Freeski favourites battle it out for World Cup points at Copper Mountain halfpipe

It will likely be up to the USA’s Svea Irving to lead the way for the six U.S. skiers contesting the women’s event. The host squad will face tough competition from their Canadian neighbors with veterans Cassie Sharpe, Rachael Karker and Amy Fraser all more than capable of landing in the top-3. 

Sharpe, a gold and silver Olympic halfpipe medallist, narrowly missed the podium at Secret Garden earlier in December to finish fourth, while Fraser finished fifth.

Karker did not progress past the qualification round at Secret Garden, breaking a record streak of 13 consecutive World Cup podiums that dated back to the 2018/19 season. The final podium of that incredible run came at the beginning of this season with her third-place finish at Cardrona (NZL) in September.

Tied with Karker for 13 consecutive halfpipe World Cup podium runs is Eileen Gu, who will be looking to set a new benchmark with her 14th halfpipe win this weekend. Gu will also be looking to pull ahead of France’s Tess Ledeux atop the all-time FIS Freeski World Cup wins leaderboard, where the two exceptional skiers currently sit tied with 16 victories apiece.