The 2016 Swatch Freeride World Tour returned to Haines at the end of March. It was the fourth stop on the tour, and one that Southeast Alaskan Ryland Bell won in the men\u2019s snowboarding category.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am just really happy and stoked. The snow is perfect. Last night I saw this line that was really calling to me, and everything came together and worked out. It feels good, especially on the home turf,\u201d Bell said, according to an email from Americas manager Tom Winter.<\/p>\n
American skier Drew Tabke of Seattle was also a highlight in Winter\u2019s mind, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is so fantastic for Ryland to win in Haines. He was a wild card in 2015 and had a rough ride,\u201d Winter said. \u201cThis was really redemption for him. He crushed his run and it was no question that he was the best on the face that day. Drew brings a different kind of mentality to the Swatch Freeride World Tour. He\u2019s an artist. I thought he skied one of the best runs in Andorra, really fluid and creative.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tabke said \u201cI\u2019m super happy to have a podium in Alaska. The Bec is important \u2014 Verbier is important \u2014 but for me Alaska is the big one, so this is a pretty big deal for me.\u201d (The Bec des Rosses, a mountain in the Pennine Alps, overlooks Verbier, Switzerland, where the skiers and snowboarders are competing in early April.)<\/p>\n
\u201cI got to ski an untracked spine pow (powder) run for a podium finish, so it was a kind of dream come true,\u201d Tabke added.<\/p>\n
Winter wrote that the snow quality in Alaska \u201creally needs no introduction. Alaska has its reputation for a reason. But the real challenge for the athletes here is that the venue, called \u201cThe Venue\u201d is really two venues in one. You have the upper section, very steep, technical with massive cliff and pillow lines, then a relatively mild middle section and a lower section that at any other mountain would easily be a stand-out competition venue in its own right, so it\u2019s really two venues in one. That means that the athletes have to up their focus and stay on it from top to bottom as it is so long and you need to come into the bottom part rocking and rolling because the run isn\u2019t over and there are a ton of points you can grab on the lower section.\u201d<\/p>\n
Watch Tabke\u2019s ride at http:\/\/freerideworldtour.com\/calendar\/swatch-freeride-world-tour-vallnord-arcalis-andorra-2016<\/p>\n
The Tour\u2019s final weekend is April 2 to April 10 in Verbier, Switzerland. It streams live at http:\/\/freerideworldtour.com\/calendar\/swatch-xtreme-verbier-2016.<\/p>\n
The link to the Haines event is http:\/\/www.dailymotion.com\/FreerideWorldTourTV<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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