Elyse Saugstad and Kirkwood’s Craig Garbiel win 2008 Subaru Squaw Valley USA Freeskiing Open

By davelaplante • on February 16, 2008

This year’s Subaru Squaw Valley USA Freeskiing Open is consistently bringing out the best of the best in big mountain freeskiing’s elite. The sold-out roster of 120 competitors faced wind-packed snow conditions during the second leg of the competition earlier this week, with Elyse Saugstad of Alyeska, Alaska grasping the women’s title with a total of 97.51 points. Squaw Valley’s own Allie Donovan took second with 92.26 points and Crested Butte, Colorado’s Tanya Christensen claimed third place with 89.14 points. The men’s competition blew away spectators with non-stop powerhouse skiing with perfectly-executed backflips, multi-hit cliff drops and airplane turns. Kirkwood, California’s Craig Garbiel –who rides for Reno’s MOMENT ski company — claimed top honors with 115.01 points, followed by Mt. Bachelor, Oregon’s Jesse Bryan with 110.76 points and Bryce Newcomb of Sun Valley, ID, who put in a hard-charging performance to earn third place, with 110.63 total points.