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New venue a hit for Wrangle the Chute at Kicking Horse

A new venue that provided athletes with more vertical and new features to hit was a nice change for Wrangle in its sixth year.
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J.F. Labreque hits some sweet air during one of his two runs during Wrangle the Chute at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort. Labreque was one of 50 competitors in the two day event and finished 16th in the men’s ski category.

It’s safe to say that Wrangle the Chute took a big step up in its 6th year.

This year, the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort freeski event took place on Truth and Dare, a pair of long, steep runs on the north side of Terminator peak. The new terrain gave competitors that much more vertical to play with and included several massive cliffs and jumps that both shocked and awed the sizeable crowd at the base.

After Friday’s preliminary run, two of the thirty athletes stood out from the rest in the showcase mens freeski event, Fernie’s Dylan Siggers  and Pemberton’s Logan Pehota. Pehota scored a 34.67, placing him second to Siggers and his 36.83, meaning Pehota needed to go big on his final run to have any chance at the title and the $1,000 cash prize for first place.

Unfortunately for him, Pehota ran into some trouble midway through his run and lost a ski on top of a sizeable cliff. He somehow managed to recover his ski and continue with his run, but that mistake was enough to ruin any chance he had at the title. Pehota finished 13th after the disappointing second run.

The door was then wide open for Siggers to grab the title and he put down a solid, clean run to give himself the second best score of the day and a comfortable four point lead over his next closest competitor, Vinzenz Keller of Rossland. Jordy Kidner (who posted the top score of day 2 with a 34.67), Spencer Romanchuk and Tom Peiffer rounded out the top five.

Golden’s Ave Perry took the men’s snowboarding competition by a solid seven points while Laura Silva took home the women’s competition which included 12 competitors (11 skiers and a single snowboarder). Jessica Pettet was the lone, and therefore top, female boarder.

The atmosphere at the base of the mountain was complimented by fans who watched the action from up on CPR Ridge and a DJ and emcee entertained the crowd, especially during a lengthy 50 minute delay on Sunday because of low visibility. An all-you can eat buffet for athletes and fans followed the event, while an after-party that included a performance from The High Kicks happened later that night.