NZ freeskier Nico Porteous (Wanaka) has finished fourth in the men’s Ski Superpipe on the final day of competition at X Games Aspen. Saving his best until last, Nico’s fourth run included a trick never before landed in competition, a double cork 1620.
Using the new jam format introduced for the first time at this year’s X Games, the eight finalists has thirty minutes to take as many laps through the pipe as possible and were judged on their entire work rate across that time rather than individual top scoring runs.
Nico’s campaign got off to a tricky start with the binding popping off his ski on the landing of his very first hit but he came back firing on his second run, gunning for the 1620 at the top of the superpipe but not quite sticking the landing.
Sitting in seventh place coming in to his third run, Nico landed rightside and leftside 1260s which bumped him up into fifth place with enough time on the clock for one final run. Sticking with an all-or-nothing approach Nico once again dug deep in the trick bag, made four and a half rotations through the air and this time stomped the landing, with the judges improving his ranking by one place.
Repeating his gold medal performance in the Great Clips Men’s Ski SuperPipe competition, Aspen native Alex Ferriera successfully defended the gold medal. Overtaking fellow Aspenite Aaron Blunck in his final run, Ferriera’s runs included a right down the pipe double flatpsin 1080 japan, left double 1440 mute, back-to-back 900s and amplitude upwards of 16 feet. X games rookie Brendan McKay finished in third place.
