Freeride Program Update: April 2024
March, in like a lion, also this season, out like a lion. Luckily there was some nice sunny spring skiing in the middle. The tail end of our season was an exciting one! We started off the month with back to back IFSA nationals and our final IFSA regional of the season. We had our final Wednesday Night Lights stop, as well as the first inaugural Wild West rail jam at JHMR. This past weekend, we finished up training for the regular season with the annual Dick’s Ditch Banked Slalom and a day of skiing in costumes. Thanks to all who joined our 2:00 end of season tram lap! Thanks to all for an incredible season of Freeride. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know all the new faces on our team, and another wonderful season with all the familiar faces on the program. The April newsletter will feature a re-cap of what happened in March, followed by updates on what is coming up!
Wednesday Night Lights Finals 3/6
We had a great time wrapping up our Wednesday Night Lights rail jam series at Snow King. For those who missed it, Wednesday Night Lights is our local grassroots rail jam series. It’s a great place for those new to competition to give it a try in a fun, low stress environment. For advanced athletes, it’s a great place to push yourself and learn new tricks with friends. Congratulations to our overall series champions who showed up and absolutely crushed at all 3 stops of the competition.
Ski Boys: Zach Lighthart
Ski Girls: Hazel Shidner
SB Boys: Ace Emery
SB Girls: Ivy Swain
Big Sky IFSA National
3/6 - 3/10
The Freeride Program went to Big Sky for our last IFSA National of the season. Despite low snow, the weather was amazing and the crew at BSSEF were able to host a great event. JHSC athletes skied well and put themselves in a great position to qualify for the Jr Freeride Championship. Below are some of the top finishers.
U19 Ski Men:
Liam Thompson- 6th
U19 Ski Women:
Grace DesLauriers- 8th
U15 Ski Men:
Taz McBride- 3rd
Brooks Egan- 7th
U15 Ski Women:
Tia DesLauriers- 6th
Carving the Future Wild West Rail Jam
3/16: New this season, our friends at Carving the Future hosted a rail jam in conjunction with JHMR. The venue was in the new terrain park under Bridger Gondola. Congratulations to all the kids (and coaches) who showed up and threw down under the spring sunshine!
Dick’s Ditch - 3/23 - 3/24
The annual Dick’s Ditch banked slalom went down this past weekend at JHMR. Freeride athletes showed up ready to race!
On the Podium:
Ski Boys 11-13:
2nd: Zach Lighthart
3rd: McClay Rorhbaugh
Ski Girls 11-13:
2nd: Maeve Kavanaugh
3rd: Hazel Shidner
SB Boys 11-13:
Ski Boys 14-19:
1st: Bryer Strand
2nd: Porter Farren
Men’s Pro:
1st: Nate Pruzan
Nice work everybody!
Last Day of Training
Our last day of training was Sunday, March 24th. Thanks to everybody for an incredible season! We sent out the season with a costume party and group tram lap for all athletes and parents.
Upcoming Events:
USASA Nationals: USASA Nationals will be held at Copper Mountain, Colorado. Congratulations to all who qualified and representing JHSC Freeride!
SB: March 31- April 4
Ski: April 4-11
Head Coaches Matt Newton (mnewton@jhskiclub.org) and Stefan Merriam (smerriam@jhskiclub.org) will be taking point on respective Ski/SB weeks.
IFSA Junior Championships April 7-14
IFSA Junior Champs are being held in Breckenridge, Colorado this season. We’re excited for the excellent venue on Peak 6, where athletes will be competing well above the treeline on some of the best high alpine terrain in North America. Congratulations to Jack Kilmain, Grace Desluariers and Tia Deslauriers for securing invites to this highly competitive event!
Here is the *tentative* event schedule
Sunday, April 7th: U12 Arrival and Check-in Snowboard U15 & U19 Arrival and Check-in
Monday, April 8th: U12 Preliminaries | Snowboard U15 & U19 Preliminaries
Tuesday, April 9th: U12 Finals | Snowboard U15 & U19 Finals
Wednesday, April 10th: Weather Day U12 | Weather Day Snowboard 12-18 | Ski Check-in | NO TIE GALA in Breckenridge
Thursday, April 11th: Preliminaries 12-14 Ski
Friday, April 12th: Preliminaries 15-18 Ski
Saturday, April 13th: FINALS 12-18 Ski
Sunday, April 14th: Weather Day 12-14 | 15-18 Ski Unofficial After Party - all welcome!
Snow King 24/25 Season Passes on Sale Now:
Considering it’s March, I can’t believe I’m already writing about next season! If your athlete will be in the Progression, Progression + or Competition program next season this will be the best deal you’ll get!
“Early season pass deals are available from March 1st to April 30th with $525 Adult passes, $475 High School and Senior passes, $375 Junior Passes, and $1,300 Family passes for 2 adults and up to 4 kids under 18. - SK”
Purchase Passes HERE.
End of Season Awards
Snow King Lodgeroom 5/3
Our end of season awards party will be Friday, May 3rd in the Snow King Lodge Room. This will be a time to reflect on another amazing season of Freeride, give out our end of season awards, and enjoy food with coaches, parents and athletes. We hope to see you all there!
Summer Offerings
Mountain Bike Teams!
We’re excited to announce that we’ve gotten approval to start a competitive Downhill/Enduro Mountain Bike team for summer 2024.
Training will run from the first week school gets out, until school starts back up in the fall. We will be offering a Progression Team for rider’s interested in improving their skills and compete in home events at JHMR/Targhee. Additionally we will be offering a Comp Team for riders interested in traveling to regional events (Montana Enduro Series and Utah Gravity Series). Practice will be held twice weekly in the JHMR Bike Park with JHSC coaching staff.
Registration is now open on our website.
Skateboard Camps
Skate Camps are back for Summer 2024. Stefan Merriam will be taking the lead on these camps. They will follow a similar format to years past, with beginner and advanced levels. Skate camps include transportation to area parks and skate instruction.
Dates:
Beginner:
6/26-6/27, 7/10-7/11, 7/17-7/18, 7/31-8/1
Advanced:
7/24-7/25 8/7-8/8
Open Enrollment:
8/14-8/15, 8/21-8/22, 8/28-8/29
Registration is now open! Link HERE.
Please feel free to reach out with any questions (smerriam@jhskiclub.org).
On Snow
Woodward Copper: 6/16-6/22
We’re excited to be returning to Woodward Copper for Summer 2024. Woodward is a great place for beginner to intermediate riders to work on skills on friendly sized features. It’s also great for advanced riders looking to work on perfecting some of their more difficult skills.
Woodward is open to all athletes who will be enrolled on the Progression, Progression + or Competition Teams next season.
Registration for WW Copper is open now! Register HERE, (make sure to select week 3). At checkout, use code “TEAM2024” for a $400 discount. (This discount code can only be used by Freeride team athletes). Upon completing registration send the registration confirmation to myself and Matt so we know who to account for. Additional coaches expense+transportation is estimated to be $400.
Contact Matt (mnewton@jhskiclub.org) with any questions.
Mt. Hood, Oregon: 7/7-7/13
We’re headed to Mt. Hood for some more fun on snow! Mt. Hood is the training ground for national teams from all over the world in June and July. They have all of the features you’ll find at Woodward, plus a halfpipe and pro-sized jump. This trip is aimed for more advanced riders looking to take their skills to L and XL sized features.
We’ve got just one spot left! Register HERE (filter by “Camp” in the menu to the right).
Contact Matt Newton (mnewton@jhskiclub.org) with any questions.
Chile: El Colorado/La Parva/Valle Nevado
8/3 - 8/14
We’re excited to be teaming up with Uthrive camps to offer an incredible experience in Chile this summer. Uthrive has been doing Freeride camps for years, and has the local scene in Chile Dialed. They have an awesome relationship with excellent guides, shuttles to and from the airport and food and board included. Early Bird pricing (before April 15th) is $5,000 not including competition fees and flights.
Anyone interested in attending will just need to provide gear, and get themselves to and from Santiago (I’ll be traveling with any Jackson athletes who attend and can assist with travel logistics).
We’ll be staying in Farellones, home to 3 resorts (El Colorado, La Parva and Valle Nevado). This trip coincides with Andes Freeride week. Riders from all over South America and the world will converge on El Colorado for a week of freeride competition, including a Junior National (Yes this can count as one of your starts for next season’s rankings!) an adult comp, and lots of fun skiing and riding with riders from all over the world!
More information about Andes Freeride week and Uthrive camps is available HERE. If you’re interested in registering, contact Rachel (rachel@uthriveltd.com) to reserve your spot.
We’ll book flights soon to ensure we’re all on the same flight in and out of the country.
*only open for athletes 14+ or with a coaches recommendation*
Contact Collin (collin@jhskiclub.org) with any questions.
Thanks all for tuning in! As always, please reach out with any questions or concerns - Collin
Quote of the Month: “Ruh Roh Raggy” - Coach Max
