Steffen Hamre & Torin Yater-Wallace Win Gatorade Free Flow Tour Finals at Mt. Snow

February 10, 20102 min read

Norwegian Steffen Hamre won the freeski slopestyle competition, while 14-year-old Torin Yater-Wallace claimed the victory in the freeski superpipe contest at the Gatorade Free Flow Tour Finals held at Mount Snow Resort. Both overall champions were wildcard entries in today"™s contests, proving their skill against the country"™s best amateurs.

Twenty one-year-old Hamre laid down a solid first run that included a left 540 with a mute grab and a switch cab mute to earn a 91.00. The score stood the test of time in the contest, despite a strong second run by Austin Torvinen, a 17 year old from Duluth, Minn., who finished in second place overall with an 88.25. Rounding out the podium was South Lake Tahoe, Calif.-native Jason Arens, 19, who finished with an 86.75.

"It"™s unbelievable, surreal," said Hamre. "I had my run in my head, but I wasn"™t able to land it during practice, so I didn"™t even think I had a chance. When I actually did the run, I tried to keep it simple and make everything as clean as possible. I"™ve been trying to get into big competitions for the last four years, and it"™s about time I was able to step it up a notch and win to get onto the Dew Tour next year."

Basalt, Colo.-native Yater-Wallace set the bar high with the first run of the entire competition but was quickly bested by Vail, Colo.-local Patty Baskins. However, Yater-Wallace"™s winning run included a cork 540 grabbed mute, an alley-oop flatspin 540 and a rightside 720, giving him a final score of 92.75 and edging Baskins by three points. Taking second, Baskins, 18, earned an 89.75, while third-place finisher Michael Bochenek claimed an 82.00.

"This is amazing. It feels great to put down a run that I was super happy about," said Yater-Wallace. "I got a high score, but I was nervous the whole time I was down at the bottom that someone was going to beat me. I"™m thrilled about winning."

With the wins at the Gatorade Free Flow Tour Finals, both Hamre and Yater-Wallace earn a spot to compete against the pros of the Winter Dew Tour at the first stop of the 2010-11 circuit.