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After waiting all season for conditions to align perfectly event organisers of the ‘Buller X‘ extreme freeride event finally gave the green light for the competition to go ahead. This event operates much like big wave surfing competitions, such as the Quiksilver Eddie Aikau memorial event do, conditions have to align perfectly for the event to go ahead, Once competitors received the green light phone call, some of the best freeride athletes from across Australia converged onto Mt Buller Ski Resort to showcase their world-class talent all with the hopes of winning the ‘money can’t buy prize’. Event founder and director Tony Harrington stated; “There is a deep pool of talent here in Australia with some incredible big mountain skiers and boarders as the lineup of Buller X proves. In Europe and the US, there are a number of freeride events and I’m so glad we now have something for these talented athletes here in our own backyard with Buller X.”
After reviewing all of the competitors runs the International panel of judges unanimously decided that Coen Bennie-Faull was the overall skiing category winner. Coen has grown up skiing Mt Hotham since he was three years old, is a full-time Freeski team coach at Mt Hotham and is also completing his Bachelor of Business (Marketing). Coen currently skis for Le Bent thermal wear, Giro protection and goggles, Handsome Tours and Planks-Clothing. He has done back to back winters since leaving high school in 2009, including Europe, Japan, Canada and the USA. Coen is also an active competitor on the FWQ tour.
Australia’s first ‘Buller X’ extreme freeride event took place on the steep double black diamond terrain situated off the back of Mt Buller’s summit. National and International spectators enjoyed watching the event via live webcast, within the resort or from the popular family-run at Mt Buller. Congratulations are also in order for Nate Johnstone who was unanimously chosen as the snowboarding winner. Both Coen and Nate have won the ‘money can’t buy prize’ from Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in Wyoming, USA. The prize has given them the opportunity to head off to film with Teton Gravity Research film company in the Teton Range during this northern winter. This award-winning company is regarded as the most progressive production company who work with the world’s best skiers and snowboarders to produce documentaries.
Buller X Results – 2017
Snowboarding
- Nate Johnstone (NSW)
- Ryan Tiene (NSW)
- Allie Coates (Vic)
- Nathan Louis (NSW)
- David Gill (SA)
- Tim Vlandis (NSW)
- Sabrina Fiebig (Vic)
Skiing
- Coen Bennie-Faull (Vic)
- Edward Casey (NSW)
- Ryan Cooke (NSW)
- Danny Foster (Vic)
- Ben Murphy (NSW)
- James Mort (NSW)
- Katya Crema (Vic)
- Harrison McInnes (NSW)
- Tom Weber (Vic)
The ‘Buller X’ event organisers hope to run this competition every year.
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