For those that are in the dark, The World Heli Challenge is a 2-day heli-accessed competition based out of Wanaka, New Zealand. The event is comprised of two days, a ‘freestyle’ day and a ‘big mountain’ day. It is run over two weeks with the aim to fly on the best 2 days, with group activities filling in the down time. Altogether there were 39 competitors and 11 girls from 8 different countries. The high intensity of the competition days, which saw over 100 people shuttled in and out of the backcountry in 3 helicopters, would have been a logistical nightmare for most event organisers. But Tony Harrington and the WHC crew have been perfecting this operation since the event's inception back in 1995.
Maria Kuzma making her mark on Mt Albert
photo: Tommy Pyatt
The World Heli Challenge stands out as an event because it’s not about winning; it’s about making friends, skiing in sick locations, riding in helicopters, being followed by cameras like a rock-star and having two kick-ass days out in the mountains. It’s all for the experience. I have found that it is the other girls involved who make it count and this year it couldn’t have been a better line-up. There were chicks such as Janina Kuzma who just finished her season in 3rd place Overall at the FWT; Iris Lazz who came 2nd Overall in the 2011 North Face Masters; Callan C.S, who took silver at the X-Games Bordercross 2011 and grew up riding in her backyard in Alaska- learning how to shred pow before any type of race technique came into the picture; and others such as Victoria Beattie, who is not only a previous park slayer but now a judge and competitor at international big mountain events. We were there, shredding the venues, dancing in car parks, screaming in the helicopters and hollering as we watched each other compete.
Callan C.S getting some air on the freestyle day
photos: Tony Harrington
All the girls were thrilled to be involved in The World Heli Challenge but it came at a cost, that is a $2K+ NZD entry fee. Some were helped out by sponsors, others fundraised the money and a few paid it straight out of their own pockets. Was it worth it? Well, it really depends on who you ask and how much you are willing to sponsor them for! I personally think the worth of this event is all about the expectations you went in with. I have found that most expected helicopters, fun people, free beer, pow snow and blue skies. Some expected more, some less. I know that by the end of the Freestyle Day, all my expectations were blown out of the water and are now drying up somewhere as sheep feed. It was epic. We had a lot less time than most comps to inspect and build features but the snow was soft and the landings ample.
Shannan Yates showing off her style
photo: Tony Harrington
Nonetheless, this competition is first and foremost a media event, it’s one of the many great reasons to be involved as there is always someone close at hand, recording your experience. At least 40% of the 100 up in the mountains were from the media. With so much coverage on the hill you can understand why many of the girls were disappointed with the way in which the female athletes were overlooked in the media that was produced from this event. There was not one photo of a girl in action published in the 100+ photos sent out to the world's media with the press releases from the two days of competition. We don’t ski for cameras, but they sure are helpful if you’re trying to build up a ski career. After such a great experience, it’s not easy to bring up these issues but it’s important because exposure for female athletes is integral to the progression and involvement of women in this sport.
POW! Janina Kuzma, 1st hit of Extreme Day
photo: Tommy Pyatt
The main problem is, as Shannan Yates-Cochrane points out, that in many instances event organisers expect the girls “to ski like men” but this kind of presumption “would be comparable to asking a female sprinter to run the same race times as the men.” It is all relative. The way we ride is always going to be different from the boys, even if we are skiing the same lines and sending the same features; we’ll approach them differently to make them work best to our strengths. Just as we need to adapt to the terrain we are riding, events need to make some adjustments to our style in order to capture and cover in the media our stand alone merits and progressions within our sport.
Nat Segal shredding the Extreme Day venue
photo: Tommy Pyatt
The World Heli Challenge has so much potential to do big things in the world of freeskiing. Just look at Red Bull Cold Rush. This year it gave girls such as Grete Eliassen and Jackie Paaso the opportunity to show-off the skills they have been perfecting, that is spinning mean 360s off cliffs and jumping epic rock faces. They weren’t trying to duplicate the boys lines, instead they were following their own development and doing so lead them to success.
There is hope. This year the WHC featured a shootout between local cinematographers and photographers, which has brought a great aspect of creativity and diversity to the event, allowing the competition to be viewed through fresh eyes. More than one of the films featured the ladies and all of them captured the essence of the event: the experience. The WHC is a work in progress, that continues to develop and innovate for the better. Hopefully through it’s development it keeps the ladies in mind.
sneaky iphone photo of a poster of Nat Segal at the Showcase
The World Heli Challenge wrapped up on Thursday night with a Showcase of all the films and photographs that came out of the event. Check out worldhelichallenge.com for all the results and event footage.
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