The BSF Freeskiing Team just returned from Copper Mountain, Colorado where they competed at the USASA Freeskiing Nationals. This event brings the best skiers from across the country to compete against each other. It can be an intimidating week for athletes as they compete on large jumps and rails and against other very good skiers. Our athletes did an amazing job representing Bridger Ski Foundation, and Montana as a whole. 

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Our youngest competitor, 12 year old Hudson Dail from Helena, MT, put down two very solid runs in slopestyle, showcasing his consistency and style. It was good enough for 15th out of 34 kids in his heat. Emmett Turner, 14 years old from Bozeman, MT, competed in the boys 11-14 age rail jam. This event was the toughest event to get into out of the whole competition. Emmett was able to throw down some very nice tricks and ended up 66th out of 80 of the best competitors. 

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Rylan Messner, a 15 year old from Bozeman, competed in men’s open class rail jam. This event is the most competitive, with athletes in the field also competing in NorAm events across the world. Rylan impressed the judges and made it to finals. He wasn’t able to quite put down the tricks that he wanted but still finished in 7th out of 60 competitors. 

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Drake Pellman, 17 year old from Bozeman, was handed his fair share of obstacles during the week. After arriving in Copper, he ended up with a 104.2 degree fever. After a trip to urgent care and some meds, Drake still competed in his slopestyle event. He put down a great run and qualified for finals. In his first run of finals, Drake fell and dislocated his shoulder. Ski patrol popped it back into place at the bottom of the course. After getting a professional opinion, Drake iced his shoulder that evening and competed in rail jam the very next day. He skied incredibly well during the event and brought home a bronze medal! That is the grit that our athletes from Montana bring wherever they go. 

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