Alex Hall battled through tough conditions today to take second place at the Laax Open, marking his first World Cup podium finish of the season.

While the Laax Open has long been a prestigious and popular contest in the world of snowboarding, this year the event welcomed freeskiers for the very first time. Conditions were challenging, with low visibility and heavy snow that picked up during the second run of finals. Despite the weather, Hall was able to put down a clean and stylish run in classic A-Hall fashion. Hall showed off his technicality and creativity on the rail section before stomping a left double cork 1260, switch right double cork 1080, and switch left double cork 1440. Joining A-Hall on the podium was Switzerland’s Andri Ragettli in first and Birk Ruud of Norway in third. 

Cody LaPlante was able to put down two solid runs, the second of which featured a right double cork 1440 and left double cork 1260, to earn sixth place. Colby Stevenson finished in tenth and Mac Forehand in eleventh.

Unfortunately, the women’s finals were canceled due to unfavorable weather and heavy snow, so the results from qualifications stand. Noway’s Johanne Killi took first, her second World Cup win of the season, while Switzerland’s Sarah Hoefflin was second and France’s Tess LeDeaux third,  respectively. U.S. athlete Grace Henderson, who claimed her first World Cup podium finish earlier this season, took fifth. Rell Harwood was 11th.

The U.S. Freeski Slopestyle Team now heads back to the States, where Mac Forehand, Colby Stevenson, Alex Hall, and Maggie Voisin will compete in the 2023 X Games in Aspen, Colo.. The rest of the team will gear up for the 2023 Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain on February 1-4. 

Results

Men

Women

Alex Ferreira and Birk Irving went one-two to close out the back-to-back freeski halfpipe contests in Calgary, Canada. 

Ferreira added another first-place podium result to his resume and was seen twirling his pole, in classic fashion, to celebrate being back on top. Right beside him is Irving, who proved his result by stringing together enough technical, consistent and unique tricks to land second among the strong field of competitors at the Calgary Rodeo. 

After his second run, which ultimately landed him atop the podium, Ferreria was yelling to the crowd, "Thank you so much, I am so grateful! Let's go!" In his second run, dropping into the pipe switch, Ferreira put together a cork-10, double-cork-12 and a massive double-cork and set the bar nearly out of reach for the other competitors. But, then came Irving.

Irving, now the overall leader in the FIS World Cup standings, was firing on all cylinders. With 27 FIS World Cup starts under his belt and four podiums, Irving knows what it takes to break into the top three. His second run of the event is what led him to second place, when he confidently landed a left-side-cork-10, double-cork straight into a double-flat-spin and a massive double-cork - he had just enough to edge out third-place finisher Noah Bowman of Canada. 

David Wise, who challenged the podium through the entire contest was fifth. Tristan Feinberg who landed three double corks in one single run was ninth and Cameron Brodrick, who was in his first finals of the week in Calgary, was 10th.

On the women's side, Hanna Faulhaber, who was third in the first contest of the week, led the charge for the U.S. team and finished in fourth. Now, Faulhaber will return back to the States for her "favorite event ever" the 2023 Aspen X Games.

Right with Faulhaber was teammate Svea Irving, who was fifth. Irving, throughout her three runs in finals, threw down serious amplitude and clean, technical tricks. Eileen Gu of China was back on top of the podium for the second time this week, winning the contest to close out another Calgary Rodeo. 

Now, the U.S. Freeski Team resets before the last stop on the domestic World Cup circuit, the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain from Feb. 2-4. 

In just a week, Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen, Colo. will welcome back the best freeskiers and snowboarders for three days of competition. Snowboarders and skiers from around the world will compete in various contests with over 30,000 fans expected to tune in. X Games Aspen kicks off on Friday, January 27th and goes through Sunday, January 29th.

This year, 22 U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes were invited to compete in the big air, slopestyle, knuckle huck and halfpipe contests. 

Olympic gold medalist Alex Hall, who is the only skier to win the X Games in four different disciplines, slopestyle, big air, knuckle huck, and real ski, will return to chase his sixth X Games gold. In 2022, Hall threw a double cork 2160 to win and stunned everyone in the crowd, leaving even the announcers speechless.

"I'm excited to hopefully take a new approach to some of my tricks and have fun out there," said Hall. "Pushing my creativity will be the goal and the knuckle huck contest should be a great time, too!"

Alex Ferriera, a two-time X Games champion (2019 and 2020 superpipe) will also return to the pipe this year, along with several teammates who have been around the world competing in World Cups, most recently in Calgary, Canada and Laax, Switzerland. 

For the women, Maggie Voisin will make her 2022-23 contest debut. Voisin, a seven-time X Games medalist, will return to the main stage and compete in the slopestyle contest. Along with Voisin is local Aspen athlete Hanna Faulhaber who will return to her home mountain to compete at her "favorite event ever" - the X Games superpipe. Faulhaber was third in 2022 and is looking forward to "having the hometown crowd surrounding the pipe and cheering their loudest for me," she said. "Last year was such an amazing time and to walk away with a third place was a true dream come true. I can't wait to be back there in a week and do it all again and put on the best show for everyone." 

On the snowboard front, Colorado locals Red Gerard and Lucas Foster are slated to drop in. Gerard will compete in slopestyle and Foster in superpipe. Maddie Mastro, who won X Games bronze in 2018, has accepted her invitation and will compete in the superpipe competition. In the 2022-23 season, the snowboarders have been competing around the world, most recently in halfpipe and slopestyle contests in Laax, Switzerland. After X games, they will head to Mammoth Mountain, California for the 2023 Toyota U.S. Grand Prix. 

Athletes 

Snowboard

• Chris Corning
• Jake Canter
• Sean FitzSimons
• Lucas Foster
• Red Gerard
• Dusty Henricksen
• Julia Marino
• Maddie Mastro
• Zeb Powell

Freeski 

• Aaron Blunk
• Hanna Faulhaber
• Alex Ferreira
• Mac Forehand
• Alex Hackel
• Alex Hall
• Birk Irving
• Brita Sigourney
• Colby Stevenson
• Maggie Voisin
• David Wise
• Quinn Wolferman

Schedule 

For the most up-to-date schedule, click here.

Jan. 27, 2023

• Women's Snowboard Slopestyle
• Women's Ski Big Air
• Ski Knuckle Huck
• Men's Snowboard SuperPipe

Jan. 28, 2023

• Men's Ski Slopestyle
• Women's Snowboard SuperPipe
• Women's Ski SuperPipe
• Women's Snowboard Big Air
• Men's Snowboard Big Air

Jan. 29, 2023

• Women's Ski Slopestyle
• Men's Snowboard Slopestyle
• Snowboard Knuckle Huck
• Men's Big Air
• Men;s Ski SuperPipe

Hanna Faulhaber led the day for the U.S. Freeski Team with a third-place finish in the first halfpipe contest of the Calgary World Cup. 

In classic Faulhaber fashion, she started off her runs with a straight air blunt - reaching an amplitude that is higher than most of the competitors on the circuit. Landing clean left cork nine's and left seven mute's, Faulhaber had what it took to land on the podium with Canada's Rachael Karker and China's Eileen Gu, who was back in competition after 11.5 months. 

Teammate Riley Jacobs, who made the halfpipe finals for the first time in her career, finished the contest in sixth place. Jacobs, who did not fall once in her three runs through the finals, landed clean tricks throughout the entire pipe. Only 19 years old, Jacobs is hungry for more. 

"I could not be more excited about tonight," said Jacobs. "I put down one of my best runs and really felt like I was able to show what I have been working on. After not only making my first finals but bumping up to sixth place, I could not be more pumped. The vibes are mindblowing!"

On the men's side, five men made the halfpipe finals, making up 50% of the finalists. Alex Ferreira led the way, finishing the evening in fourth place after being bumped out of third last minute. However, Ferreira's third run was one of the highest of the days, but Canada's Simon D'Artois edged him out of third place by less than a point, respectively. In the top ten, the U.S. men had a strong showing. In fifth was David Wise, sixth was Birk Irving, seventh was Aaron Blunk, and ninth for Hunter Hess. With the contest ending late into the evening, the athletes will have time to rest before the competition resumes on Jan. 21st. 

RESULTS

Women

Men

U.S. Ski & Snowboard has announced the 44 student-athletes who will represent the United States in five different sports at the 2023 FISU World University Games in Lake Placid, N.Y., Jan 12-22, 2023. 

The FISU Winter World University Games, which occurs biannually, is the largest multi-sport collegiate event in the world after the Winter Olympics. This year, student-athletes will compete in Lake Placid and represent their countries in the same venues as the 1972 Winter Olympic Games.

The World University Games dates back to 1923 and has since brought together college students between the ages of 17-25 to compete in multiple sports in one centralized location. This year, nearly 1,500 athletes from 43 different countries will compete in 12 disciplines: cross country skiing, alpine skiing, biathlon, figure skating, freestyle skiing, ice hockey, nordic combined, ski jumping, curling, short and long track speed skating and snowboarding. Throughout the 10 days of competition, 86 events will take place with over 250 medal opportunities. 

ROSTERS (Name - University - Birthdate)

Alpine

Women

• Carissa Cassidy - Colby College - 08/20/2002
• Sophia Tozzi - Middlebury College - 09/12/2003
• Ainsley Proffit - University of Alaska Anchorage - 03/21/2001 
• Mia Hunt - Denver University - 03/21/2001
• Tegan Wold - Montana State University - 01/11/2003
• Charlotte Maurer - Colby College - 02/3/2001
• Ella Spear - Colby College - 03/28/2001
• Kaitlyn Harsch - University of Colorado - 01/1/2001
• Cheyenne Brown - Colorado Mountain College - 11/26/1999
• Ashley Humphreys - Colby-Sawyer College - 01/4/2000

Men

• Jacob Dilling - University of Colorado - 10/19/1999
• Tanner Perkins - Montana State University - 05/18/2001
• Jeremy Mathers - University of Utah - 07/22/2001
• Spencer Wright - Boston College - 06/29/1999
• Nicolas Richeda - Middlebury College - 03/12/2002
• Oliver Parazette - University of Utah - 03/6/2002
• Jack Reich - University of Colorado - 06/10/2022
• Hunter Eid - University of Alaska Anchorage - 02/22/2001

Cross Country 

Women

• Anabel Needham - Michigan Tech - 01/8/2001
• Nina Seemann - Dartmouth College - 10/20/2002
• Kendall Kramer - University of Alaska Fairbanks - 06/26/2002
• Sophia Mazzoni - Montana State University - 03/29/2001
• Lucinda Anderson - University of New Hampshire - 12/3/2000
• Renae Anderson - Bowdoin College - 09/15/1998
• Annie McColgan - University of Vermont - 01/23/2002
• Erin Bianco - Colby College - 10/8/1998

Men

• John Steel Hagenbuch - Dartmouth College - 10/1/2001
• Will Koch - University of Colorado - 02/21/2002
• Finn Sweet - University of Vermont - 03/18/2002
• Gregory Burt - University of Vermont - 2002
• Adam Witkowski - Michigan Tech University - 02/12/2000
• Alexander Maurer - University of Colorado - 08/15/2002
• Garrett Butts - Alaska Pacific University - 02/16/2001
• Cameron Wolfe - Dartmouth College - 10/23/2000

Parallel Snowboarding 

Women

• Alexa Bullis - University of Colorado at Colorado Springs - 03/1/2000
• Kaiya Kizuka - Penn State - 05/26/1999
• Mika Kizuka - Lehigh University - 01/22/2002
• Cecelia Jones - Denver University - 10/20/2001

Men

• Hunter Bernard - Springfield College - 10/23/2000
• William Massie - Penn State - 12/2/2000

Snowboardcross

Women

• Abigail Benser - Westminster College - 09/1/2001
• Paige Hughes - Northhampton Community College - 06/5/2004

Men

• Hunter Bernard - Springfield College- 10/23/2000

Skicross

• Jack Mitchell - Mission Ridge Ski Education Foundation - 03/3/2003

Find the World University Games schedule HERE.

Birk Irving took the big win at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix halfpipe to close out the weekend of events at Copper Mountain. Sister Svea Irving was just off the podium in fourth place.

It was Irving’s third win at Copper, who hails from just down the road at Winter Park, Colorado, but his first win since 2019. “I’ve gotten a few World Cup wins before, but this one hits a little different,” said Birk. “Home turf, whole family is here—it feels really good. It’s awesome.”

Two Canadians stood on the podium with Birk: Brandon MacKay in second and Noah Bowman in third.

Irving threw a huge third run to burst onto the top spot and held it. His run featured a switch left 10 blunt, a massive right dub 12 Japan, left dub 14 safety, switch right 7 tail and a left double down the pipe high safety. His last trick thrilled both the crowd and his competitors alike, with a progressive blocked 720.

“It’s like a double Michalchuk 7,” said Birk. “It’s like a pretzel flip—so it’s kinda weird. I’ve done it a few times before. I had it in my head today, but I wasn’t sure I was going to need it, but at third run I was like, yeah I’m definitely going to need it!”

The competition was fierce, with a number of men vying for the top three. Alex Ferreira stood on the podium throughout the comp, but was bumped off in the last run and took fourth. Hunter Hess finished eighth.

Svea also threw down two solid runs, but just missed the podium, taking fourth. But she stood with the team at the base of the pipe to support her brother in first. Behind Svea, Hanna Faulhaber was sixth, Brita Sigourney seventh and Carly Margulies eighth. Margulies fell first run and did not start the last two runs.

Rachel Karker of Canada was first with teammate Amy Fraser second. Kelly Sildaru of Estonio was third.

The Toyota U.S. Grand Prix wrapped the weekend of events at Copper with the freeskiers now looking toward slopestyle in Font Romeu, France after the new year.

Be sure to tune into the tape-delayed broadcast of the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix and Visa Big Air presented by Toyota at Copper Mountain on Sunday, Dec. 18 and Christmas Eve.

RESULTS
Women’s halfpipe
Men’s halfpipe

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST - Please refer to this link for most up-to-date schedule.

Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022
12:30 p.m. - Toyota U.S. Grand Prix snowboard halfpipe finals - tape delayed on NBC and simulcasted on Peacock
4:30 p.m. - Visa Big Air presented by Toyota freeski and snowboard finals - tape delayed on NBC and simulcasted on Peacock

Saturday, Dec. 24, 2022
5:00 p.m. - Toyota U.S. Grand Prix freeski halfpipe finals - tape delayed on NBC and simulcasted on Peacock

Brother and sister Hunter and Grace Henderson were the top performing Americans at the Visa Big Air presented by Toyota at Copper Mountain, a FIS Freeski World Cup, with Hunter finishing fifth for the men and Grace seventh for the women.

Hunter put together two solid jumps—a switch left dub 18 and a left dub 16—to score his best big air result in his career. Grace laced her second hit, with a left dub 10 and then put down a switch left 9.

The siblings were stoked to have put down solid finishes together. “Traveling around with my sister is one my favorite parts of doing all of this,” said Hunter. Grace agreed, “Not many people get to have your best friends and your family with them, and I have my very best friend and my family with me everywhere I go and it’s awesome.”

Rookie Troy Podmilsak was sixth, with a big first score on his right triple cork 18 that placed him in the running for a podium, but couldn’t quite put down a second jump to keep him in the top three. Mac Forehand was eighth, throwing a huge left 1980 on his second jump. Alex Hall was ninth, putting down a switch left 18, and stuck to his style of skiing with a unique right dub 19 pull back for his second and third hit.

Birk Ruud of Norway took the win, with three massive hits that scored all jumps in the 90s. Timothe Sivignon of France was the second and Sebastian Schjerve was third.

Canadian Megan Oldham won for the women, while Mathilde Gremaud of Switzerland was second and Olivia Asselin of Canada was third.

The Visa Big Air presented by Toyota was a huge success, with excited fans cheering at the finish of the scaffolding big air jump that came right down to the village. Copper feels like a home base for many of the U.S. Freeski Team skiers, who spend weeks training at the venue each fall and return for multiple comps throughout the season.  

“We’ve been competing at Copper since USASA Nationals,” said Grace. “With my family and friends here, it’s so much fun. It feels like home.”

The halfpipe team competes next at Copper with the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix halfpipe comp going off on Saturday, Dec. 17. Watch it live on Outside. 

RESULTS
Women’s freeski big air
Men’s freeski big air

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST - Please refer to this link for most up-to-date schedule.

Friday, Dec. 16, 2022
3:00 p.m. - Toyota U.S. Grand Prix snowboard halfpipe finals - streaming LIVE on Outside

Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022 
11:30 a.m. - Visa Big Air presented by Toyota snowboard big air finals - streaming LIVE on Outside
3:00 p.m. - Toyota U.S. Grand Prix freeski halfpipe finals - streaming LIVE on Outside

Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022
12:30 p.m. - Toyota U.S. Grand Prix snowboard halfpipe finals - tape delayed on NBC and simulcasted on Peacock
4:30 p.m. - Visa Big Air presented by Toyota freeski and snowboard finals - tape delayed on NBC and simulcasted on Peacock

Saturday, Dec. 24, 2022
5:00 p.m. - Toyota U.S. Grand Prix freeski halfpipe finals - tape delayed on NBC and simulcasted on Peacock

The U.S. Snowboard and Freeski Teams are in Copper Mountain, Colo. for the Visa Big Air presented by Toyota and the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix contests.

It's cold in Colorado's Summit County, but that didn't stop the U.S. Snowboard Team and U.S. Freeski Team from stacking skiers and riders from Wednesday and Thursday's qualifiers into Friday and Saturday's finals. All athletes that qualified to finals are listed below.

All qualifier runs and final runs are LIVE and FREE on outside.com.

TOYOTA U.S. GRAND PRIX

SNOWBOARD
Women:
Maddie Mastro
Bea Kim
Sonora Alba

Men:
Lucas Foster
Taylor Gold
Joey Okesson
Chase Josey

FREESKI
Women:
Brita Sigourney
Hanna Faulhaber
Carly Margulies
Svea Irving

Men:

VISA BIG AIR PRESENTED BY TOYOTA

SNOWBOARD
Women:
Hailey Langland
Julia Marino
Courtney Rummel

Men:

Chris Corning
Luke Winkelmann

FREESKI
Women:
Grace Henderson

Men:
Troy Podmilsak
Mac Forehand
Hunter Henderson
Alex Hall