Sports
Big Sky Freeride Team finishes strong season
Published
9 years agoon
By Peter Manka
Explore Big Sky Contributor
ALTA, Wyo. – The culmination of the International Freeskiing and Snowboarding Association’s Junior Tour takes place every April at the North American Championships.
This year’s event was originally scheduled for Squaw Valley, Calif., but was moved to Wyoming’s Grand Targhee Resort April 8-12 for better snow conditions. The 160-athlete field represented the season’s top-ranking competitors from around the U.S. and Canada, and included many of the best junior freeride competitors in the world.
Based on excellent results throughout the season, Big Sky Freeride Team athletes Hayden Gall, Tobias Rosenberg, Gracely Speth and Jasper Vanspoore were invited to compete at the three-day event.
The competition venue at Grand Targhee is a steep, demanding pitch with narrow chutes and several large cliff bands to showcase athletes’ skills. The qualifying rounds featured soft snow, phenomenal skiing, and intense competition, with three of the Big Sky athletes qualifying for the finals.
Snow conditions during the final round were much firmer than in the qualifiers. Rosenberg, an 18-year-old snowboarder, was challenged by the conditions in the finals. While he dropped out of the top five for the competition, Rosenberg still managed to score enough points to claim second overall in the IFSA North American male 15-18 division year-end rankings.
Speth came into the finals in fourth place, but a small slip-up on the landing of her first feature dropped the 16-year-old skier into eighth place. Vanspoore, 17, skied the conditions with poise and fluidity. She laid down an amazing run hitting multiple large cliffs with style and precision, while skiing fast and aggressively throughout.
When the dust settled, Vanspoore overcame a two-point deficit from the qualifying rounds to emerge as the North American Champion. The win also earned her enough points to land third place overall in the IFSA North American year-end rankings for the female 15-18 division.
The competition concluded a banner year for the Big Sky Freeride Team as they brought two second-place finishes in the overall North American rankings as well as a North American Championship trophy back to Big Sky. With 14-year-old Joe Olson’s 11th place finish in February in the 18 and Under World Championships in Grandvalira, Andorra, Big Sky’s junior freeride skiers are making a big splash on the international stage.
Peter Manka has lived in Big Sky since 2008 and has been coaching the Big Sky Freeride Team for three seasons.
Megan Paulson is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Outlaw Partners.
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We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a
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We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a limited palette to create different color combinations? Are you tired of carrying around 15-20 different tubes when you paint plein air? Have you ever wanted to create a certain “mood” in a painting but failed? Do you create a lot of mud? Do you struggle to achieve color harmony? All these problems are addressed in John’s workbook in clear and concise language!
Based on the bestselling “Limited Palatte, Unlimited Color” workbook written by John Pototschnik, the workshop is run by Maggie Shane and Annie McCoy, accomplished landscape (acrylic) and plein air (oil) artists,exhibitors at the Big Sky Artists’ Studio & Gallery and members of the Big Sky Artists Collective.
Each student will receive a copy of “Limited Palette, Unlimited Color” to keep and take home to continue your limited palette journey. We will show you how to use the color wheel and mix your own clean mixtures to successfully create a mood for your paintings.
Each day, we will create a different limited palette color chart and paint a version of a simple landscape using John’s directives. You will then be able to go home and paint more schemes using the book for guidance.
Workshop is open to painters (oil or acrylic) of any level although students must have some basic knowledge of the medium he or she uses. Students will be provided the book ($92 value), color wheel, value scale and canvas papers to complete the daily exercises.
Sundays, April 14, 21 and 28, 2024
Noon until 6PM.
$170.
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Please join the Arts Council of Big Sky for free music from Jacob Rountree at the Wilson Hotel Lobby Bar from 5-7 p.m.
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Please join the Arts Council of Big Sky for free music from Jacob Rountree at the Wilson Hotel Lobby Bar from 5-7 p.m. on April 24.
Jacob Rountree is an alternative/indie songwriter living in the stunning alpine of Montana. Contemplative yet playful, his lyric forward style is reflective of his love for philosophy, poetry and quantum physics.
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(Wednesday) 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
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The Wilson Hotel
145 Town Center Ave
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Trivia from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Waypoint in Town Center. Participation is free, food and beverages available.
Event Details
Trivia from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Waypoint in Town Center. Participation is free, food and beverages available.
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(Wednesday) 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Location
The Waypoint
50 Ousel Falls Rd