The Toyota U.S. Grand Prix is the last chance for skiers to secure a spot in February’s Winter Olympics in Italy, and some Roaring Fork Valley locals made it to the finals: Hanna Faulhaber, Tristan Feinberg, Nick Geiser and Alex Ferreira.
Faulhaber is two years out from a knee injury, and she said that she pushed herself too far last year.
She has been working to add more to her halfpipe runs and rebuild her confidence this year, and it seems to have worked out for the 21-year-old. Faulhaber made it to the finals in fourth place.
“It’s definitely stressful to leave it to the last event,” she said at the base of Buttermilk Mountain on Thursday following the qualifiers.
“But at the same time, it is my hometown — home pipe. [I’ve] got the crowd with me and [I'm] excited to be able to represent Aspen and, hopefully, be able to represent USA.”
Another 21-year-old Aspen local, Tristan Feinberg, said that despite snowy conditions and a slow start to the winter season, he felt good about his runs.
He placed third, making it to the freeski halfpipe finals, which he calls “just another day on skis.”
“I’ve been really hungry to showcase my skiing at the highest level,” he said. “So, I'm just really excited to ski on Saturday, and it looks like the weather is going to hold out for us.”
Aspen locals Alex Ferreira and Nick Geiser also made it through to the finals. Ferreira, who already has a secured spot on the U.S. Olympic team, scored in the 90s for both of his runs to win his heat. Geiser took third place in his heat with a score of 86.
Faulhaber, Feinberg and Geiser are all looking for a spot on the Team USA Olympic ski roster, which will be announced on Saturday night at Gondola Plaza at the base of Aspen Mountain. The top men’s and women’s athletes will earn a spot.
The freeski halfpipe finals will follow from 1 to 3 p.m. at Buttermilk Mountain.
The snowboard slopestyle finals will also take place at Snowmass Ski Area on Saturday from 9:30 to 11:15 a.m., but no Roaring Fork Valley locals are competing in those races.
British skier Kirsty Muir took first place in the women’s freeski slopestyle competition, followed by Canadians Megan Oldham and Elena Gaskell. For the men’s races, American Mac Forehand took first place, followed by Estonian Henry Sildaru in second and Norwegian Ulrik Samnoey in third.
Japanese snowboarder Ono Mitsuki took first place in the women’s snowboard halfpipe finals. American Madeline Schaffrick took second place, and Japanese snowboarder Sena Tomita took third.
Japanese riders Yuto Totsuka and Shigeno Schuichiro placed first and second for the men’s snowboard halfpipe, respectively, and American Alessandro Barbieri placed third.
