Box of Light is made possible thanks to these visionaries:
Freeride comps are basically like surf comps, but in the mountains. Here's a crash course: You get to start from a tall peak and all you need to do is end up at basecamp having ridden the most interesting line you can imagine on the mountain – the more jumps, the better. A panel of judges add points for fluidity, style, degree of difficulty, exposure etc and deduct points if you stop, side slip, crash, or make a mistake. Sound easy?
My daughter Rewa was talked into it by my mate Eman Silva and his son Marlee (who is one of the top juniors in New Zealand). And I love the mountains so added some words of encouragement, too. And so Rewa signed up to head to The Remarkables this past week to dip her toe in at the second round of the New Zealand Junior Freeride Tour. What we didn't realise was that it was a 3-star event – the more stars the more challenging the terrain.
We had a day to check it out before the comp. Needless to say it was quite a quiet hike to the top of the 1943m lookout point near where the start gate would be. Just as we arrived at the top so too did a thick blanket of cloud, obscuring our view of Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu. And it made it difficult to orientate ourselves above the bluffs lurking just below.
Eventually the cloud lifted enough for us to pick a route down the top section and test out a line Rewa had drawn on a photo of the peak earlier in the day. The more we looked at the line, the more nervous Rewa was getting.
By comp day she was a bundle of nerves. Me, too. To make matters worse a cold wind and cloud cover was preventing the snow from softening, which would make snowboarding the peak a lot easier. And then the Under 18 Women had to contend with flat light across the entire peak. They were really tough conditions. I was so stoked to see Rewa take on the challenge.
Rewa ended up fourth overall, missing her goal to finish top 3, but ultimately stoked to have done it. Colorado-based Kiwi rider Brooke Hansen won it followed by Japan's Kizuna Takahashi in second and New Zealander Chloe Booth in third.
Marlee had a really smooth run also and was just shy of third place, having to also settle for fourth. An old friend of mine, Neil Hardwick, from Sydney's Northern Beaches, was there with two of his sons Gabe, 12, and Vaughn, 18. Vaughn ended up winning the Under 18s with an impressive run that included some big cliff drops.
A standout of this event was the culture of the competitors and crew. From a group vibing session at the briefing to the welcome attitude of all involved it was really cool to be a part of it. Rewa had offers of advice and assistance from so many people. Even her competitors thanked her for taking part in it and joining them in the start gate. It was also cool to see many of New Zealand's top freeskiers helping to keep the comp on track and running smoothly ... along with Andrew Pollard who is one of the best in the world and gave so much of his time to the next generation coming through. It's very cool to see and speaks volumes for the future of the sport here in New Zealand.
The event, number two in a three-round tour, was held at The Remarkables, which has incredible freeride terrain. The team at The Remarkables also went above and beyond to make sure the event was a success (including giving athletes free passes for the competition day). And with staff dedicated to capturing and generating good vibes throughout the event.
A huge shout out to Dion Newport who decided one day that kids having fun in the mountains was a good idea. I couldn't agree more. Snow sports is in a good place with good humans like these at the helm.
See you at the beach ... Derek
PS We've just released a bunch of reviews over on New Zealand Surf Journal. In the market for a decent travel boardbag? We can certainly vouch for this one. Want to avoid buying a big name, expensive legrope that has a fundamental flaw? You'll need this.
Box of Light is made possible thanks to these visionaries: