Huck Cup Hype!
Skier Kyle Smaine dominating Sierra's backcountry gates.
If you’ve ever had the opportunity to ride Sierra’s five backcountry gates, you know the excitement and freedom that comes along with dropping a cliff, navigating a chute, and popping a powdery pillow. The amazingly fun and playful terrain in Huckleberry Canyon gives riders the ability to get creative and #keepwinterweird Sierra style, which makes it perfect for hosting a freeride competition! That’s right, next weekend we are holding the first ever competition held in Huckleberry, a 2* International Freeskiers & Snowboarders Association (IFSA) / Free World Qualifier (FWQ , also known as the Huck Cup .
If you’re unfamiliar with freeride, the following quote perfectly sums up the energy of the sport and demonstrates why it is the perfect competition to showcase all that Huckleberry Canyon has to offer:
“The concept of freeride informs the very soul of the snowsport experience. Indeed, the notion of ‘freeriding’ was born the moment folks figured out how to secure their feet onto long slats of wood in order to move easier over the winter landscape – and discovered that they could suddenly shuck the bonds of gravity and fly. They were free. They could ride down the hill at will. They never looked back…” (quote from http://around.freerideworldtour.com/history).
The Huck Cup will showcase top tier athletes from both sides of the Atlantic, enabling riders to score points in the FWQ ranking system and qualify for the Freeride World Tour (FWT) . Day one will be qualifiers, as skiers and riders pull out their best tricks from Central Cornice down to Snag Rock. Those who make it to the finals on Saturday Feb. 27th will shred Snag Rock down to Pandora's.
Of course a few of our Sierra team riders will be entering the competition and showing off their Sierra family style! Sierra team snowboarders include , Zach Bragdon, Jordan Nield, and Eric Royce. Sierra team skiers include Colby Albino, Benny Schmidt and Ty Dayberry, who will be freeing his heels in some teles!
Here at Sierra we’ll take any excuse to throw a party, and the first Huck Cup is no exception! We’ll have a big screen displaying the action live in Solstice Plaza so you can scope out the competition on your ride break. The real party will be at the top of the mountain at 360 Smokehouse, with live music and art, another big screen showcasing the action, and a rooftop bar!
We’re keeping the vibes going all weekend long with live music in The Pub Thursday-Sunday and Happy Hour starting at 3:00. Our very own GM John Rice and brothers take the stage to cap off the Huck Cup in true Sierra style. See you this weekend for a shredtastic party!
If you're so stoked you can hardly wait, scope out this video featuring team skier Colby Albino getting some turns in Huckleberry!