AUSTRALIA – Professional American skier Andrew Pollard, who just finished his career on the Freeride World Tour, stopped in Australia for some skiing while on his way to New Zealand. With the help of his sponsor, Pit Viper, Pollard checked out Hotham’s freeride competition, did some skiing at Thredbo, and talked conditions with Australia’s Mountainwatch.
“US professional freeride skier Andrew Pollard joins Reggae Elliss in Thredbo for a quick interview in this week’s snow report. Andrew was in Hotham last weekend to check out the junior and qualifying Freeride comps and talks about the potential for freeride events in Australia and the depth of Australian talent he’s seen. As for the snow report – it’s all about perfect morning groomers and chalky firm snow off piste with softer wind drifts. With thanks to our friends at XTM Performance.“
It would be awesome to see more Freeride World Tour events throughout Australia. As Pollard says, just a decent Junior tour in the country and you’ll start seeing some serious kids come out of the Land Down Under. Growth in the sport should be one of the FIS’s main focuses, so we’ll see what happens in the future!