Laura Ogden and Jess McMillan on top again

Kirkwood, CA, March 31, 2007— The final stop of the Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series and second stop on the International Freeskiers Association (IFSA) World Tour finished off today with an extraordinarily exciting day of skiing on the permanently closed “Cirque” at Kirkwood Mountain Resort in California. SCOTT USA’s Laura Ogden of Crystal Mtn, WA, took her second straight Subaru North American Freeskiing Championships women’s title. Due to incredibly clear and sunny weather Mountain Sports International (MSI) was able to run a super-final today for the top six women and top 12 men.

Sitting in the top position going into this morning’s first run, Laura Ogden was knocked back to second position by Hannah Whitney of Crested Butte, CO, who skied an incredible line which included four big cliff-drops. The remaining top women who advanced to the super-finals were Elyse Saugstad of Squaw Valley, CA in third, and Rachel Burks of Alta, UT, and Jess McMillan, who were tied for fourth. McMillan is the recent winner of the Subaru Jackson Hole Freeskiing Open and the Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Nationals. Amber Gale of Snowbird, UT, rounded out the top six. With Gale, McMillan and Whitney all crashing during the super-finals, the door was open for Ogden to walk right through and claim her second consecutive title here in Kirkwood. Elyse Saugstad moved up one position to finish in second and Rachel Burks took the final podium spot finishing third overall. “It feels awesome to win with such a competitive field,” said women’s champion Laura Ogden. “It’s great to come back to the series after taking some time off and to win. I love this venue, it scares me to death. To finish like this feels so good.”

The overall Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series title was awarded to SCOTT USA’S Jess McMillan of Jackson Hole, WY. McMillan won both the Subaru Jackson Hole Freeskiing Open and the Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Nationals. "I have finished second so many times,” said overall tour winner McMillan. “The World tour isn’t over, so I’m going to Tignes and I plan on winning the World tour too. You haven’t seen the last of me yet.” The IFSA World Tour finals are set for April 9-13 in Tignes, France. Previous Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series tour stops include the Subaru Jackson Hole Freeskiing Open at Jackson Hole, WY, the Subaru US Freeskiing Nationals at Snowbird, UT, the Subaru Squaw Valley U.S.A Freeskiing Open, at Squaw Valley U.S.A, CA, and the Subaru Telluride Freeskiing Open at Telluride, CO.


Ogden figuring out her lines


Ogden on the podium


Series winner McMillan on the podium


Ogden en route to the win