Stories
LE BENT SKIER ISAAC FREELAND IS 2020 FREERIDE WORLD TOUR MEN’S CHAMPION!
Freeride World Tour rookie and Le Bent athlete Isaac Freeland took the tour by storm this season with consistent runs, strong line selection and a bag of tricks that saw him end up on top of the men’s ski field with one final event remaining in Verbier, Switzerland. While a decision was made to conclude the tour early and the Bec des Rosse face would not be skied on account of Covid-19 and burgeoning government lockdowns, a silver lining was our boy Isaac walked away with the world championship and rookie of the year title! As much as everyone would have loved to see the guys and gals throw down in Verbier – Isaac included – congratulations are in order! Isaac bagged an 11th at the first event in Kicking Horse, BC, before really kicking into gear with a 5th in Hakuba, Japan, followed up by back to back 2nd place finishes in Fieberbrunn, Austria and Ordino Alcalís, Andorra. Check out the 2020 recap and some of Isaac’s sends below. If you find yourself with some free time these coming weeks – you can rewatch all the events at Freerideworldtour.com. Isaac (middle) before the Kicking Horse event in BC. Isaac's wearing our Heather Gray Lightweight Balaclava. Pic cred: FWT/Dom Daher Isaac mid run/mid air at Kicking Horse. Pic cred: FWT/Dom Daher Isaac wasn’t the only team rider on the circuit this year. Skier Andrew Pollard, off the back of winning the 2019 rookie of the year award rounded out the Men’s podium in 3rd. Andrew Pollard sending one at Kicking Horse where he grabbed 3rd. Pic cred: FWT/Dom Daher Congratulations also to snowboarder Blake Hamm who finished 7th overall with a 3rd place result in Ordino Alcalís, Andorra, and to Emma Patterson who competed in the ski women’s event for the first time. See below for the full statement from the Freeride World Tour on the decision to cancel the final event. Statement From FWT: Following the current situation concerning COVID-19, the Grande Finale of the Freeride World Tour 2020 and all Qualifier and Junior events have been cancelled. Due to COVID-19 and the new measures put in place by the Swiss government today, we are sorry to announce the cancellation of the 2020 Verbier Xtreme, as well as all Junior and Qualifier events. The situation surrounding COVID-19 is evolving rapidly, and the priority of the Freeride World Tour before everything else is to insure the health and safety of its fans, athletes, team and their peers. The World Champions will be discerned from the current 2020 season rankings which will remain as they currently stand. We would like to thank all of the athletes, fans, and staff for this incredible season.
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SAFE AS Avalanche Clinics Championed by One of Le Bent’s Best – Elyse Saugstad
Avalanche safety championed by one of our best
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LE BENT WELCOMES ELYSE SAUGSTAD TO THE FAMILY
ELYSE SAUGSTAD – WELCOME INTERVIEW It was obvious to us Elyse Saugstad belonged on Le Bent's team. Not because her husband Cody Townsend’s a bona fide le family member, but because of the way she skis… she bloody rips! And that’s putting it lightly. A third-generation Alaskan, it’s unsurprising most of Elyse’s award-winning ski segments feature a spine line that’ll blow your mind. Freeskier Magazine’s “2018 Female Skier of the Year” came down under this season with Cody to sample some of our antipodean offerings and while we didn’t ski much in the way of spines, we skied plenty of pow and struggled to keep up with Elyse and dozens of Thredbo groms as they darted amongst the snow gums. We also had the pleasure of getting Elyse in some more of our gear, knowing she’d been in Cody’s Le Send sock since its inception. We thought we’d officially invite her to join the team. We caught up with Elyse to discuss her skiing, her time in Australia and to welcome her as the newest member of the Le Bent family. LB: Hey Elyse, thanks for taking the time and welcome (officially) to the team! Thanks, I’m thrilled I’m joining forces with Le Bent! So, how’ve you been since visiting us down under? Still tucking into the vegemite and VB’s? Ha, vegemite is just too much for my taste buds. I gave it another shot on this last trip to Aus and quickly reminded myself that I am not a fan. In all seriousness though, what did you think of Aus? You’d been before but how did you find the skiing down under? Australia is an F-ing amazing country and visiting again rekindled the love I had previously developed for it. Cody Townsend and I totally scored with the storm of the winter, which made for a fabulous experience. The mountains may not be as big and steep as they are in Alaska, but the terrain is playful and ultimately really fun. There are so many ways to be entertained on skis that it was impossible not to have a good time! Of course, you visited with Cody to help put the finishing touches on his Le Send sock. What did you think when Cody first started to work on that? I thought it was a great idea. As an athlete sometimes the brands we work with are so large that they are not interested in our feedback and ideas, and for us athletes that can be a bit of a bummer as we put so much time into what we do and really know what works and doesn’t in regards to our gear. So when Cody was approached by Le Bent and they gave him carte blanche to design the best backcountry sock possible it became the perfect pairing, so to speak, between the two. I got to test the socks all last winter, and as good as they are I found they could use a few tweaks specific for the ladies. Whereas Cody lives on the skin track these days, you’re the one jumping out of helis and putting together the adrenaline pumping, show stopping segments. Congrats on taking out IF3’s “Best Female Freeride Performance” for your part in Winterland! We went to the premiere in Sydney and your part was definitely a crowd favourite. How does that segment compare to some of your others like All Us? Thanks for the props! My segment for Winterland was essentially building upon what I’ve accomplished previously in my career. Not in the sense of the actual skiing as my segment in Winterland is not above and beyond my past few years of ski segments with TGR and MSP, but I’ve finally got a bit of traction going from my filming over the last few years and received the offer to join TGR on their highly coveted, marquee, big-budget Alaska trip. I was viewed as someone that could perform in big terrain and be worthy to film. There’s so much money, production and logistics going into a trip like that you understandably have to prove beforehand that you deserve to be there. Getting this opportunity was something I’ve worked towards my entire career so it was quite special. It’s not always serious shredding with you and Cody though is it? For example, ‘It’s called backcountry skiing’ and the recent Mica Heliskiing vid… How important is not taking yourself too seriously and having a bit of fun with the video parts too? Yes, even though the skiing portion of those edits were still full on, intense days filled with pressure to get the shots (it’s work!) Cody and I feel that we ski because it’s fun, and in the grand scheme of things it shouldn’t be taken too seriously. We are really lucky to call skiing our jobs. Plus, audiences don’t need to be reminded of work as skiing is an escape for them. It’s all about perception - so why bother getting your panties in a wad when you can choose to just enjoy the moment. When you visited, we skied with a bunch of groms from the Thredbo Mountain Academy and we know a lot of the girls loved getting a chance to ski with you and ask questions. What words of wisdom do you normally tell young girls and boys about being a professional skier? There’s lots I’ve learned over the years of being a professional skier so really it’s almost too broad of a question. That being said, I think that the underlying need to becoming a professional skier is having a ridiculous amount of passion for the sport. If you have the passion it will carry you through the lows you’ll surely experience as well as it will inspire you to continually work hard during the highs so you don’t become stagnant. Speaking of words of wisdom, what would you like to see from us at Le Bent? Complete and utter domination of the outdoor world’s sock industry! Other than the Le Send sock what other gear of ours would we find you in? The neck gaiters are all time. They’re soft, breathable and warm. My face is the most sensitive spot on my body so the products that I use for it need to be the best quality possible. While you obviously managed some riding in the Southern Hemisphere with us, your northern hemi season is about to kick off. Can you tell us much about your plans for this season? Chase powder and scare myself a little. Film trips usually don’t emerge until the snow starts flying and locations start taking shape, but there has been talk of filming in BC. I imagine it’ll be in the cards as the terrain and snowfall are consistently some of the best in the world. Awesome, best of luck with those projects and we’re looking forward to seeing you in Le Bent. Yewwww. Thanks! Stoked to be a new addition to the family. ABOUT ELYSE SAUGSTAD Age: Young enough to send’er and old enough to know I need to be discretionary about it Hometown: Tahoe City, California, USA Home Resort: Alyeska Resort, Alaska, USA Nationality: USA Sponsors: Blizzard/Tecnica, Orage, Scott, Alyeska Resort, Hestra, Arcade, Ortovox Favourite Le Bent gear: Le Send Backcountry Sock Follow Elyse here: Instagram
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"BEST START TO THE SEASON I’VE EVER SEEN"
1st of June, 2019 is looking more like the 1st of August! Photo essay within... If you follow skiing and snowboarding in Australia you’ve probably come across @australian_backcountry. Not necessarily experienced it for yourself – the backcountry that is – but seen its embodiment through the images produced by the man behind the social handle – Jake Sims. Jake comes on board this season as a Le Bent ambassador and the only thing more exciting is the fact this season is shaping up to be one for the books. Indeed the official snow depth measured by the folks from the Snowy Hydro Scheme up at Spencers Creek on Tuesday, June 4th measured 71.3cm... the most snow this early in the season since 73.8cm on June 1st, 2000. But we don’t need to take The Snowy Hydro’s word for it! A bona fide expert on BC conditions as his Instagram handle suggests, according to Jake, it’s the “best start to the season I’ve ever seen.” THE WESTERN FACES AND A FRESH WINTER COAT. Just a few days ago, on the first day of June 2019 – Jake and a crew of keen backcountry sliders headed out to the western faces of Kosciuszko National Park. They gave the crowds at Perisher and Mt Buller a miss – despite the resorts opening to the public a week before usual. There was a different kind of skiing now open to the public, but it required more work than purchasing a lift ticket and offered a whole heap more vertical relief. Alongside Jake was his friends Erryn Reeder (blue jacket) and Trent Shaddock (black jacket). The trio started their tour at 4am and returned to their homes in Canberra at 9:30pm. NOT YOUR TYPICAL APPROACH TO BURLY BACKCOUNTRY LINES. In total, they covered over 40km's, with about 32km's of that on splitboards. We asked Jake how much vert he thought they’d covered? He laughed. “Not sure on vert, don’t want to think about it haha.” “We rode from Perisher, so 8km up and 8km back. Followed the snow plough the whole way up. The road was closed so had to take bikes. There were contractors stuck at Charlotte Pass so they were clearing the road to get them out.” ERRYN REEDER PASSING THROUGH A SNOWED-IN SPENCER’S ON HIS WAY TO THE TOP OF AUSTRALIA. “The ride was pretty sketchy, fun times trying to navigate black ice with a head torch in pitch black at 630pm.” Jake and the crew got some of the first turns of the season back in May but says the difference in cover was “night and day”. “May was more just the novelty of getting out there after the first fall, lots of rocks, lots of ice and we had to keep that in mind when riding. The latest tour was almost like mid-winter, the cover was great, snow was great and you could ride hard for some fun turns.” Kosciusko received upwards of 90cm of snowfall in a little over a week and it shows. “Usually [you expect] cover like this after the second or third snowfall, maybe late June early July depending on the year." Said Jake. "Conditions were great, some of the best snow I’ve ridden in our backcountry. The snow in the "elevator" chute at Club Lake was the best I’ve ever ridden there, lots of stoke after that run.” The crew also had the pick of the litter out there in terms of busyness. A far cry from the 2000+ people that converged on Mt Buller for the resort’s early opening. “There were a few people out there getting amongst it but they were coming from Guthega. So glad we didn't have to do the bracken bash from Guth, it's horrendous this time of year. When we arrived at Carruthers we had the whole area to ourselves.” Said Jake. IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY YOU CAN MAKE OUT THE FIRST TRACKS OF 2019 DOWN THE FAMED ‘SENTINEL’ ... BUT THEY’RE NOT JAKES! When asked who the culprit was? Jake said the man responsible was, “a solo warrior called John.” “What a line it was, he smashed it! When we came over the rise and we saw it we were like, ‘whoever dropped that had the run of the day!’” Follow Jake Sims on Instagram for more photos like these and mountain wisdom like the line he left us with at the end of our interview… “Any day in the backcountry is better than a day at work.” Photos: Jake Sims Words: Matt Wiseman
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