A longtime favorite of the X Games, slopestyle joined the Olympic ranks at Sochi this year. Freewheeling American snowboarders Jamie Anderson and Sage Kotsenburg won gold over the weekend, and strong competitors on the skiing side taking to the course this week (watch the聽).
In slopestyle, skiers traverse a terrain park with features, such as rails and jumps. A team of judges score competitors based on the difficulty of the line they choose, the difficulty and execution of the tricks they perform鈥攎ore variation in tricks gets a higher score than performing the same one repeatedly鈥攁nd the amplitude they get off jumps.
North American skiers, whether hopefuls or hobbyists, can take advantage of two noted schools for honing aerial skills and tricks:
Windells Camp聽
Located in Mount Hood, Oregon,聽聽offers its summertime Adult Freestyle Ski intensive to every type of enthusiast: from those who鈥檝e never hit a box to athletes a season away from being X Games qualifiers. Marsha Hovey, the camp鈥檚 director, believes skiers can learn more in a week with her coaches than in an entire season on their own.
Campers鈥攅ven newbies with only a basic understanding of carving and speed control鈥攚ork on 180s and 360s, small jumps, slides on flat boxes and rails, riding and landing switches, and ollies.
鈥淪lopestyle is extremely difficult to fully master because the sport is constantly progressing. Its pros are always pushing the envelope of what we think is possible,鈥 Hovey observes. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also one of the most rewarding sports out there.鈥
Adult-only camps go from June through August and run $1,699 to $1,799.
Momentum Ski Camps
Based in Whistler, British Columbia,聽聽teach slopestyle to recreational and competitive devotees alike. Founders Julia and John Smart are both former Olympians, with Julia competing in 1992 for Great Britain in ballet skiing, and husband John competing for Canada in moguls at the same games.
Julia says attendees should bring solid skiing skills to camp. In the purpose-built park, each skier is matched to the terrain鈥攔anging from beginner jumps, rails, and boxes, to huge jumps鈥攖hat best suits their level.
鈥淲e make great use of our two giant airbags, our water ramps, and our trampolines to safely help skiers develop their air skills before trying tricks on snow,鈥 Julia explains. 鈥淲e have a T-bar running right through our terrain, allowing skiers to lap the park quickly and get lots of mileage each day. Every evening, our daily video reviews, featuring one-on-one analysis, further help campers progress more quickly.鈥
The adult-only camp costs $1,540.聽