Flying high

Spring break may only be a week away, but the Purgatory Freestyle and Four Corners Freeride teams are putting the finishing touches on their ski season.

Last weekend, March 10-12, bumpers from around the state gathered on Upper Bull Run at Purgatory for the State Mogul Skiing Championships. The state championship featured more than 100 mogul skiers ages 8 to 14 from ski towns around the region, including Winter Park, Aspen, Telluride, Vail, Steamboat Springs, Pajarito and Summit County.

Purg freestyler Jenna Mulligan busts a backflip

The Purgatory Freestyle Team struck gold during Saturday’s Devo series with a sweep of the U11 boy’s category. Balin Kirk won gold while Corbett Thomas of Albuquerque earned silver and Chase Connors took home bronze. Amara Kirk, 9, won gold for the girls U11 category, posting the top score of the day with her signature daffy-spread aerial.

The Rocky Qualifier Series were held Friday, with local athlete Hunter Rawles taking home a bronze in the U15 category and eighth overall. Aiden Quayle and Kai Skowlund posted their top runs of the year to take fifth and seventh, respectively, for U15’s. Meanwhile, Megan Faherty, of Farmington, took fifth in the U15 girls and seventh overall in her field. Sunday brought the dual mogul finals, with Faherty finishing sixth and Hunter Rawles tying for ninth.
“It was a great event,” Purgatory Freestyle Team Director Kirk Rawles said. “I am really proud of our hometown mountain and the excellent performance put in by the athletes.”

A Steamworks clambake fundraiser for the team will be held this Fri., March 17, at the Powderhouse, and all are invited.

While freestylers were bashing bumps on Upper Bull, the Four Corners Freeride Team, coached by Brian Buerger, headed north to Crested Butte for the Junior National Freeskiing Championships.

After a fierce weekend competing on CB’s infamous steeps, local skier Lucy Hall, 13, took home a bronze. The event was sanctioned by the International Freeskiers Association, which was established in 1996 by the late great Shane McConkey (1969-2009.)