Aspen – In what was unquestionably the most exciting skier SuperPipe contest in X Games history, Tanner Hall ascended to his throne as the Godfather of Jib.
In a best-of-three runs contest, the drama ran high, but not as high as the super-amped skiers soaring well past 20 feet above the lip of the 16-foot SuperPipe.
The ultimate pipe duel emerged between Maine’s Simon Dumont a two-time X Games pipe gold medalist – and Montana’s Hall as the two premiere ski tacticians stomped the most progressive tricks in jib skiing’s history.
Hall’s switch entry into his first-ever contest switch 1080 for his first hit was countered by Dumont’s absurdly huge, double-grab first hits. Hall’s surgically precise 900s and 1080s down the pipe were countered with Dumont’s 1260s, the only four-spin hits of the contests.
Not even Dumont’s final run, arguably the most technical ever seen, was enough to knock Hall from his second run perch at the top.
“The judges do their job. That’s how they get paid. I’m just out there skiing,” Dumont said. “Hey, silver medal, gold medal. I’m just out there trying to put on a good show. He’s got two now. I got two. A little drama for next year to see who can get their third.”
The contest ended with Hall’s 95 point second run besting Dumont’s third run 94 and delivering the icon his second consecutive SuperPipe gold.
It’s a win Hall – who broke both his ankles in a horrific gap jump crash two years ago – once feared would never come again.
“I remember two summers ago sitting in my house with both my feet up wondering if I’d ever ski again and now I’ve got my second X Games gold medal in pipe,” he said. “It’s a crazy feeling for me. It’s true you could have whatever you want as long as you try.”
Carbondale’s aerial master Peter Olenick regained his X Games glory with the sickest trick ever thrown in SuperPipe competition. His custom-made and one-of-a-kind Whiskey Flip, a spinning 180 double backflip, culled outrageous ovations from the well-past-standing-room-only crowd at the base of the pipe.
On his third run, he stomped the brazen trick and a super smooth 1080 at the end of the pipe for a score of 87.33 and his second X Games SuperPipe bronze medal.
He first landed the Whiskey Flip three weeks ago after deciding to bolster his quiver of tricks for the upcoming X Games.
“I was like, if I’m going to go compete in pipe this year, I’m going to have to have something better than everyone else,” Olenick said. “I had seen the trick in my head before and I .. went with it one day in Breck. I hucked it and landed on my side in the wall. Then I finally landed the fourth one, then fell six more times and then landed ten in a row.”
Staff Writer Jason Blevins can be reached at 303-954-1374 or jblevins@denverpost.com
