Kiwi Skis To Podium Finish In Mountain World Tour

Hamish Acland (25) from Mount Somers in Canterbury has finished an impressive third in a field of 59 on the final stop of the International Free Ski Association World Tour in Kirkwood, California.

Hamish Acland (25)

As the final stop of the tour, the world’s top big mountain skiers were going all out as the battle for overall tour champion took place in Kirkwood’s infamous Cirque, an area permanently closed except for this extreme competition.

After the first day of competition in firm conditions, Hamish was standing in 6th with a tough day ahead in the finals due to a highly competitive field. On day two, his first run included a very tight line at the top, a thread the needle double drop and powder turns to two natural kickers. In the mid section he skied a narrow chute that lead around on to a cliff with a sliver of snow to ski down and off. This impressive line was the crux of his success being totally different to everyone else’s. It wasn’t until he reached the bottom that he realised how much he had impressed both the judges and the crowd who were “going nuts”.

Hamish took a similar line on his second run with a large air replacing the previous snow cliff slither.

“By the end of the second run I was absolutely shattered,” said Hamish. “It didn’t know if I’d done enough to keep my third place but at prize giving, there I was on the podium and I was only two points away from second.”

For the first time this year, New Zealand athletes competed on the tour as members of an official New Zealand team, rather than individuals in previous years, thanks to input and support from the Free Ski Association of New Zealand. This allows the athletes to focus on spending more time training and less on the logistics of travel and competing.

Hamish said that while competing on the World Tour has been incredibly tough, it has been made easier by the formation of the newly formed Free Ski Team.

“Flying from Europe to the States for the first competition of the Tour at Snowbird is an expensive mission, especially when you don’t place. I was utterly gutted, poor preparation from lack of snow in Europe. Then it was back to Europe to Les Arcs where I faired better, coming 9th, despite the terrible conditions from here I made the decision to go to the finals and it paid off.”

Now Hamish is looking forward to the New Zealand winter season, saying the Kiwi skiers and mountains are becoming a hot topic internationally. He’ll continue to train with the goal of becoming IFSA World Tour champion in 2006.

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