Two years ago the inaugural Sammy Carlson Invitational (SCI) was cancelled due to bad weather. On Saturday, SCI's second coming did more than make up for the past. The sun was shining and the crowds were cheering as Mt. Bachelor, Ore., played host to a stacked roster filled with the world's best skiers.
Even though the SCI's laid back format was more like a group of friends getting together to ski, a winner still needed to be crowned and Saturday that winner was Torin Yater-Wallace. Following Yater-Wallace, Bobby Brown, Parker White, Tanner Hall, and Henrik Harlaut rounded out the top five respectively. Phil Casabon walked away with the "Best Style" award, while "Best Rodeo 5" went to Clayton Vila.
"I was just having fun and trying different tricks all day and keeping the variety going," Yater-Wallace said. "The rodeo 5 onto the wall ride was my favorite."
Keeping the formalities to a minimum, judges scored the field of 25 skiers based both on numbered systems and gut feeling during the initial jam session. The original 25 were whittled down to 17, who then threw down in a second 40-minute jam session for the finals.
"This was one of the sickest comps I've been to," Yater-Wallace said. "It was just a jam session and all the homies are having fun shredding together and there's not a ton of pressure."
Tanner Hall, who made his first appearance in an organized competition since injuring himself three years ago, was all smiles with his fourth place win. "It's just a pleasure to be back. I think this is the perfect place to come back," said Hall.
"There's not a lot of stress, good weather, good people, and a lot of my best friends here. All the hard work I put in the last three years, it's just a big-big blessing to be here right now," Hall continued.
Sammy Carlson, who was unable to compete as he continues to rehab the torn MCL and PCL he suffered during Winter X Games 2012, was more than pleased with the outcome of this year's event. "It's come together great and I'm really pleased, we couldn't have asked for better riders out here."
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