Best Line: With several quality films shoot on some epic locations this year it is really hard to pick any one line that stood out as the best but here it is...
- Honorable Mention: Eric Hjorleifson in MSP's Superheroes of Stoke and his absolute slaying of the Tordillo Range in Alaska, not sure I have ever seen a better segment
- Winner: Cody Barnhill in 4FRNT's DANG in Pitztal, Austria. As is his pillow lines were not enough he then goes and sticks a remote line with one of the hairiest access routes I have seen.
Best Powder Segment:
- Superheroes of Stoke Chatter Creek Lodge- Dumped for 10 days straight! Mark Abma and James Heim slashing pillows all day with never ending faceshots. If this segment does not convince you to book your next trip to Chatter Creek then I don't know what will!
Best Film:
- Teton Gravity's Dream Factory- It's tough because there are some films I havent seen yet, but I was very skeptical at first when I saw that the majority of the filming would be done in Alaska and not changing it up much. However, TGR did an amazing job showing the evolution of big mountain skiing in Alaska and showing some awesome Alaskan spine runs down mountains like Dr. Seuss. Also the Jackson Hole Corbet's Session with Griffin Post, Matt Philippi, John Spriggs and Daniel Tisi was pretty epic.
Top 5 Female Skiers:
- 5. Mikaela Shiffrin- It's hard to compare FIS skiers to freeskiers, but Mikaela has to be the biggest story coming out of the World Cup circuit this year. At only 17 she is skiing like a true veteran and after slalom victory last week in Are and an 8th place in today's giant slalom at Semmering she finds herself in the top 10 overall in points.
- 4. Kaya Turski- XGames slopstyle gold medal in both Aspen and Tignes, Grand Prix win, Dew Tour gold medal. Simply put, she is the best female in the park.
- 3. Angel Collinson- Angel went big this year scoring her first film segment with TGR skiing along with Seth Morrison, Dana Flahr and Sage Cattabriga-Alosa up in Alaska. Give her another year and she will likely be at the top of this list.
- 2. Ingrid Backstrom- Another year and another impressive performance by Ingrid. She stumps it every time the camera is on her. Her segment in Superheroes of Stoke with Michelle Parker may have been the best segment of the movie because they we're both sending it big.
- 1. Michelle Parker- Parker totally crushed it this year in her segments in Superheroes of Stoke portrayed just how versatile of a skier she is whether she is in the back country or the park, she is proving to be the best female in the sport.
Top 10 Male Skiers:
- 10. Cody Barnhill
- 9. James Heim
- 8. Todd Ligare
- 7. Mark Abma
- 6. Seth Morrison
- 5. Tom Wallisch- Pennsylvania represent! Wallisch has been so good these past few years, just destroying the slopestyle scene, winning 2012 XGames slopestyle gold, winning both the Breck and Killington stops of the Dew Tour last season and finishing 2nd at Snowbasin. I am very excited to see his upcoming film.
- 4. Richard Permin- I don't think there is any other skier that has shot to the forefront of skiing in the past two years as much as Permin has. Whether he's crushing an Alaskan face or skiing some epic pillow lines in Japan he is always bringing some high energy.
- 3. Eric Hjorliefson- Hoji goes big, real BIG! Watching his segment in this years MSP film he put on a clinic for cliff hucking, it was awesome to see. His endless pillow line in 4FRNT's Dang was another real treat for the audience.
- 2. Sean Pettit- (See Richard Permin) Pettit is so much like Richard, except that may he may send it a little bigger. Honestly, no one makes it look as easy as Pettit does with his ability to incorporate tricks and skiing switch while skiing some very hairy lines. It seems as if MSP plans on having Pettit and Permin do segments together all the time now, which the audience has to love. Their Japan segments this year long with Riley Leboe can get anyone dreaming of deep powder lines.
- 1. Sage Cattabriga-Alosa - Sage is Sage. There really isn't much that needs to be said about Sage, year in year out he is sticking steeper, gnarlier, and flat out more bad ass lines than any one else out there.
- Quite honestly Permin, Hoji, Pettit and Sage are interchangeable, almost everyday I change my list. You could rearrange them in whatever order you'd like and I probably wouldn't argue. These four guys are the face of freeskiing right now.
Happy New Year everyone keep on shredding!
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