Fraser McDougall hitting the booter at the WHC.
Before…
…and after.
Day one of the World Heli Challenge happened yesterday on the backside of Mt. Albert near Wanaka, New Zealand. Snow conditions and safety were deemed unfavorable for a judged competition. In fact 10-15 minutes after competitors had landed at the top of the venue, a good portion of the face fractured leaving a massive pile of chunky debris. The rest of the face had a 2-3 inch unbreakable ice crust.
So, the day of riding went unjudged. Competitors sessioned a kicker they built for an hour or so, as well as hit some of the natural features on slope even though conditions were far less than ideal. Above, is a video of Kiwi skier Fraser McDougall hitting the jump. A more extensive edit will be available shortly.
Today will be a down day, and a storm is expected to move in soon after. While better snow conditions will be required to safely hold a competition, a day of sunshine is too. The guides were hopeful that there were other areas that didn’t have such poor snow conditions.
