From the U.S. Freestyle Selections just weeks ago to Rocky Mountain Division competitions, local freestyle athletes have been proving that Vail has some incredible skiers. Last weekend the Ski & Snowboard Club Vail (SSCV) Freestyle team lead by John Dowling headed to Steamboat for the classic “Ski Town USA Bumps and Jumps” mogul showdown. At the event there were 56 female competitors and 69 male competitors.

Vail skiers chalked up a number of age class wins during the open moguls competition. Emerson Smith placed first in the J2 category. Jack Skidmore won the J3 men category, and Mallory Skidmore also claimed first in the J3 category. Tess Johnson ended the day with a nice first place win for the J4 girls.

Overall the SSCV team had great results with Erin Coyne placing 7th and Lindsey Eckhoff placing 10th for the girls. Emerson Smith placed really well among a veteran field and landed in 10th overall.

Sunday, during the duels event, Gabe Johnson rallied to 6th place, making it his first top 10 finish ever. Gabe skied consistently and cleanly through 7 rounds of competition. “His huge double daffy off the bottom air was a real crowd pleaser,” says Dowling.

In the women’s bracket, Kaitlyn Harrell ended in a respectable 4th place. “Harrell appeared to have her match won in the final duels round, but unfortunately lost her balance right before the bottom air and came flying off the jump on one leg crashing into her opponent’s lane for a disqualification,” says Dowling.

Come out on the mountain in Vail this weekend and watch some of these incredible athletes for the first Vail mogul competition of the year. The event will take place on Cookshack off of the Avanti lift. Open moguls will get going at 10:15 am on Saturday, and Dual moguls will start at 10:15 am on Sunday.