It was a great weekend for Green Mountain Freeride and the Ayers brothers as Lars was crowned World Champion and Silas took home another third place in the Jr Freeskiing Tour adding to his overall points.

Lars skied a flawless run- fast, fluid and directly falline aiming for the biggest cliffs on the venue.  He capped off the run with a perfectly executed massive double cliff right in front of the home crowd at Snowbird, UT.  I was watching the action live on freeskiingworldtour.com and just about reinjured my knee as I jumped around with excitement.  It was truly the greatest show on earth and probably the most difficult and competitive tour stop yet.  We’ll post the videos up on the media page shortly.

It’s been a long three weeks with many highs and lows.  Crested Butte backcountry was a lot of fun and even more work.  We had no idea how hard it would be to access the goods on sleds in such deep snow but had a lot of fun finding out.  After feeling thoroughly worked, we heard it was snowing in SLC so we packed up the sleds and pointed the General west.  Alta was skiing great, but for the second time in a row skiing little cottonwood, I was handed a lesson in humility and tore my MCL again.  After trekking back to Jackson to get an MRI I learned it was a grade three tear in the MCL ending my season once again.  The good new about this was that my ACL and meniscus were both perfectly healthy, which is apparently rare for a grade 3 tear.  Also, no bone avulsions this year, so recovery should be quicker, getting me back into the PT earlier.

On the bright side of things, GMF team member Dylan Crossman killed it at Kirkwood by skiing closeout shoots and unique cliffs all his patented Crossman style and speed, and ended up taking home the coveted winners cup.  Lars skied one the gnarliest closeout lines ever but unfortunately found a rock hidden under 6 inches of snow after landing the 40-50 ft air.  Both Lars and Dylan’s runs are up on the videos section on freeskiingworldtour.com.

Fast-forward a week of recovery in sunny So Cal and we find ourselves at Snowbird for the Jr. Freeskiing Championships.  Silas showed off his skills to all watching letting everyone know why he is with out question one of the best young skiers in the world.  With less than ideal visibility Silas was in 1st place with a good lead after day.  Not wanting to coast to Victory, he skied the toughest line of the day again on day two, skiing with fluidity, power and grace.  Unfortunately on his final hit he landed on a boot track left by a competitor hiking for lost skis from earlier in the day and got bucked.  Personally, I had blast at Snowbird.  Not only was I free from the confines of our house in Driggs, but thanks to Steve Miller and the Snowbird Pro Patrol who shuttled my broken ass to the venue on snowmobile (for the second year in a row!) I was able to spend some time as an apprentice judge, learning from the pros.  Due to the poor visibility, we ended up splitting the judges, sending head judge Jim Norm Jack up the hill, leaving me as an official Judge alongside Eric Schmitz and Jonny Manwarring.  It was a really great experience and left me with an immense respect for just how tough it can be.  Watching all of the juniors ski was pretty incredible in itself. There is a ripping group of skiers growing up and improving in ways I never thought possible at such young ages with a highlight on the 12-14 yr old girls, holy cow they can ski!

This week is the Subaru World Championships at Snowbird.  Due to weather it was pushed back a day and will be shown live on Saturday and Sunday.  Watch Lars, Dylan and other rippin freeskiers show everyone what’s possible on skis with up to a foot of fresh on Snowbirds North Baldy.  I’ll be online watching from my home in Vermont where I’ve come back for rehab and to finish up my last semester at University of Vermont…graduation here I come!

Peace, love and deep turns,

~Ryan

Ryan, Lars, Chuck and Dylan all made it to the superfinals yesterday finishing 15th, 11th, 10th and 9th respectively. With 2 feet of snow blanketing the Staircase, Dead End shoots and Body Bag, the skiing was incredible. It was truly a skiers event with competitors from everywhere throwing down solid runs, it took much more than staying on your feet to do well.

Today we’re heading out to the back country on sleds where nearly 5ft of snow has fallen in the last week. The cloudshave cleared leaving a sparkling blanket of snow covering the rockies. Crested Butte rocks.

We’ll be thinking of Wray while we’re out there, remembering all of the good turns and laughs, and how much wonderful sufering he caused my legs over the years.

It’s been a good three days for GMF here at Crested Butte; two feet of snow has fallen, the skiing’s great and we’re taking advantage of it. Chuck placed 4th in the qualifier and 13th after day one, Ryan placed 5th and Lars took 3rd. Due to visibility they had to postpone 16 athletes run on day one. Crossman took full advantage of the 2ft of snow and took 1st place for the second heat. Due to the drastic change in conditions it was decided there was no fair way to combine the scores so cuts were made from each day and the score cards are being wiped clear for the finals tomorrow. With 8 more inches forecasted for tonight tomorrows skiing promises to be exciting. GMF plans to keep the momentum rolling and stay on top of all the new snow!

Silas led GMF to a 3rd place podium today at Crested Butte Jr Freeskiing Championships with back to back solid runs. He skied fast, fluid lines over firm snow and rocks and showed why he’s on of the best up and coming skiers in North America.

Tomorrow begins the official FWT comp. Big flakes are piling up outside the van and the skiing will be exciting to say the least.

The General made it down to Crested Butte! The mountain is rocky and steep; the snow chalky and carvable. After a few good ski bum tricks we made it on the hill yesterday to scope out the venue with Silas. He was the first competitor to run today and will easily be in the top 5 after a rock solid performance. Lars and I had fun watching the Juniors shred up Hawks Nest in between ski laps. It was very apparent that the FWT was in town: by noon today the mountain was jam packed with skiers of Olympic caliber ripping down solid runs on snow that had other skiers bouncing around wildly.
The General is hidden behind a massive snow bank in a tight parking lot behind our friends, Scott McBrayers and Devon Balets house, who have been kind enough to provide us with a bathroom and some chillin room. I especially appreciate the chillin space because as much as I love van life, being 6′1″ tall in a van with 44″ of inside clearance is rough on my back and neck.
Tomorrow should be a great day; the clouds are rolling in and up to 7″ of snow is expected within 24hrs and hopefully Silas can keep up the good work and cap off the day with a big win.

After an epic pond hockey session last night we loaded up the General full of gear and snowmobiles and pointed it south towards our final destination: Crested Butte. But first we had a few stops to make: 1) pick up my skis (and fire firghters mug) from the side of the road on Teton Pass 2) stop at the Army Surplus Store in Idaho Falls where we were like kids in a candy store (and found our sweet new future yurt/mobile house) 3) Lonestar Taqueria- best mexican food in the USA (watch for full Mexican restaurant review in future posts which includes Lonestar, the bus, the popsicle place and more!) 4) Stop at the Skierboyz home for some quality ski jibber jabber, trip planning and good old time reminiscing 5) blog update (I’m working on this one still 6) SLEEP- we think we’ll get two hours of quality shut eye before continuing to head south. 7) Probably have to stop for more diesel too, 10 mpg doesn’t get you too far especially with a custom welded shrunk down tank. 8 ) ski crested butte and hopefully some powder!

Our private playground!

Hawks at Targhee

Lars at Targhee

After weeks of abstinence, the gods smiled upon us and we skied endless over the head, choke on it deep snow. “Damn its nice to be back in the Tetons,” I kept thinking to myself. Lap after lap, duckin ropes, smiling and laughing at our secret private playground.
The epic conditions made the decision to go to Telluride difficult. It was the need for redemption after seeing the podium slip away last year that was the tiebreaker. After a blazing lap right down the gut of Mt Taylor’s eastern face-a rare treat, I was met by former Mad River Glen ripper, Kelsey Boleski. Together with the help of her trusty Subaru, we made the 12 hr trip south. Big white flakes fell under the soft glow of street lamps as we rolled into town. Surely this had to be a good sign. We crammed into a small hotel room with friends down from MSU and just enough floor space for everyone to have a 6X2 foot sleeping area. Late night pee trips became a recipe for disaster in a mangle of gear and bodies. At least the room smelled great…
The next few days reminded me why I love following the tour so much- a family made of the best skiers from all corners of the continent and beyond converged in Telluride for a long weekend. It didn’t take long before rat packs of brightly colored, hard charging rippers were shredding the mountain. I was fortunate to get into the event after being on the waitlist: I was number 120 of 121 competitors. My good fortune continued over the next few days. The venue was fast and fun, with small and medium sized hits throughout it. I was able to link together fluid turns through the San Juan rocks and trees with a back flip over the money booter at the bottom and earn a sickbird nomination and 8th place standing going into day 2. Feeling a little drained from the altitude and full day of skiing we recharged our batteries with a hearty meal from Baked in Telluride and noticeably smellier nights rest.
The clouds and wind rolled in on Saturday and made for some tough conditions but fans and competitors made sure the atmosphere stayed light. The camaraderie among competitors is truly special and despite bitter winds and tough visibility, the start gate and finish was buzzing with excitement. My run was fast and fall line over a few good-sized cliffs and finished off with another back flip. It was solid enough earn another sick bird nomination, move me up to a 4th place podium and pre-qualify me for the remainder of the FWT. After a celebratory drink, we capped off the day with a great run through Captain Jacks woods. His presence was missed throughout the competition but his memories will live on.
I’m not going to begin to try to explain the after party. Captain Jack wasn’t there to get lap dances on top of the pool table but we managed to live it up pretty good.
Peace, Love and Deep Powder,
Ryan Hawks