TJ Schiller Stomps US Open, X-Games
It's the winter ski competition season again, and yet again I'm proud of my younger brother TJ. He has consistently been pulling amazingly well-styled ("steezy,") jumps, flying over huge gaps and off of massive lifters, backwards, and landing - backwards. I wasn't sure if I'd see him make it this far without breaking something, but it appears he has made it.
And just recently, took first place in two competitions -- in two weekends.
1st in Big Air, 2006 US Freeskiing Open: A Switch mute 1440!?
TJ stomped an amazing switch mute 1440 (that's four 360-degree turns) - in plain english, "jumping and landing backwards" (switch), "with a grab" (mute.) He stomped the landing, and was practically mobbed by a large crowd upon skiing to the bottom. As I understand it, this was the first time this jump had ever been pulled and landed in a competition - which is pretty damn cool.
Of course, what fun would this be without some video evidence!
- Video 1: TJ's mute switch 1440, side shot (.WMV) - Video credit: newschoolers.com member
- Video 2: TJ's mute switch 1440, front shot (.MOV)
This guy is crazy.
1st in "Best Trick," 2006 X-Games: Switch mute 1080
The next weekend, TJ threw down a super-smooth 1080 mute (apparently a very popular trick at this particular comp) to win first place for "best trick" at the 2006 X Games.
The event was initially scheduled to be a SlopeStyle competition, but ended up being switched for a "best trick" allegedly due to a bunch of fresh snow which slowed down the runs and raised some safety concerns.
Freeskier.com has further coverage.
I'll say it again: This guy is crazy - and I'm damned proud of him.