Wagner Custom Factory Team “Young Guns” Invade Podium in Taos

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Wagner Custom Factory Team “Young Guns” Invade Podium in Taos
Athletes win Men’s and Women’s Junior Class

Taos, NM (March 7th, 2011) – Wagner Custom Skis, the Telluride, Colorado-based leader in custom ski fitting science, announced today that two of their youngest athletes, Xanthe Demas (18) and Greg Hope(17), tamed the rocky, technical terrain at Taos to both win their respective Junior divisions at the 2011 Salomon Extreme Freeride Championships. Representing some of the best double-diamond terrain in the country, the venue for this event showcased Taos’ toughest terrain. Kachina Peak and the West Basin Ridge are littered with tight lines, cliffs and rocks, yet they proved no match for the “Young Guns” from Telluride, CO.

“This is an amazing result,” exulted CEO and Wagner Custom Founder Pete Wagner. “Greg and Xanthe are our high-school age athletes, and they just threw down this weekend at a huge, sketchy venue.” The Salomon Extreme Freeride Championships at Taos is New Mexico’s largest and most prestigious ski and snowboard competition. Featuring athletes from around the world, 2011 marks the 8th installment of this venerable competition. Wagner went on to comment that “Greg has the potential to crush the men’s Freeskiing World Tour in the future if he keeps at it.”

Featuring up to 130 competitors in both ski and snowboard freeriding, the Salomon Extreme Freeride Championships has been named one of the showcase events for the Freeride World Tour (FWT) women. After competing in New Mexico, the top female finisher earned a spot at the FWT’s legendary finals hosted in Verbier, Switzerland. In addition, the Salomon Extreme Freeride Championships at Taos is a Freeride World Tour Qualifying event (FWQ), making it one of a handful of elite FWQ events in the world.

“We were excited to host the best women freeskiers in the world as they battled for the FWT overall title,” says Taos’ Alejandro Blake. “We are proud that the FWT has recognized that Taos offers both the terrain and level of professional organization to host the top FWT women. It is a fantastic reward for all of our event staff to see Taos named both a top-tier FWQ qualifying event as well as a key stop for the ladies.”

To learn more about the Salomon Extreme Freeride Championships, to make reservations or to see results from past year competitions, please visit www.skitaos.org/freeride. To learn more about the Freeride World Tour, check out www.freerideworldtour.com.

About Wagner Custom Skis
Wagner Custom was founded in 2006 in Placerville, Colorado, just downstream from the Telluride Ski Resort. Wagner Custom hand-builds precise-fitting skis and snowboards one-at-a-time, each unique and designed for a specific rider. Wagner uses only the finest raw materials, and all skis and boards are crafted around sturdy, solid wood cores. Wagner shapes and assembles skis using state-of-the-art 21st Century equipment in what may be the world’s greenest ski factory, running entirely on wind and solar energy. Visit Wagner Custom online at www.wagnerskis.com.