The fourth season of Winter Dew Tour just wrapped up with the Toyota Championships at Utah’s Snowbasin Resort. But before we get to the Finals, let’s review the highlights of the season.
Nike Open in Breckenridge, Colo., Dec. 15-18
The season opener saw all the athletes getting back into the swing of competition, and what better location that Breckenridge, Colorado, where a massive 22-ft. pipe greeted the competitors and a slope course offered three urban rail features and four jumps.
The Winter Dew Tour has gone to Breckenridge since the very first event of the inaugural season. This year’s competitions included men’s and women’s snowboard slope and pipe, and men’s freeski slope and pipe events.
In the winner’s circle was Shaun White in snowboard pipe, who pulled the biggest backside air on record and showcased his usual heads-above domination in pipe. Kelly Clark also took the win for the women, securing her bid for a third Dew Cup. For slope, Gjermund Braaten shook up the standings with his first Dew Tour win and a smooth street style on the rails that couldn’t be outdone. For the women, Spencer O’Brien came through with a win, setting herself up for an overall season lead.
On the freeski side of things, the Frenchman Kevin Rolland was flawless in pipe and easily grabbed the win, while the slope title went to Tom Wallisch, who came back in his second run to take the win.
Pantech Invitational, Killington, Vt., Jan. 19-22
Next up, the Tour headed to the East Coast, where an icy pipe challenged the men and women of freeski pipe, and the snowboard men. This event opened up the women’s freeski season, with two events on the circuit.
Maddie Bowman came through with the win in women’s freeski pipe, and 16-year-old Torin Yater-Wallace earned his first Dew Tour win after stomping a new trick for him, the switch 9. In freeski slope, Tom Wallisch did another comeback kid move, earning first place in his second run and extending his winning streak. Kaya Turski followed his lead, and came back in her second run to take the slopestyle win from Devin Logan.
The snowboard pipe competition brought a battle between Louie Vito and Iouri Podladtchikov, with I-Pod taking the win, and Eric Willett solidified his slope skills with a win on a course that was slowed down from recent snow.
Toyota Championships, Ogden, Utah, Feb 9-12
With two stops of the Dew Tour behind them, the Dew Tour athletes came into the Toyota Championships with overall season Dew Cups on their mind. This was also the first season women’s freeski pipe was a Dew Cup discipline.
Men’s and women’s freeski and snowboard slope and pipe competitions crowned a number of champions, with Louie Vito taking the event title and Dew Cup for snowboard pipe, and Kelly Clark doing the same for the women. Sebastien Toutant and Spencer O’Brien followed their lead in snowboard slopestyle, both of them taking home the Dew Cups and the event wins for the men and women’s disciplines.
On the women’s freeski side of things, Kaya Turski took the Cup and event win in slope while Devin Logan did the same for pipe. For the men, 17-year-old Nick Goepper earned his first Dew Tour win in slope, and Tom Wallisch took home the Cup. In pipe, In freeski pipe, David Wise took the win but Kevin Rolland was able to defend his Dew Cup and take it home for the second-straight year.
It was an action-packed season to say the least, full of progression and firsts for may of the athletes. With both snowboard and freeski competitions looming on the Olympic horizon, the level of progression will continue to be raised each season.
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