Winter Games: Kiwi women on top at The Remarks

Kiwis took a clean sweep of the women’s freeride ski podium at The North Face Frontier four-star freeride comp yesterday.

Jessie Violet backed up her 2023 as an international field skiers and snowboarders pushed themselves in tricky snow conditions in the exposed terrain on the Alta Chutes at the Queenstown ski field.

With the competition ranked as a four-star event on the Freeride World Qualifier Tour, the goal for many was not just to earn a podium placing but also some early season qualifying points and a ticket to the international competition stage.

But fresh snow covering rocks made for some gnarly course conditions, so competitors had their work cut out finding a fast and fluid line while also incorporating tricks.

First out of the gate in her category, Violet put down a solid, confident run skiing fast down the main chute and incorporating some solid airtime on her way to the finish line.

“I’m feeling pretty stoked,” she said after her run. “It’s exciting to see the girls send and the progression of the sport. The girls are pushing hard for the podium, the bar gets set and everyone just fights for it, it’s good to see everyone going for it.”

Ruby Hewitt, winner of Saturday’s 2-star event at Treble Cone, finished her day in second place, earning a high score by incorporating a variety of features in her run and maintaining good control all the way through the course.

Mari Henderson skied one of the fastest runs in the women’s field, the judges rewarding her strong technique with third place on the podium.

The men’s ski category saw twin brothers, Kiwis Fynn and Lach Powell, finish in first and third place respectively, separated by Canadian Matthew Vankka who also won the 2-star competition two days ago.

Lach Powell was the first of the three to drop into the course, landing a huge backflip which initially had him sitting in the hot seat. Brother Fynn was excited to hear over the radio that his brother was in the lead, using this as extra motivation for his own run.

“I was so unbelievably stoked when I heard the call over the radio and I had to try and back him up,” Fynn says. “I won this event last year, so I’m really stoked to be able to come back and put another run down.”

Fynn started his run with two huge 360s at the top of the course before crossing into the narrow pipeline feature and dropping two rock features with impressive control.

One of the last competitors to drop into the course, Vankka pushed hard for the top spot hopping over a rock on the top ridge before launching into backflip to start his run and skiing an incredibly fast run. The judges scored him 94 points from a possible 100, just shy of Fynn Powell’s winning scoring of 96.33 points.

Canadian Jaimie Figueira was the clear winner in the women’s snowboard category, the judges awarding her 90.33 points for her strong line choice, well-controlled airs and maintaining fluidity down the steep face.

After a third-place finish in 2023, Figueira came into the competition with her sights set on the top step of the podium.

“I really want it so I’m trying to push myself out of my comfort zone and hit more features,” she explained.

Kiwi competitor James Thompson described his win in the men’s snowboard as “a dream come true” after a previous best result of sixth place at The North Face Frontier.

The judges awarded him top points for his technical line choice as he tackled the narrow pipeline feature, also including well-controlled airs and maintaining speed and fluidity throughout his run.

Fellow Kiwi Mitchell Davern was a close contender for first place, riding incredibly fast through the venue and throwing a huge backflip and a stylish 360 before losing a little bit of control at the bottom of the course and dropping points to finish in second place.

Judge Andrew Pollard says: “It was really important that people skied and rode smart. At one point we were concerned we might not have enough snow to safely run an event so it was good to see people making smart decisions, that’s how you win a freeride event.

"It was a sharky one, some of the men’s ski runs in particular were absolutely mind-blowing, and it was just incredible what they were able to do in there."

The Winter Games NZ action changes gear today with the first of the FIS alpine races scheduled to be held at Coronet Peak.

The Games is the Southern Hemisphere’s largest snow sports event with ten world-class events set to be held across alpine, freeride and park and pipe disciplines between the 23 August and 9 September in Queenstown and Wānaka.

 

Women’s ski

Jessie Violet (NZL) 80.33

Ruby Hewitt (NZL) 72.00

Mari Henderson (NZL) 69.00

 

Men’s ski

Fynn Powell (NZL) 96.33

Matthew Vankka (CAN) 94.00

Lach Powell (NZL) 91.33

 

Women’s snowboard

Jaimie Figueira (CAN) 90.33

Johanna Lindqvist (SWE) 73.00

Swanny D'Agostini (FRA) 71.00

 

Men’s snowboard

James Thompson (NZL) 84.00

Mitchell Davern (NZL) 81.33

Tristan Legru-Yildiz (FRA) 74.33

 

Full results here