David Wise didn’t just win another gold medal at this year’s Winter X Games in Aspen Colorado. He crushed it. Wise scored a 94 in the first round of three, letting other competitors know that they would be chasing him all night, His run included back to back double cork 1260’s and a switch double cork 1080. All of that just means that his technical difficulty was just off the charts. David did all of that while also maintaining insane amplitude, with an average height of 17 feet above the deck. He kicked it up a notch with a 95 in the second round. Here’s the run:
Having watched Wise train with the Alpine Meadows Freestyle team for many years, it’s easy to understand how he does it. His level of discipline and drive to do things right is not surpassed by many athletes. In a sport that is dominated by teens and young single males – David was dubbed by ESPN as the “Father Of The Superpipe”. Wise is married and has a daughter and currently resides in Reno. Being a dad has not hurt his game one bit. Congrats to David and family.
Brita Sigourney, another Alpine Meadows Freestyle alumnus, did not do as well last night, ending in fifth place. Brita put things together in her third run but fell a few points short of reaching the podium in a very competitive women’s field. The women’s gold was won by Maddie Bowman – another amazing young lady from Sierra-At-Tahoe.
Once again, it’s a disappointment that Alpine Meadows has made such a huge investment in the current terrain park but has failed to build a superpipe for the last few seasons. Clearly, a superpipe does require a huge investment in snowmaking and maintenance, especially if there is no dirtwork foundation in place. But it’s clear that David Wise and Brita Sigourney will be headed to the Winter Olympics in 2014. If you look at the way Northstar markets their connection with Shaun White – you have to wonder why Alpine Meadows does not make that effort as well. There were Squalpine advertisements running during the X Games last night, but just one brief shot from Alpine…and not one mention of a mile long terrain park.