Mad River Glen has long been a hotbed for developing world class skiers. Talented athletes, such as Lars and Silas Chickering-Ayers, Dylan Crossman and the late Ryan Hawks, have all passed through these doors. The Mad River Glen Freeski Team has played a key role in their development and strives to continue to offer the same environments of learning and fun to all of our young athletes today.
The next crop of world-renowned talent from the Mad River Glen Freeski Team has been busy getting their competition season underway. Team athletes primarily compete in freeride events coordinated by the International Freeskiers and Snowboards Association (IFSA) across North America. These events judge an athlete’s ability to ski in difficult terrain, highlighting scoring categories for technique, fluidity, control and style. The team will compete locally over the course of the season, giving individuals the chance to earn points for larger national and international level events. The highlight and goal for many of our junior athletes will be the Junior North American Championships that are scheduled for April 3rd-11th and hosted this year by Crystal Mountain Resort in Washington State.
In the recent weeks, Mad River Glen has proudly sent athletes all over the globe. A collection of our junior competitors traveled to Jay Peak locally, Snowbird in Utah, Jackson Hole in Wyoming and internationally to Kappl-Paznaun in Austria. Three Freeski Team alumni, Natalie Slade, Ely Kalkstien and Turner Barbour, flew across the pond to compete against their peers from around the world in the Freeride Junior World Championships and represent the United States of America and Mad River Glen on the world stage. Our three alumni and our numerous junior athletes gave strong showings are their events, in particular Luke Miele, Ava Killian and Evers Gladchun for winning their respective age divisions and Natalie Slade for finishing 4th at the World Championships. Click here for a highlight video from Kappl-Paznaun, Austria.
Being a part of the Freeski team family is more than just competition. The primary goal is to give young skiers a place to develop into young adults with a strong passion for the sport of skiing. Coaches are looking to make a positive difference in the lives of the athletes one weekend at a time.
The team was back in action this weekend with a local IFSA event at Stowe Mountain Resort. A few athletes traveled out west to Grand Targhee in Idaho and Arapahoe Basin in Colorado. Mad River Glen will be hosting one of two IFSA National events held this year in the Northeast, the Flyin’ Ryan Junior National 3* event is scheduled to take place March 7th and 8th. Stay tuned for Freeski Team updates and news throughout the remainder of the season.
