Dramatic End, Men's NorAm GS

A warm spring day at Nakiska caused deteriorating conditions in the second run, making things extra interesting for the racers at the end of the flip-30. David Donaldson lead first run, and was poised to take the GS title, but ran into problems towards the end of the second run, leaving him no better than sixth. Christianson was third after first run, and ran into his own problems on the rough second run, as he dropped back to fifth. Canada’s Phil Brown proved to be the most solid skier, battling through the ruts and bumps to claim the victory and the NorAm GS title. Donaldson celebrated a bitter-sweet runner up in the season standings, which secured him a spot for World Cup GS next season, leaving Keiffer Keiffer Christianson out.

“Today was definitely a day full of nerves and a lot of stress,” said Christianson, “but it was a lot of fun even though things didn’t come out the way I wanted them to. Everyone has their own list of things they could take back and do better to come out on top, but I went for it. It was a day that makes you want to keep ski racing, because we had that close of a competition, and everyone supporting each other and really gunning for it,” said the young American, who looks forward to a bright future in ski racing.