Mullen second in extreme freeskiing championships
CRESTED BUTTE, Colo. — Former Sandpoint resident Caleb Mullen parlayed consistently strong runs into a second place finish as more than 100 skiers competed at the U.S. Extreme Freeskiing Championships last weekend at Crested Butte.
Mullen, a 32 year-old currently living in Crested Butte, advanced to the Super Final with seven other skiers, each getting the rare chance to shred the Hourglass/Bermuda Triangle, an area off-limit to the everyday skier but opened up for the final day of competition. The area features a 1,000 foot vertical drop, with a sustained pitch of 40-60 degrees, and many of the skiers wrecked as rocks and trees were completely bare in places. The head judge said the Hourglass is different because it’s so steep and every move is so committing.
Mullen finished with a score of 105, good for second place and a $3,000 payday on the first stop of the 2009 Freeskiing World Tour.
“It was a pretty exciting day. They opened up a permanently closed area for us,” said Mullen. “It’s the scariest run on the mountain, no doubt about it.”
There are no man-made obstacles in free skiing, with each competitor free to choose a route down. It’s adrenaline-packed, to be sure, with 30-60 foot jumps not uncommon. At the same time, it requires a fluidity and grace to make it down both fast, and with style.
“Free skiing, more than anything, is choosing your line and trying to flow down the mountain,” described Mullen. “It’s always a little nervous at the top. I made it through this one, the rest will be downhill.”
Mullen will compete in the second stop of the tour on March 10-15 at Snowbird. His second place finish has him believing he’s got a shot to win the five-event tour.
“I think I do have a chance,” said Mullen, whose dad Owen was a mogul skier in the 70s and currently resides in Sandpoint. “It’s anybody’s game. I have a good amount of points and I’m coming in with positive expectations.”
For more on the sport and tour, check out “www.freeskiingworldtour.com.”