Apex hosting freestyle mogul event

Apex Mountain Resort is hosting the Toyo Canadian Selections freestyle mogul event that started Thursday and wraps up on Sunday.

The resort, Apex Freestyle Club and the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association announced the top 70 mogul athletes from across Canada are competing, along with 15 international positions from Japan.

The competition will take place on Kristi’s Run, which has been hailed by World Cup coaches as the best course they have seen on the World Cup circuit — mainly due to the constant 26-degree pitch over the 220-metre course.

Apex held two World Cup mogul events in 2006 and 2007.

This year, four teams from both Japan and Australia as well as the Alberta and B.C. teams and Canadian Development Team and others from Canada and U.S. have trained at Apex before starting the competition circuit.

Athletes will be judged this weekend on speed, air and their turns.

There are two jumps on the course, athletes will be doing aerial maneuvers such as 720’s, D spins (off axis, inverted rotations), and a back full, which is a back flip with 360-degree rotation and landing back in the moguls.

Spectators are welcome to take in the action. Friday is another training day, with competition on Saturday and Sunday.

Apex, with a current snow base of just over 50 cm, opens to the public starting today with two runs that are intermediate level and will be opening more runs as weather permits.

Lift tickets will be offered at 50 per cent off the regular rate, Apex general manager James Shalman said.

Apex Mountain Resort will also be hosting other mogul events this season such as the BC Timber Tour on Jan 16-20 and the Freestyle NorAm from Feb. 27 to March 3.