Fresh off some surprising results at the first stop in Breckenridge, the Dew Tour descended upon Snowbasin, Utah, beginning with Thursday's pipe prelims.
"If you landed anything smooth today, you were in," said seventh place qualifier Jack Mitrani, whose run on the 18-foot walls consisted of a frontside alley oop, frontside 7 indy, cab 7 stale, frontside melon, backside melon tail and alley oop tail. "Not many people were here today. You land a run, you get a golf clap."
Mitrani, who arrived at Snowbasin Thursday morning after training for next week's Grand Prix (and last two Olympic qualifiers) in Park City spoke to riding a smaller pipe at Dew, "It's weird going from a 22 to an 18. It's hard to adjust, but you just accept the smaller tranny and take as many runs as you can. Even when you do a straight air, you look down and there's nothing there -- no pipe."
Look for the FRENDS to be out in full force this weekend, as Danny Davis tries to follow up his highest pipe score ever with another win and Olympic contenders like Mason Aguirre dial in their runs in support of Kevin Pearce; who, by the way, continues to improve and is, "actively participating in his therapies."
"We're being optimistic. He's a good kid. He'll be alright," said Mitrani. "We're hoping for an all-FRENDS podium Saturday."
In only the second season of the Tour, this is the first time the Tour has visited Utah, and current warm temperatures are expected to cool and bring light snow by the weekend -- not exactly ideal conditions, but better than ice or slush. Pipe finals run Saturday from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. MST and slope finals cap off the event lunchtime Sunday. A $750,000 prize purse is on the line over the course of the Tour.
Halfpiipe Prelim Results, Thursday, Jan. 14:
Men:
1. Elijah Teter, Belmont, Vt., 89.25
2. Steve Fisher, Breckenridge, Colo., 80.25
3. Matt Ladley, Steamboat Springs, Colo., 80.00
4. Roger Kleivdal, Geilo, Norway, 79.25
5. Trevor Jacob, Mammoth Lakes, Calif., 79.00
6. Broc Waring, San Jose, Calif., 77.00
7. Jack Mitrani, Mammoth Lakes, Calif., 72.75
8. Dylan Bidez, Minturn, Colo., 71.00
9. Scotty Lago, Seabrook, N.H., 68.50
10. Brennen Swanson, Stillwater, MN, 65.00
Women:
1. Elena Hight, South Lake Tahoe, Calif., 86.75
2. Kaitlyn Farrington, Sun Valley, Ida., 84.00
3. Lizzy Beerman, Weston, Vt., 80.00
4. Jamie Anderson, South Lake Tahoe, Calif., 71.75
5. Kelly Marren, Hillsborough, Callif., 69.25
6. Kjersti Østgaard Buaas, Norway, 66.75
7. Leslie Glenn, Breckenridge, Colo., 64.75
8. Meg Pugh, Sunnyvale, Calif., 58.50
Slope Prelim Results, Friday, Jan. 15:
Women:
1. Jenny Jones, Great Brittain, 91.00
2. Spencer O'Brien, Canada, 78.67
3. Kimmy Fasani, Truckee, Calif., 77.50
4. Megan Ginter, Stevens Pass, Wash., 71.17
5. Kjersti Østgaard Buaas, Norway, 71.17
6. Izzy Lalive, Breckenridge, Colo., 71.17
7. Lynn Neil, Jackson, Wyo., 70.50
8. Bev Vuilleumier, Arnold, Calif., 70.50
9. Hana Beaman, Salt Lake City, Utah, 60.83
10. Maribeth Swetkoff, Ridgeway, Colo., 52.33
Men:
1. Torstein Horgmo, Norway, 95.67
2. Chas Guldemond, Reno, Nev., 90.67
3. Andreas Wiig, Norway, 88.83
4. Sam Hulbert, Peterborough, N.H., 88.50
5. Brandon Reis, Peterborough, N.H., 86.67
6. Nick Poohachoff, South Lake Tahoe, Calif., 84.83
7. Ulrik Badertscher, Norway, 83.33
8. Madison Ellsworth, Breckenridge, Colo., 83.00
9. Yale Cousino, Lincoln, Vt., 81.83
10. Wyatt Caldwell, Sun Valley, Ida., 79.67
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