Moguls at Bristol Mt

The Mogul "A" & "B" teams both travelled to Bristol last weekend to compete in the Toyota Freestyle Fest.  Jack DeWeese came away with an 8th place on Saturday and  5th place on Sunday to lead the "B"Team.  Emma Lauria, who comes to our program from Windham Mt, had the best result for the "A"'s with a 10th place on Saturday.  Congrats to everyone for representing NYSEF/Whiteface!

USSA EastFree Tour Slopestyle @ Okemo

NYSEF Freeride had a great weekend at Okemo for the first Slopestyle competition of the 2015, USSA, East Free Tour. The course at Okemo was in great shape the day of the competition. The format was a best of two run qualification round leading into a best of two run finals for the top 16 athletes. Every NYSEF athlete made it into the top 55 overall, with one athlete qualifying for the finals. 

Here are the results: 
Brian Gardiner - 8th
Avery Higgins-Lopez - 19th
Gavin Fritz - 31st
Jacob Prichard - 45th
Taylor Bond - 55th.

Top 2 rail pads

2nd Jump

Mid January Update

NYSEF Mogul "B" team (photo - Jenn DeWeese)

Coach Mike Lynn & Jack DeWeese (photo-Jenn DeWeese)

L to R - Brian Gardiner, Jake Prichard & Avery Higgins-Lopez (Photo - Ri Kirchner)

Alex Page (Photo - Ri Kirchner)

Results
Well, it was definitely a busy weekend.   Mike Lynn and the Mogul team competed at Hunter Mt with notable results from Jack DeWeese taking 1st in Saturday's event and a 4th overall for the weekend and Kaylen Reiley took 1st in his age group on Sunday and 6th overall.  Congrats guys!

At the USASA ADK Railjam at Titus Mt Sunday, it was a great day for NYSEF Freeride as well.  The event was our final home series railjam of the season so it also meant that we've set our series champs via their cumulative scores.  These athletes will be watching their inboxes next month for their invite to the 2105 USASA National Championships held in Copper Mt. CO.

Snowboard Men 14 & Over
Tony Russo - 2nd place

Skier Men 14 & Over
Jake Prichard - 1st place
Avery Higgins-Lopez - 2nd place
Brian Gardiner - 3rd place   ADK Series Champ

Snowboard Boys 14 & Under
Alex Page - 1st place    ADK Series Champ
Rodger Jakubowski - 3rd place

Skier Boys 10-13
Bryant Ward - 1st place    ADK Series Champ
James Ward - 2nd place
Marc Bilow - 3rd place

Skier Girls 10-13
Madeline Prichard - 1st place    ADK Series Champ

Skier Boys 9 & Under
Joss Jakubowski - 1st place


Upcoming events
Jan 17-18  - USSA A & B Mogul - Toyota Freestyle Fest at Bristol Mt, NY
Jan 18-19 - USSA Slopestyle - 1st EastFree Tour Event at Okemo Mt, VT (orig. postponed from 1/4)
     registration and info on USSA Freestyle events above can be found at www.easternfreestyle.com
Jan 19 - USASA SkiCross/Boardercross at North Creek Ski Bowl/Gore
     registration and info on USASA Adirondack events can be found at www.usasa.org

Just a reminder for USASA members interested in the Empire State Winter Games SS & Cross taking place Feb 7-8, registration can be found at www.empirestatewintergames.com

2015 is Here!

Just a quick update prior to starting our 2nd weekend of 2015.

This weekend our "B"Mogul athletes are on the road at Hunter for back to back events Saturday & Sunday.  The USASA Adirondack Series is holding a railjam at Titus Mt on Sunday (info here) and the Alpiners are competing in the Hovey Memorial Race on home snow at Whiteface.  If you can't tell we're entering the heart of competition season.

With all of that going on, those who are still here at home will be training in the newly re-built Broadway & Brookside terrain parks and working on getting a mogul kicker up and running on Wilderness, as well as enjoying all the freshly made snow thanks to the frigid temps this past week.

New snow has been made on the Wolf trail, our eventual cross track, and snow is being made to build into a start for said course as I write this.  We are hopeful that we will have a start section & start gate installed in the next several days so that at the very least we can get some heavy training in next weekend prior to our first Cross race of the season - MLK Day, Jan 19th at North Creek Ski Bowl.

As coaches and athletes hit the road, training groups may be changing to make up for those traveling.  Keep in mind, this may be the time to glean some knowledge from a different perspective and/or work on something ne.

Lastly, for any parents looking to earn credit towards your work deposit or pick up a free lift ticket voucher, I have added more volunteer opportunities to our Freeride blog.  Look for the green and white buttons to the right of the article.

That's all for now. Hope to see you on the mountain!

Christmas Week Update

Star Trail on Whiteface 12/20/14      Jake Sporn Photography

Brian Gardiner - 1st place - Skier Men 14 & over

James Ward - 3rd place - Skier Boys 10-13

Some of the Freeride crew hanging on Riva Ridge

The first USASA Adirondack Railjam of the season took place on Saturday, December 20th -the Deck the Rails Railjam.  We had great showing from the NYSEF crew with tons of podiums.  Alumnus, Alex Higgins-Lopez took the top honors in Open Skier Men,  Anthony Russo - 2nd in 14 & over Snowboard Men, Brian Gardiner, Gavin Fritz, & Avery Higgins-Lopez went 1-2-3 in Skier Men 14 & over, Maddie Prichard took 1st in Skier Girls 10-13, Alex Page & Rodger Jakubowski went 1-2 in Snowboard Boys 10-13, and Bryant Ward, Elias Ford, & James Ward went 1-2-3 in Skier Boys 10-13.

A big thanks goes out to the Whiteface Terrain Park crew and Whiteface Mountain for the awesome set-up right outside the NYSEF Training Center.

Aside from the competition, our free riders took advantage of great conditions and kicked off the Holidays with some great training.  Though a few schools were still in session through Tuesday and some warmer temps have settled in for a few days we expect the Freeride crew to be out in full force following Christmas.

Remember, in addition to the weekends we will have training Friday 12/26, Tuesday 12/30, Wednesday 12/31, and Friday 1/2/15.  

Also, we will be having an all-program Pot Luck on New Year's Eve Wednesday 12/31.  Sign-up at the front desk and let us know what you're able to bring.

And lastly, I've added a couple more dates to the Volunteer Spot links to the right side of the blog.  we've got a ton of spots open for our USSA Mogul event - Whiteface Bumps & Jumps - plus more USASA events.  Click on the link, choose your spot, and work off that work deposit or earn lift vouchers for future use.

In the meantime, have a Happy Holiday!

The Holidays Are Upon Us!

This weekend marks the start of the holidays and some bonus training days for the Freeride crew during the week.  I know not everyone is out of school to begin the week, but for those who are, you can join us starting Tuesday the 23rd for a regular training day, as well as Wednesday and Friday.   Christmas day is an off day, but feel free to get some free riding and skiing in on your own.  The following week we will also be meeting Tues, Wed, & Friday with New Year's Day off.  Coaches will be asking about your holiday training plans this weekend so if you know your schedule please share it so we can plan our staffing.

There are only a few goal sheets that haven't been turned in yet.  Please make sure to get these done and handed in to your coach as soon as possible.  We need your input to help you reach your goals.

Saturday the 20th is the first USASA comp of the season, the Deck the Rails Railjam, taking place right outside NYSEF.  All athletes must be members of the USASA.  You can save $5 on registration by taking care of it online ( here ).  Cost is $20 online - Registration/check-in is in the NYSEF Training Center from 11-12, practice starting at noon, comp start at 1pm.

I have started posting volunteer opportunities on the NYSEF Freeride blog - here .  Scroll down the page to the blog and you'll see the green & white buttons to the left with links to the Volunteer Spot website.  Click on the event you wish to work and look through the job descriptions for the position you want. The descriptions contain duties, start times and approximate end times.  I will continue to add more over the next few days.

The weather is looking good for the weekend - mid to upper 20's and mostly sunny - though no new snow in the forecast.  The mogul coaches built a kicker and plan to ski in some bumps in the morning, I spent time shoveling and raking out the pump track for the cross racers, and the park crew is creating a new layout for Deck the Rails which will be open to all when the comp is done. Lots going on!

We're all looking forward to another great weekend and a busy holiday break!

Weekend #2 - A Beautiful Day in the Neighboorhood

Thanks to Mother Nature we're experiencing some great early season conditions here at Whiteface.  The freeride program has gotten off to a great start, the kids are coming up with some great goals, and the coaches are challenging their athletes right from the start.  You may not be able to tell that from the following pictures but they're definitely having fun.