Truckee, CA – The second stop of The North Face Park and Pipe Open Series concluded under sunny skies at Northstar, California on Sunday. Prize money totaling $20,000 was awarded to the top finishers, with James Campbell of Carrabassett Valley, Maine, and Yuki Tsubota of Whistler, British Columbia, Canada taking top honors in the park competition. Topping the podium in the pipe event was Kyle Smaine of South Lake Tahoe, Calif., and Cassandra Sharpe of Whistler.

Qualifiers for the men’s park competition took place on Friday, with 53 athletes vying to advance to the semi-finals in a best-of two run format. Then on Saturday, with partly cloudy spring-like conditions, 22 male and 11 female competitors battled it out in the park semi-finals and finals.

Taking top honors for the men was Campbell, who delivered a near flawless run top to bottom, consisting of technical combos on the rail section, and then linked two back-to-back double flips, a switch left-side double rodeo 900 and a left double cork 1080 high mute grab, scoring an 89.00.

“James perfectly executed the hardest run of the day, hands down. He was solid on both rails, had spins both ways and back to back doubles,” stated head judge and AFP General Manager, Steele Spence.

Rounding out the men’s podium in second place was Spencer Milbocker of Otsego, Mich. scoring an 86.2 and Cody Cirillo of Breckenridge, Colo., in third with an 85.00.

In the women’s park competition Tsubota, an athlete for The North Face, dominated the field with her technical and smooth skiing. She slid both rail features and then was the only female to successfully land a left-side cork 720, scoring an 87.2. In second place was Catherine Warchal, of Tannersville, Penn., stomping the landing on a crowd-pleasing double front-flip, receiving a score of 80.80. Rounding out the women’s podium in third was Taylor Lundquist of Park City, Utah receiving an 85.00.

Semi-finals and finals for the men’s and women’s pipe competition took place on Sunday in Northstar’s Olympic-caliber 510-foot long 22-foot superpipe under perfect sunny, blue sky conditions. Taking top honors for the men was Smaine with an outstanding run consisting of a double flair and left and right side spins boosting with amplitude that left the judges on the edge of their seats. Smaine’s winning run scored a 92.60.

In second place was the technical freeskiing master, Patrick Baskins of Vail, Colo., scoring an 89.80 with his smooth switch left and right spins and flawless left-side 1260 to end his run. Rounding out the podium in third place was Campbell, the event’s park champion, scoring an 84.00.

“The men’s pipe finals today were legitimate by anyone’s standards. First place finisher, Kyle Smaine, displayed he was a force to be reckoned with, with his amplitude, matching of pipe transitions, and perfect technical execution,” said Spence.

On the women’s side of the pipe competition, Sharpe positioned herself on the top of the podium with a run consisting of a smooth right-side flair, the only invert attempted and landed by a female in the event, scoring herself a 77.00.

Maggie Stout of Collingwood, Ontario, Canada finished in second place with her very technical spins in both directions and consistent amplitude, scoring herself a 73.00. In third place was Abigale Hansen from Mammoth Lakes, Calif., earning a 69.60.

“I was impressed with the up-coming talent in the women’s field. I look forward to seeing the ladies take their runs to the next level of halfpipe skiing. Cassandra Sharpe showed she was not afraid to put it all on the line for the competition with her amplitude and inverted airs,” said judge and freeskiing legend, Skogen Sprang.

All weekend long the competitions started with a forerun by 11-year old Aspen Spora, who was fresh from forerunning the Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado. He displayed to all the competitors in the event the youthful talent emerging from the next generation of freeskiers.

The North Face Park and Pipe Open Series will conclude in Waterville Valley, N.H., on March 8-11.