Build My Own FeedBD athlete Jacqui Edgerly reports on her win at the South American Freeskiing Championship
I finally arrived in La Parva, Chile after driving up 45 curvas from Santiago, where the cherry blossoms were blooming and the green grass was on the rise. I put on my skis and headed up the hill. The snow was nasty, cheese grater and bulletproof! It hadn’t snowed in a week or two and the temperatures had been in the 60s and now had dropped to freezing. A constant stream of competitors and old friends were moving in along with a storm.
The next few days were filled with many Piscolas at the local bar, freeskiers charging the mountain in masses, a bit of snow and a whole lot of wind. When the storms come into the La Parva area the wind is vicious. This makes for the most epic wind lips and cornices I had ever seen. You can imagine a whole group of competitive skiers raging together, airing off every little hit they can find. Back flips, threes…you name it, it was a constant show of energy and happiness. All this was a great way for everyone to get into the competition vibe and mindset. All we had to do was hope for a break in the weather.
Waking up the next morning the wind was howling but the clouds were high. The competition was on. One inspection and one run, little did we know! I was feeling strong and focused going into the competition. The venue was my type of run, straightforward, open and fall line. Skiing McConkeys fast and fluid with a few airs in the mix, seemed to work out pretty well! Well enough to put me in the lead for day one. The next morning we all woke up to a no-visibility day: foggy, windy and snowing. Impossible and dangerous for a competition. The judges called the event off and the day one results became final. The entire crew was bummed as we were all dying to ski a second day on the Face. I had just won my first World Tour Event. This has now put me in the lead for the overall standings. Revelstoke, BC will be hosting Stop 2 in January.
After a little trip down to winter I am more stoked on skiing than ever before! I cannot wait for this upcoming season...it feels like it will be a good one.
— Jacqui Edgerly
United States / English 
