes! Allez les Chamonerds!
