Report by Riley Bathurst of Snowledge.co
The Canadian Open is the epitome of head judge’s Jeff Holden favorite line to drop in a mid-meeting freestyle rap “freeride keep the vibe high”. With athletes throwing down on the Linx Line venue over two days, qualifiers on the 22nd of Jan under typical Canadian January gray skies but with an overnight refresh the finals were practically a new venue with the same features under a few centimeters of new snow and sun blaring down for the morning before the clouds once again drifted over the course to keep the snow cool as the lines heated up.
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As a 2* Freeride World Qualifier event the Canadian Open brings riders from all over as well as plenty of local talent with hometown advantage to experience the vibe of true Canadian competition. Dance parties started on the drop zone, continued to the finish corral. Snowboarders hit the course first before the Women’s ski division who attacked the course from top to bottom and then the men both young and young of heart threw Backflip’s 360’s and large airs on everything the venue had to the cheering support of all those around and on the Motherload chair sitting about the venue.
These athletes pushed the boundaries of freeride skiing proving themselves the champs:
Men’s Ski:
- Ben Woodman
- Loki Wickman (Spiritbird Award)
- Jacob Flood
Women’s Ski:
- Aoife Gannon
- Jessica Brown
- Tracy Chubb
Stoked to see the crew north of the border throwing down.