text: L-R: Torin Yater-Wallace, Tanner Hall, Benoit Valentin. p: Dan Power
  After a four year hiatus from the competition scene, Tanner Hall made his return count, by winning the superpipe contest at The North Face Freeski Open of New Zealand, in Snow Park. Reigning Euro X Games champ Torin Yater-Wallace finished just behind Hall, while Frenchman Benoit Valentin took the third place spot. Due to the inclement weather, the finals were limited to one-run
  “I am so stoked to be back after four years of not competing, and coming back to win is the best feeling ever,” exclaimed Hall. “Big props to Jossi, who skied amazingly well in both the qualifiers and finals. In my opinion he had one of the best runs of the day.” The local Kiwi finished fourth on the day, after qualifying first out of semifinals.
  Benoit Valentin. p: Nick Johnson
  Due to the weather, the ladies event was fast tracked straight to a finals, with 18 ladies competing in the three-run final. In the end it was Tiril Christiansen of Norway who grabbed the top spot, after narrowly missing out on the sloepstyle podium yesterday. She was followed up by USA’s Angeli VanLaanen in second—who has taken her fair share of time away from the contest scene. Capping off the podium was Katrien Aerts of Switzerland.
  “I canʼt express how stoked I am,” said Christiansen of the win. “It is the first time that I have won a major pipe competition so I couldnʼt be happier! I will definitely be back next year.”
  L-R: Angeli VanLaanen, Tiril Christiansen, Katrien Aerts. p: Dan Power
  With the conclusion of the pipe event, The North Face Freeski Open of New Zealand is two-thirds done, with the big mountain contest set to go off Saturday.
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