SCOTT USA Athletes Stay on Top at the World Tour

Standing on the top of the north face of Mt. Baldy at Snowbird resort, the competitors' view was down a 40 degree slope into rugged and seasonally thinning terrain. Fifty-three athletes attempted to qualify for the final run by tackling the course at speeds up to 40 miles per hour, airing off cliffs, and navigating through jagged rock bands.

In two days of tough competition, men's leader Kaj Zachrisson of Rattuik, Sweden, was knocked out of contention when he fell in the second day of competition, making room for SCOTT USA athletes Hugo Harrison and Rick Greener. 2001 World Tour Champion Harrison skied two runs that scored within a point of the leader, Guerlain Chicherit of France, to come in a close second place. In an impressive comeback, fellow SCOTT USA athlete and Alta/Snowbird native Rick Greener moved up from 17th to the podium, finishing in third place.

Defending champion and SCOTT USA athlete Jamie Burge held onto her title by narrowly beating out Whistler's Jennifer Ashton by just 1.4 points. Ashton, airing off 30-foot cliffs and navigating through narrow rock bands with ease and control was awarded the highest women's score of the day. But the groundwork Burge had established in earlier runs was too solid to knock her out of first place. Ingrid Backstrom of Crystal Mountain was pushed back a spot from the day before, finishing in third. Local favorites Linda Peterson and SCOTT USA athlete, Laura Ogden of Alta/Snowbird, finished fourth and fifth respectively.