Lake Wanaka, New Zealand – A quality field of skiers and snowboarders turned out for the BASE Triple Comp Saturday at New Zealand’s Treble Cone ski resort to showcase their speed, creativity and precision over three events in one day.
American rider Colin Boyd claimed the men’s overall snowboard title with impressive performances in the Banked Slalom and Downhill, carrying on to take first place in the playful and creative Expression Session. Wanaka local Ritchie Johnsonwasn’t far behind placing second overall, with Fraser Gowland, also of Wanaka, taking third. Conor Hayes, age 14, took first place in the junior snowboarding field.
In the men’s Ski field, local skier Sam Lee claimed first overall producing quality performances in all three disciplines with American Jase Waters a close second and Mark Von Roy from Germany taking third. In the junior division Hank Bilous of Wanaka was the champion with younger brother Finn a close second.
Vanessa Aadland of Washington was the female champion of the day, producing some top level skiing and keeping the men on their toes.
“What an awesome day and a great start to the season. There was a great vibe amongst all the competitors with a great local turnout for the first event of the season,” said Brent Harridge, Managing Director of BASE Wanaka.
The POW Banked Slalom took place in the Lower Gunbarrel, offering steep natural walls and heaps of snow for the competitors to negotiate their way through. The Dreamweaver played host to the Rossignol Expression Session, offering the perfect playground for competitors to show off their skills and creativity. The BERN Downhill took place in Treble Cone’s popular Powder Bowl where competitors demonstrated style and speed over the full length of the run.
The day drew to a close with an awards ceremony at Mint Bar in Wanaka, which saw all competitors rewarded for their efforts and winners revelling in their achievements.