Up here in Revelstoke, BC, the Freeskiing World Tour (FWT) competition has ended and athletes are making their way down to the US for the next stop. The 2010 inaugural event here in Revy saw everything from blue skies and sun to blistering wind and snow. But, the organizers saw to it that it went off in style, and the finals were spectacular.

The much anticipated helicopter ride for the athletes to the top of the final day venue took off just as planned, and with a bit of a weather delay the athletes had a big task ahead of them. When the skies cleared enough and the fog lifted, everything went into full comp mode and the ladies started charging down the steep hill. Rocks, cliffs, chutes and big moves in hang time kept the crowd charged up as athletes delivered line upon mindfreakin’ line.

Notables of the day went to Jacqui Edgerly with her fast fluid style arcing turns down highly exposed terrain and finding the sweet air at the bottom. Julien Lopez hit his bottom air at 110km an hour and flew a million feet straight out into the stratosphere, landing close to 18m back on the snow below.

Winning runs were turned in like clockwork by Jess McMillan over the course of the weekend, with the Jackson local claiming her trophy like the true professional she is. What a great presence to have on the FWT! The ladies are definitely amping up the game, and spectators were left wondering who was who on those burly lines up in Revelstoke’s MacKenzie face.

The real treat for me this week was in watching fellow POC athlete Arne Backstrom put down some solid, consistently impressive skiing on the way to the top of the podium. He came out of the gate strong and sent it hard down terrifying terrain, all while carving turns through rocky cliffs and landing in greasy turns on each air. The game is on, and Arne has set the bar for the 2010 FWT.

Justin brought out the camera in the rare bits of sunshine during this last week, and we’ll be dropping an edit soon. It’s been storming up a bit around here in Revy, and we met up with the Trew Crew in their bright blue and purple bus to get some pow turns and check out their rippin’ athletes tearing it up. Chuck Mumford, Mike McCabe, Will Dujardin, Colter Hinchliffe, Sonja Lercher, and Craig Garbiel definitely turned some heads while flipping, spinning, slashing and laughing all around Revy’s lengthy terrain. The trewth has been spread.

With a few more days in Revy ahead, and a sweet drive up and over Roger’s Pass to Kicking Horse, a ski bum can only wonder what lay on the road to Golden…??

What a trip!

Tags: 2010 skiing, Arne Backstrom, Freeskiing World Tour, FWT, gear, Jess McMillan, POC, Revelstoke, Trew