Will Brommelsiek and Holly Enderle win the 2011 King of the Hill Title
Some of the most talented big mountain snowboarders gathered at the Thompson Pass near Valdez, Alaska, last week to participate in the 2011 World Extreme Freeride Championship. The tournament is also known as King of the Hill big-mountain snowboarding competition.
The competition on the Bro Bowl venue featured both men and women battling it out among their respective fields for the title of the King of the Hill. In the men’s field, Alaska’s local, Will Brommelsiek, prevailed over his competition to become the King.
On the other hand, another local, Holly Enderle, prevailed over other riders in the female field to clinch the win and the title.
Brommelsiek, who is originally from Anchorage and currently resides in the Lake Tahoe area, did not have an easy task ahead of him as he got on his snowboard. He was up against a line-up consisting of extremely skilled and fearless riders. The race for points
was on, as everyone rode down the snow-covered slope with extremely steep faces, narrow chutes, cliffs and cornices.
There were plenty of good scores by the end the contest, but nobody had been able to score as much as Brommelsiek. His score of 482 points remained the highest, beating the runner-up, Ross Baker, by 13 points. The Anchorage-based rider had just gotten himself
the title of the 2011 King of the Hill.
Ecstatic over achieving the coveted title, Brommelsiek said, “It's like walking around in a dream. Knowing who has won this contest [in the past], and having this happen with all my friends around -- it's the best thing that's ever happened to me.”
In the women’s field, Enderle, who also resides in the Lake Tahoe area but is originally from Juneau, found herself competing against a fair amount of talent pool. The intimidating line-up competing for the desirable title, included last year’s winner Vera
Janssen among other extremely talented riders. It was never going to be easy for the local to overcome such a strong line-up. However, her determination and self-belief allowed her to land an amazing run that earned her a score of 410 points.
The score sealed the fate of the contest as Enderle finished 12 points ahead of the runner-up, Iris Lazzareschi. Last year’s winner Janssen finished in seventh place this year with a score of 359 points.
The King of the Hill tournament was scheduled to take place last month, but after Alaska suffered one of its worst snow conditions in 30 years, the organisers had to postpone it. However, the April snow-showers arrived and helped to make the terrain suitable
by covering the exposed rocks and resetting the snowpack. This kept this competition from completely getting cancelled and the riders got a chance to participate in the thrilling showdown.
Hopefully mother-nature will get a little more generous next year and help to ensure that the King of the Hill competition returns. The event should be able to successfully delivers the adrenaline-pumping action which fans of snowboarding and big-mountain-riding
love to see.
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