Jaeger Reigns in Freeski Superpipe Exhibition

By Justin Broglio

This morning’s slain (that’s Tahoe talk for rain mixed with a little snow) made for very wet and soggy viewing, yet, judging by her 86.75-point score, conditions didn’t affect 26-year-old Women’s Ski Superpipe winner Mirjam Jaeger. 19-year-old Canadian Rosalind Groeneward finished second with an 84.38; French Anais Caradeux earned a 83.50.

Speckled goggles and a slain-moistened Superpipe were no obstacles for Jaeger, who has returned to fine form after enduring a full ACL-reconstruction only a year ago. She earned the 86.75 high-score by throwing down back-to-back ally-oops into an amped up right-side 540; she finished with a clean 720.

“[The pipe] is definitely softer than it was this morning,” Jaeger said. (Women skiers practiced from 8 – 9 a.m.; they chilled for two hours during the scheduled snowboard practice.) This left the pipe in “not-so-stellar” condition, despite the extra salt and several snowplows through from the Northstar-at-Tahoe crews. Regardless, second-place finisher Rosalind handled a clean ally-oop 540, while Anais lofted a fine 720.

A few big names were also absent from today’s superpipe exhibition, including Sarah Burke (recently injured) and Jen Hudack (out with a cracked orbital–yeah I know, can you imagine how much that hurts!).

Hudack, however, filled in as a guest announcer this morning. While she was disappointed she wasn’t skiing, she had only good things to say about the field and the overall Winter Dew Tour.

“It’s tough to watch from the sidelines but I was stoked to see everyone put in a clean run in these conditions,” she said. “It’s events like this that are helping showcase what women can do on the snow,” she said, elaborating on the depth and strength of the greater Women’s Freeskiing community.

Jaeger echoed Hudack’s comments on the overall tour.

“I’m just so happy to be here right now,” she said. “The Winter Dew Tour is great! It’s what female freeskiing needs right now.”