For Immediate Release:
Wrangle the Chute 2011 Results for the Ultimate Big Mountain Showdown
February 7th, 2011, Golden, BC.... It was arguably the biggest two-day big mountain showdown ever hosted in the west. This year’s Wrangle the Chute blew off the barn doors exceeding expectations and leaving spectators in complete awe. The showdown combined three unique elements including big mountain skiing / riding, a massive terrain park jump finishing off with a bucking bronco ride on the custom kicking horse – suspended between two snowcats, accompanied with a grandstand patio, live DJ and outdoor BBQ.
Athletes laid down serious claims on the cash purse that was on the line, with numerous athletes dropping cliff lines surpassing 60feet. The judges were overwhelmed with the ski and ride talent displayed at the event, however at the end of the day Mathew Montandon from Nelson took home the grand prize, skiing a huge line and pulling a 360 spin off a 50ft cliff with keeping his run fluid and smooth. This allowed him to gain two extra points against Daryl Treadway who pushed the skiable limits of Big Mountain terrain that would even have a pack of Billy Goats in shock. 15 Year old Rossignol Athlete Logan Pehota took third place as he silenced the spectators, stomping a massive exposed line then rolling into the finish line tossing down a massive spin off the jump.
“In three short years of hosting Wrangle the Chute, the event is quickly surpassing the quality of any other freeride event in the world,” states Steve Paccagnan President and CEO, Kicking Horse Mountain Resort. “The athletes challenged the course and exceeded the expectations of the record breaking crowd. The entire resort engaged in the cowboy spirit and welcomed visitors with a good old yeah haw!”
Thirteen women also partook in the action with Wendy Burns, from Golden, taking an aggressive approach to the Big Moutain Terrain and adding some lasso style to her bronco ride on EJ Hector. Emma Whitman from Sun Peaks stepped up and threw down on the finish line jump impressing the crowd with her overall style, while Zoya Lynch rounded off a solid third place finish.
The event also included a unique one day under the gun photo shootout named ‘Wrangle the Shoot’ which took place Saturday, February 5th. The vision of the event is to put the photographers under the gun to capture the day’s action and provide five images at the end of the day for an art show which celebrates the first day of action. Prizing was awarded to the following: Best Lifestyle – Alex Giesbrecht, Best Action – Andrew Mirabito, Best Landscape – Alex Giesbrecht, People Choice Photographer – Ruben Krabbe and Promoter’s Choice – Andrew Mirabito.
Special thanks to all the partners who helped make Wrangle the Chute come to life, including the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort Big Mountain Centre, Rossignol, Red Bull, Big Rock Brewery, Misconduct Wines, Wrangler Jeans, Smith Optics and Kombi Gloves.Kicking Horse Mountain Resort is a world-class four-season destination resort located 2.5 hours west of Calgary, nestled between the Purcell and Rocky Mountains in the heart of British Columbia. Winter offers a fully integrated mountain resort experience and the most progressive in-bounds skiing in North America. For more information please visit www.kickinghorseresort.com.
For Media / Event Information:
Jordan Petrovics Media Relations and Events Manager Ph: 250-439-5529 Email: jpetrovics@kickinghorseresort.com
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]]>For now, its a waiting game... in the meantime, keep on riding like you do, Riley - fast & fun!! We're proud of you!
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Do it!! You've got until midnight of July 23rd, 2010.
We'll keep you posted on the outcome... your support is muchly appreciated!
Best of luck Adrian!! We're all rootin' for ya!
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http://www.bclocalnews.com/kootenay_rockies/thegoldenstar/opinion/87864437.html
Please accept the below as a letter submission to your paper, thank you.
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As the author indicates, it is welcomed for this letter to receive any publicity, print or other. I concur; it is an important view of the incident and should get more exposure. Being that it is contradictory of your views and perhaps those of the Golden Star, I am wondering if your paper will print it?
In anticipation (and hopes) that the letter written by Carry White currently in the Golden Star is met with many more educated and relevant opinions, I thought that this link could assist with understanding an insider's perspective to the sport of sledding, the back country in general, and the accident which occurred.
The unfortunate repercussions of this accident (aside from the two deaths, multiple injuries, and monetary cost of the rescue efforts) is that the two most relevant opinions on the matter, that of the back country users that were in the accident and that of the search and rescue members who attended the scene, will take much longer to be heard by the masses because these people will actually put some thought and sensitivity into the matter. The media, on the other hand, is very quick to paint an assumption based, one sided, dark, and blame ridden picture of the event and the accident and is conveniently in the position to reach the masses with their from the hip style of reporting. Unfortunately for the future of the sport of sledding and our back country access in general this is the image and portrayal of the accident first heard and accepted by the general population. Reports and opinions laden with no real facts and fanciful claims, example: "largest avalanche officials have ever seen". Where did you get this information? Did you attempt to verify this before printing it?
In general the reporting of this accident has been opposite the attached letter from Susie Rainsberry, a very well written insider's perspective with no real means of broadcasting to the general population. Hosting the letter on online sledding forums targets like minded persons, not the masses. Please print this letter, it is such a valuable view for the majority of people, like yourself, who are not back country users, sledders, or maybe in general even risk takers.
When you mention that "the event is known to have a party atmosphere" is it just me or does this read as if you are trying to present that in a bad light? Have you ever been to a sporting event? Did you partake in any Olympic celebration? Why do you feel a sledding event should differ, or is this again just a glimpse into your unknowingness about the topic of which you are writing?
There are many very professional and intelligent people from Golden that were involved with the accident; perhaps they too will offer some insightful words or letters. In doing so, you may learn that the accident which occurred was not part of the Big Iron Shoot out event, that it happened outside of the area and schedule pertaining to the itinerary of the event. Further, that to ride on Boulder Mountain costs $20 regardless of the day of the week, event or not, that it was not the event organizers charging the admission fee but the Revelstoke Snowmobile Club who were collecting their standard $20 dollar trail maintenance fee plus an additional $5 site clean up fee for this event weekend.
It snowed the week before this event, I would not be the least bit shocked to learn that there were 200 riders at any of our local riding areas, much like Kicking Horse was probably lined up to the convenience store Saturday morning. Like skiers and snowboarders, sledders are snow seekers, and like Susie alludes to with much more elegance than I have the time to attempt, they seek this fresh snow and this thrill accepting the associated risks. As many locals would agree, they too accept the possibility of accident or even death when their husbands, wife's, children, parents, friends, loved ones etc. go sledding, skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking, hang gliding, rock climbing, kayaking etc. This list goes on and on. And why do these people accept this potential for the unthinkable? Because they can see that this significant person in their life is not complete without that activity. That for them to live a life without that activity and those risks is to not live at all. The average and mundane is not for everyone, especially in communities like Golden or Revelstoke. Activities like those mentioned above are why many of us live here, and why many of us can respectively associate with each other and console each other when a tragedy occurs.
The victims of the recent accident do not need you or other media outlets to point out that their families will suffer, all these families need, expect, and deserve is your condolences and support during this difficult time. Portraying the Big Iron Shootout or the sport of sledding in a negative light is not helping these families to grieve, in fact is probably making this process harder for them as they, like you, question why they died at all, or maybe even start to believe they died unnecessarily. It was an accident, and there is no changing that. Whether or not these people died unnecessarily is on us; an accident is only truly an accident if nothing is learned from it. This is not to say something similar will never happen again though, see above about a life worth living and accepting risks.
I wholeheartedly agree with you in one regard, I hope that from this accident comes further accident prevention through education, awareness, and training. Not restriction or regulation. Let's embrace and support the back country activities that make our country, province, and town worth living in. Let's hope that our government does not respond with a knee jerk reaction negatively impacting our way of life or our town's economy. Let's hope that Bill 30 and any new similar laws stay shelved away in the filing cabinets of the Parliament Buildings where they belong, and not here in our back yards.
Heartfelt condolences and respect to the families of the deceased and injured.
Sincerely,
Nathan Briggs
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