Featured Video
This video of the 1996 Red Bull U.S. Extreme Skiing Championships, with commentary from Rod Elisha and Sandy Santucci, is the best thing you will see today. The event took place on some of North America’s steepest in-bounds terrain, at Crested Butte, Colorado, and features legendary skiers including Shane McConkey and Wendy Fisher.
The ’96 Championships were hosted by Budweiser and the event truly speaks for itself. In the video, there are a ton of fans watching and supporting their favorite skiers, and at one point, ski patrol even had to be called in because there was a child who accidentally skied into the Championship’s extreme terrain.
On the first day of the event, skiers rode CB’s famous Headwall, with day two occurring on the Sock-It-To-Me-Ridge and Staircase areas, and day three of the finals in the Pheonix and Spellbound bowls. These runs are Crested Butte’s most extreme terrain and are filled with cliff drops, tight trees, pillows, and chutes. Taking place in steep, technical sections, there are great clips of both massive falls and impressive tricks from all of the participants.
The 1996 Extreme Skiing Championships is an event that cannot be replicated. The vibes, the snow, the fans, the skiers, and the announcing are all on point and highlight major differences in today’s skiing versus skiing in the ’90s.
the good stuff is at 6:08 R.I.P Shane