All photos by: Mike Yoshida & George Crosland

The women’s snowboard superpipe qualifier sent a serious message to all riders looking to advance: go big or go home.

Sun broke through the grey skies to make for much greater visibility than seen in the men’s event in the morning, but slight winds kicked up for the first run of two. Not only was there a bit of a breeze, snow fell from start to finish in the event which made amplitude a challenge fore some, but not for all.

Standing out from the field were some familiar faces, but there were also a few new names that left an impression. Anna Valentine was one of those new names as she was making her debut to Dew Tour Breckenridge. Though Valentine did not make it out of the qualifier, she showed she was ready to throw it all on the line for the chance to advance. Valentine landed a 720 in her opening run, which was the first full pull of the event, and on here second run she attempted back-to-back 540s to lead into the 720. Unfortunately she was unable to link them together and finished 12th on the day.

Some top scoring riders ranking high enough to advance on their first runs were Elena Hight, Maddie Mastro and Chloe Kim. Kim was certainly the best rider of the day and scored a 93.33 on her first run which held up to remain the highest of the event. Kim’s run included a proper method backside air, back-to-back 720s going frontside and then cab, a frontside 540 to lead into the inverted backside counterpart known as a McTwist before finishing with an alley-oop, backside 360 to finish. Still, knowing what Kim is capable of, the run felt safe by her standards.

Mastro was thoroughly impressive with her run which included back-to-back 540s, a frontside 720, a Haakon flip into the backflip counter of a crippler before finishing with a seatbelt grab. Mastro put everyone on edge with her creative run and great variety.

Kelly Clark, though, waited until her final run before putting her full amplitude on display. On her first hit, as the final rider to drop, Clark sent a tucked indy higher than any other trick seen in her event and stomped everything else from there on out. Clark made major moves in the ranks to go from the bubble position all the way to qualifying third.

See how the finals unfold tomorrow, Friday, December 15 at 2:15pm MT live on DewTour.com

Women’s Snowboard Superpipe Qualifier Results

1.) Chloe Kim (USA), 93.33
2.) Maddie Mastro (USA), 91.66
3.) Kelly Clark (USA), 89.00
4.) Elena Hight (USA), 88.33
5.) Mirabelle Thovex (FRA), 87.00
6.) Queralt Castellet (SPA), 86.00
7.) Arielle Gold (USA), 85.66
8.) Hannah Teter (USA), 85.00

Chloe Kim, Maddie Mastro Qualify in Superpipe League of Their Own

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Dominating the field with her first run of the qualifier, Chloe Kim earned the top score of the day with ease.
Throwing down two complete top-to-bottom runs, Mirabelle Thovex was a shoe-in for the final after her first run, but upped the ante to qualify fifth.
The sole rider representing Spain, Queralt Castellet was one of the few snowboarders opting to drop into the pipe switch as well as one of the only women to stomp a 900. Queralt qualified 6th.
A shot of the calm before the women's snowboard superpipe qualifier storm.
Between back-to-back 720s, a 900 and this lofty method, Hannah Teter found herself advancing to Friday's final. Though, she was on the bubble in 8th.
Hannah Teter enjoying herself around the women's snowboard superpipe qualifier.
Elena Hight blasted a beautiful method, in addition to 900 and alley-oop rodeo, en route to a fourth place transfer spot for Friday's final.
Past Olympian and Dew Tour podium placer, Arielle Gold qualified for Friday's Olympic qualifier in 7th.
Maddie Mastro showcased great style and creativity with her runs in the qualifier. She was the only rider (other than Chloe) to crack into the 90s. Mastro qualified 2nd.
Kelly Clark was sure to qualify for the final by way of her first run, but as the last rider to drop she amped up her run and jumped from the bubble position to qualifying third.

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