The FIS Freestyle, Freeskiing and Snowboarding World Championships is taking over Utah this week, and a couple of hometown heroes stepped up to put on a show for the local crowd. In front of a raucous packed house under the lights at Park City Canyons Village, Julia Krass and Alex Hall went huge during the inaugural Ski Big Air World Championships, unfurling a series of tricks that have each looking like prime contenders for the event’s inclusion in the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Krass finished the night by taking home the World Championship Silver Medal in the women’s competition during what was her first ever big air event. The Hanover, New Hampshire native who lives and trains part time in Park City is an accomplished slopestyle athlete, but she’d never before taken her skills to the more all-in format of big air. Krass started the night with a right side double cork 1080 safety grab—three spins while going off axis twice and grabbing her ski edge—before upping the ante with a switch 1080 safety grab—three spins while taking off and landing backwards—a trick she’d never done in competition before.
Hall—a local Utah shredder who is fresh off a career-defining X Games Gold Medal victory in January—finished just off the men’s podium in fourth place. Wearing the lucky sweater his mother gave him last year for Christmas, Hall threw down a left side double cork 1620 and a massive left side switch double cork 1440 with a seatbelt grab to challenge for a spot on the box right up to the end of the evening.
Photo: Rocky Maloney
You can check out the highlights from Krass and Hall by visiting the US Ski and Snowboard website. They’ll both be taking center stage on Wednesday, February 6 at Park City Mountain for the World Championships Slopestyle Competition. Check out the rest of the World Championships schedule including men’s and women’s halfpipe, moguls, aerials and more to see the world’s best in action.
Feb 6, 2019
11:00 a.m.- FREESKI SLOPESTYLE FINAL – PARK CITY VILLAGE AT PARK CITY MOUNTAIN
7:00 p.m. – FREESTYLE AERIALS FINAL – DEER VALLEY RESORT
FEB 7, 2019
7:00 p.m. – FREESTYLE TEAM AERIALS FINAL – DEER VALLEY RESORT
FEB 8, 2019
11:00 a.m.- SNOWBOARD HALFPIPE FINAL – PARK CITY VILLAGE AT PARK CITY MOUNTAIN
7:00 p.m. – FREESTYLE MOGULS FINAL – DEER VALLEY RESORT
FEB 9, 2019
11:00 a.m. – FREESKI HALFPIPE FINAL – PARK CITY VILLAGE AT PARK CITY MOUNTAIN
7:00 p.m. – FREESTYLE DUAL MOGULS FINAL – DEER VALLEY RESORT
Feb 10, 2019
11:00 a.m.- SLOPESTYLE FINAL – PARK CITY VILLAGE AT PARK CITY MOUNTAIN
4:00 p.m.- CLOSING CEREMONIES AND HEADLINE ACT LUPE FIASCO, HOSTED BY DEER VALLEY RESORT – MAIN STREET, PARK CITY
