Wintersports
Skiing
Introducing Bobby Brown’s Red Bull Cascade
World’s top men and women skiers will ascend on Winter Park Ski Resort for a new contest aimed to crown the best all-around skier.
From X Games medals to massive backcountry booters, Bobby Brown’s multi-decade career has run the gamut from the competition scene to film projects. With roots in competition, Brown has spent most of his life pushing the envelope with technical tricks in slopestyle and big air, but transitioning to film segments and backcountry riding opened his eyes to the creativity and progression that can come out of a totally blank slate.
Red Bull Cascade 2022 at Winter Park, Colorado
© Josh Conroy / Red Bull Content Pool
Red Bull Cascade was born out of the desire to breathe new life into the competition scene, bringing together the creativity and technical aspect of both sides of the sport Brown has dedicated his life to. The three-day event has been in the making for a few years (you may have heard musings from the test run last spring), and will incorporate park features, natural hits, and big mountain skiing, with the goal of crowning the most well-rounded male and female skier.
Twelve riders will drop into the two-mile course at Winter Park in Colorado on April 20-22nd, including legends like Torin Yater-Wallace and Alex Hall, alongside other up and coming athletes from both the park and big mountain scene. Athletes will work with filmers to capture the runs they map out, with a head-to-head elimination round on the final day. We caught up with Brown to chat about what’s to come for the inaugural event and the inspiration to shake up the competition world.
Red Bull Cascade 2022 at Winter Park, Colorado
© Josh Conroy / Red Bull Content Pool
You’ve been in the competition world for decades, tell us about the inspiration for Red Bull Cascade.
What’s the format like? Can you give a rundown of what the event will look like?
It’s a two-mile course, and we’re setting up the course build to intertwine multiple runs so the riders can link together a variety of lines. We’ll have those standalone park features but also lines through the trees, slush, and bumps you can freeride. The first day is more like a jam session, where riders can get comfortable on the course. We want it to feel like the old school spring park shoots, without a ton of pressure. Then the last two days will be a head-to-head single elimination round with a panel of judges. We’ll see different styles of riders compete against each other and just keep moving through the brackets until we crown a winner.
What did you feel was missing from traditional competitions that you really want to come through with Red Bull Cascade?
If you’re trying to win in competition you must focus on putting down a really technical run, and it kind of takes away the flow and creativity. What I think has been missing from the competition world is showcasing a variety of styles in one event. Most competitions are very trick oriented, and you’re going feature-to-feature putting down the most technical trick you can. With Red Bull Cascade, we’re trying to make the in between just as important as the big features. We want to open up the door for different riders to showcase their skills, whether it’s technical tricks or someone who rides more transitions and natural hits and looks at the mountain in a totally different way.
Red Bull Cascade 2022 at Winter Park, Colorado
© Josh Conroy / Red Bull Content Pool
How does this format push the sport forward more than traditional competition formats?
Everything is more like a jam format, and it’s really all about fostering a community of different people who might not ride together. Last year at the test course it was really cool to see Karl Fostvedt, who’s 32 and has been riding Alaskan spines, working together with 18-year-old Tanner Blakely who’s been riding park all year. We’re trying to pull back that pressure so we can just bring out the best riding, and collaborating is a part of that. When everyone’s having a good time and vibes are high, I think you see the most progression.
What kind of riders do you think will thrive in this format?
I think this takes a person who has some freestyle components but is also a really strong all mountain skier. We’re building a two-mile course, so you need the strength to make it down while throwing tricks and keeping flow. I think someone who can rip all over the resort and throw in some freestyle elements is what we’re looking for versus pure technical maneuvers.
How does the scoring differentiate from traditional freestyle competitions?
We really don’t wanna put people in a box for what they have to do, so we’re gonna score the skiing in between and creative lines just as much as the tech. In traditional contests the more technical tricks would add up way more, but in this we’re going to incorporate different line choices and creative flow, separating out riders who choose things that others aren’t doing. We want to see how each rider interprets the course and reward skiers who take chances.
Bobby Brown
© Josh Conroy / Red Bull Content Pool
Why Winter Park?
Winter Park is one of the last mountains that feels like it has its roots still. It’s hard to find places like that these days with a lot of big corporations taking over resorts. It’s cool to see Winter Park hold on to that rootsy feel we all gravitate towards, and there aren’t a lot of places that we’d be able to logistically build a course like this. We’re all really grateful that these guys believe in our vision.
Will you be dropping in as a competitor?
As of now I’m competing. We’re starting to build on April 6th, so we’ll see how I feel once I’ve been building for two and a half weeks. My priority beyond anything else is to make sure everyone has a good time and create something people really enjoy riding. A lot of riders are putting a lot of trust in myself and the Red Bull team—spring is a busy time for everyone—so my goal is just to create the best course to show these athletes how much we appreciate them.
Competition schedule:
- Thursday, April 20th: Practice Day | Wednesday is the first practice day, designed to be a jam session so that all athletes can test the features of the course and dial-in their line. Course closed to the public.
- Friday, April 21st: Men’s Round 1 | Thursday will begin the Men’s Bracket Round 1. About six athletes will move on to finals. Spectators are welcome to watch Round 1 from specific viewing areas.
- Saturday, April 22nd: Men’s and Women’s Finals Rounds | Saturday will see the remaining men’s and women’s athletes duel it out in semi and final rounds. One winner from each division will be crowned the winner at the Winter Park Ski Resort base village. Spectators are welcome to watch the final rounds from specific viewing areas.
