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Defago skis Bec des Rosses
Monday March 15, 2010 - Email this article to a friend
The Olympic Downhill gold medalist tackles one of the steepest off piste freeride runs in The Alps. The Verbier face where the Freeride World Tour is held. Check out the video. Meanwhile Julia Mancuso has entered the FWT actual event.
The mighty Bec Des Rosses is seriously steep and is the mountain where the Verbier leg of the Freeride World Tour is held.
It is far and away the steepest face of them all and the only way to get there is to hike to the top.
Didier Defago has done just that and he appears to have done it on racing skis rather than powder skis.
He likened it to skiing the steepest Downhill race on the circuit; the Hahnenkamm in Kitzbuhel.
A few of us here at PlanetSKI have skied the Bec des Rosses and we can report it is seriously, seriously scary.
See the video below of one of the best downhill racers in the world tackling one of the steepest freeride slopes of them all.
The final of the Freeride World Tour takes place this coming weekend, March 20th, in Verbier on the Bec des Rosses.
It has just been announced that the Olympic silver medalist and one of the star's of the Vancouver Games, Julia Mancuso, will take part.
Mancuso is undoubtedly one of the exciting wild cards for this year’s competition in Switzerland.
“Competing in the Verbier Xtreme is something that I've been wanting to do since I came to Verbier to participate in another event a couple of years ago," Mancuso says.
"The Bec des Rosses is challenging. Last year when I was visiting in Verbier I knew it was something I wanted to conquer. I've never done a freeride competition but when I saw that the Xtreme was scheduled after our World Cup tour ended, I thought, 'Why not?' It’s another way I can challenge my own skiing and free skiing has always been a passion of mine.
"Growing up in Squaw (Valley, Calif.), I have had so many inspirational skiers to look up to. Of course JT Holmes and Cody Townsend have helped me push my limits, and I am really in awe of everyone out there living their passion and skiing for the love of the sport,” Mancuso added.
PlanetSKI will be there and will be providing full reports on the competition and the partying.
See this PlanetSKI video report below on the event last year.
It's quite something.
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