The 2010 Alpine Meadows Telemark and Freeride Festival
Thursday, February 18 – Monday, February 22, 2010
This winter, Tough Guy Productions will be holding the Alpine Meadows Telemark and Freeride Festival from February 18- 22. This four-day event comprises a big mountain telemark freeskiing competition, an uphill-downhill race focused on snow safety and education, and a top-to-bottom big mountain race open to snowboarders and alpine and telemark skiers. The schedule for the festival is as follows:
Thursday, February 18: 8am - 3pm: Registration in the Main Lodge
Participant can register for the big mountain competition, the uphill-downhill race, and/or the Estelle Bowl Challenge in the main lodge. Participants can sign up to ski with the judges for a ski clinic at 10 am or 1 pm focusing on how lines will be judged in the competition.
Thursday, February 18: 7pm: Mandatory competitor meeting
All competitors in the big mountain telemark competition must attend the meeting. There will also be additional registration. Judges will outline judging criteria, answer questions about the venue, assign numbers, and discuss requirements to win the overall competition. Meeting will be held at the Gear and Grind Café in Tahoe City (for directions www.gearandgrindcafe.com).
Friday, February 19, 10am: “The Keyhole Classic”
The “Keyhole Classic” follows the standard criteria for big mountain competitions, where competitors will be judged on: line, control, fluidity, technique, and aggressiveness. Competitors will start at the top of Keyhole (conditions allowing). Each competitor will have two runs to qualify for the final; only the top 10 (approximately) of each category will advance to the final on the following day.
Saturday, February 20, 10 am: “The Big Mountain Final”
Finalist will compete on the Buttress (conditions allowing). Competitors will have one run to show their best to try to win the title of Freeride Champion. The competitor with the highest score from “The Keyhole Classic” will run last.
Saturday, February 20, 4pm: Awards ceremony and party
The big mountain competition will finish with an awards ceremony and party, with a DJ, slide show, and plenty of prizes. Awards will be given to men and women for: the uphill-downhill race, overall snowboarder, overall alpine skiers, overall telemark skiers, Big Sack award (competitor who showed the most guts), and the Tough Guy Award (competitor who got injured or had to overcome the biggest challenge). Dinner (available for purchase) and DJ will be in the Compactor Bar.
Sunday, February 21, 7am: "The Uphill / Downhill Avy Savvy Race"
Morning registration will run from 7:00-7:30 am. The race will start at 7:30 am. All competitors will start at the main lodge and begin skinning en masse to the summit gate. Competitors will then race down to the simulated avalanche zone and begin their transceiver search for the “buried victims.” Two transceivers will be buried; the first male and female competitors to locate a buried transceiver will win the race.
Sunday, February 21, 10am: “The Estelle Bowl Challenge”
Open registration will run from 9:00-10:00 am in the main lodge, followed by a competitor meeting from 10:00-10:30 am, where the rules and judging will be explained. Competitors will then head to the top of Estelle Bowl to begin the race at 11:00 am. Competitors will start at the top of Estelle Bowl and race against the clock to the bottom of the course. There will be three sets of wide spread gates that competitors will be required to ski through to help guide the competitors in the proper direction. Although the primary score for this competition will be time needed to complete the course, competitors will also be judged on style. Judges will be placed midway through the course and at the bottom, and their scores will be deducted from competitor’s times – higher scores means more seconds deducted. All competitors must make it to the finish line with all their equipment to receive a valid score.
Sunday, February 22, 4pm: Sunday's awards ceremony
The day will finish with an awards ceremony to name the Uphill-Downhill winners and the Estelle Bowl Challenge’s winners. Uphill-downhill first place winner (male and female) will win a season pass to Alpine Meadows for the 2010-2011 season. Winners of the Estelle Bowl Challenge will receive a monetary award based on the amount of participants in their category.
Monday, February 23: Weather day (if needed)
Location: Alpine Meadows
Contact: Tough Guy Productions
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