Big Sky freeride athletes overcome challenging conditions in world competition

Hayes Livernois and Elijah Singer bring Lone Mountain skills to the Austrian Alps

By Mario Carr EBS CONTRIBUTOR

On Jan. 24, local freeride athletes Elijah Singer, 17, and Hayes Livernois, 16, traveled to Ski Resort Kappl in Austria to compete in the Freeride Junior World Championships after qualifying last winter.

This international competition includes qualifying athletes between 15 and 18 years old. For both Big Sky freeriders, it was their first time competing at the World Championship level. Singer, a snowboarder, has followed his brother Isaac to the Junior World Championships twice before. Livernois, a skier, had never visited the Alps in winter and was blown away by the scenery. 

The window for competition was Jan. 20-25, and both athletes were there several days before the window in order to get settled in. 

“We all were getting super stoked the first few days,” Livernois said. 

The snow was deep, and it kept coming down while the athletes were there. Singer and Livernois described glorious bluebird powder days on Jan 21-23.

“Blue sky pow, waist-deep every lap. We were all just wondering why the comp hadn’t happened yet,” Livernois said.

A venue change was announced on Jan. 23 due to increasing avalanche danger. The venue was changed from the famous Quellspitze face to the Hausberg, a spot much lower on the mountain. Organizers built several jumps on the smaller venue in order to give athletes more opportunity to get airborne. 

As is standard for European freeride competitions, Singer and Livernois were prepared to compete with only a visual inspection of the venue—athletes and their coaches plan their run simply by viewing the venue from below with binoculars. In North America, athletes have the opportunity to run the course before competition. With visual inspection, the snow on the venue stays fresh and is only impacted by whatever avalanche mitigation may have taken place—and by the athletes who drop in before you. Livernois and Singer were practicing their visual inspection skills leading up to the competition and were disappointed to not be able to put those new skills to the test on the Quellspitze.

Singer’s coach, Rhett Leuzinger, was confident in Singer’s ability to compete well on the new venue, as he believes Singer is a very well-rounded rider. The two did everything they could to enjoy the snow in the days leading up to the competition, and to remain positive as plans continued to change.

“The stress of the comp being delayed was definitely a bummer,” Leuzinger said. Getting the event done early in the competition window is ideal because then all the athletes can continue to ride together without the stress of the competition distracting them, he explained.

On the day of the competition, 80 mile-per-hour winds prevented the chairlifts from spinning. Snowcats brought the athletes to the top of the venue for an on-snow inspection where they were allowed to ski through the venue and plan their line. Due to warm weather and rain overnight, the powder was turned to slushy heavy snow. Instead of visual inspection, on-snow inspection was encouraged in order to help pack down take-offs and landings on the venue. The sun was out as the competition started, but most athletes ended up competing in freezing rain. Commentators continuously emphasized the extremely challenging conditions. 

Results and recaps

Girls began the competition, with 10 snowboarders and 13 skiers dropped before the boys snowboard competition began. Singer dropped in ninth out of 13, putting together a smooth and fast line including a great method grab that impressed the commentators and his coach, and a 360.

He unfortunately lost control after hitting a mogul in the bottom third of the run. Singer said he could not see it, and he wasn’t alone—the flat light and sticky snow conditions near the bottom sent many snowboarders cartwheeling forward that day. Frustrated by his unexpected wipeout, Singer threw his hands in the air, knowing that he had put together a great run through the most challenging sections of the course. After taking a breath, knowing that his wipeout would prevent him from placing well, Singer threw a backflip right before crossing the finish line. 

This crowd-pleasing gesture had many fellow competitors cheering, but ultimately disqualified Singer—intentional inversions result in disqualification at the Junior level of freeride competition. He placed last, although his overall run may not have reflected that rank. 

Singer celebrated his 17th birthday in Spain just days after the competition. He plans to continue competing, but hasn’t decided if that will be at the junior level or the adult level—at 18 years old, he could attempt to qualify for the Freeride World Tour. He loves freeriding and hopes his skills will land him opportunities to create movies and videos documenting the sport.

Livernois dropped in 19th out of 30 male skiers. He lined himself up for a 360 with some big air, and after completing the rotation seemed to have a hard time spotting his landing.

Overcast skies and dropping temperatures resulted in very flat light and firmer snow conditions. The firm and unexpected landing sent Livernois to his back and ejected one of his skis. He completed his run with his goggles up and a shrug though the finish line, and finished in 25th place out of 30.

Livernois said that this crash and the adverse conditions he experienced have only made him more hungry and excited to compete at this level again while he is still eligible for two more years.

Freeride is much more than a competition to Singer and Livernois, it’s their passion. Both athletes were thrilled to reunite with peer athletes and make more friends while riding with some of the best in the world in unforgettable conditions before the competition. The conditions of this competition were unforgettable as well. Control is the most important category that judges will critique riders on in this competition, and there were many things outside the athletes’ control, ranging from weather to when they would be dropping in.

Singer and Livernois are both thankful to everyone who has supported them on the road to this competition and hope to continue to grow as freeriders.