Eman has dubbed our little team of two snowboarders as "Cool Runnings" in a nod to the incongruity of his son, Marlee, and my daughter, Rewa, taking on some seriously talented and well-coached snowboarders in the New Zealand Junior Freeride Tour. It's a case of a couple of surfers from Dunedin running amok in the hills over winter ... and doing pretty well.
Most of the other competitors are long-time snow athletes and have received high-level training and they certainly know how to ride big mountains. Luckily, they're super nice and welcoming to us and easily share tips and ideas to help us improve.
It was the third and final round of the NZ Junior Freeride Tour that led us into the mountains of Canterbury this past week. We were aiming for Mt Olympus – a stunning peak of 2096m high above the Harper and Ryton Rivers. It's a club field with some incredible freeriding terrain and all within easy hiking distance from the top tow.
That was the lure. Standing between us and the magic of that freeride terrain was a series of nutcracker accessed rope tows. A nutcracker is a wild New Zealand invention that wraps around and then pinches onto a rope that is flying around a series of pulleys. Latch on and get dragged to the top is the idea. But it isn't that easy. I have bruises to prove it. The locals laugh in the face of the danger. Common injuries include degloved fingers, teeth bashed out, cuts to the face and getting scalped when your hair gets tangled in a pulley ... all manageable with the right technique, they laugh. In a way it reminds me of a treacherous rock jump that filters surfers, drafting out those with less experience, preventing them from causing real harm to themselves beyond the precipice. And the crowds are never too gnarly up there as an added bonus.
The inspection run saw us clawing along in high winds across an exposed ridge as we made our way to the top of the peak. The weather whirled around us, the cloud lifting enough to give us a glimpse of what lay ahead. We then had a day to rest before the competition resumed. We spent that at Mt Hutt and, crikey, the invention of the chairlift was welcomed by all of us – especially the Nor'West Express 8-seater that felt like pure lazy-boy-esque luxury after the nutcrackers. And when the Towers Triple opened we were in heaven – a top to bottom run is a real 650 vertical metre legburner.
It was pretty cool to get a taste of both the highlights of a snow season in Canterbury in one trip. Mt Hutt is a real gem of a field with heaps of snow this season and all the bells and whistles, and the club fields are iconic in their own right (and for very different reasons). After a day of lapping in the on and off again whiteout at Mt Hutt we were ready for contest day.
The nutcrackers presented their usual challenges. Eventually we all arrived at the top to learn the promised forecast of high-winds and rain/snow was not playing out in real life ... relief. These contests are renowned for their friendly, inclusive nature. This time we had top freeskiers Andrew Pollard and Sam Smoothy helping out and entertaining the next generation of skiers and snowboarders. Rewa was up against Brooke Hansen who had brought a back protector up for Rewa and freely shared her tips.
Despite coach Eman and myself making a few timing errors, Marlee and Rewa finally got to drop for their runs and managed to connect some clean lines. They both made the podium with Marlee finishing third in the Under 18 Men's and Rewa second in the Under 18 Women's. Brooke won the day and the overall and made it onto the New Zealand team and will now travel to Europe. Pretty cool to see that happen for her and four other athletes.
The series is made possible thanks to a guy called Dion Newport. He's a head judge at the Freeride World Tour and to see him sharing his knowledge and wisdom back home here in New Zealand this way is pretty special for the whole sport. Judging by the standard of skiing I saw over the two rounds we visited I reckon we have some incredible talent coming through in freeride competition. And the attitude that comes with it is something special, thanks to Dion, A Poll, Sam Smoothy and a cast of positive vibes helpers ... we're in a good space. And Team Cool Runnings didn't crash and burn at all.
See you at the beach ... Derek
PS Want to win one of two double passes to 360 ALLSTARS in Dunedin, October 7 & 8? Of course you do. Featuring world-class and world record-holding athletes 360 ALLSTARS has met with rave reviews throughout the world. To enter all you have to do is visit our Facebook page or the Box of Light Instagram feed and tell us what your special 360 talent is ... We have one double pass to giveaway for each of our platforms so double your chances and enter at both. Good luck.
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