Down Under Dominates World Freeskiing

Russ Henshaw jumping a huge kicker in Are, Sweden for the Jon Olsson Invitational (JOSS). Image – Mattias Fredriksson

Words – Tess Cook

Russ Henshaw and Jossi Wells have put ‘Down Under’ on the world freeskiing map by dominating the 2009/10 Association Freeski Professionals (AFP) World Tour.
Wells, a Wanaka New Zealand native who will turn 20 in May, was crowed the overall 2010 AFP World Champion before the competition had even finished. A strong first place in halfpipe and solid placings in slopestyle and Big Air combed to make him the best of the 2010 Tour.
Jindabyne NSW local Henshaw, who’s also just shy of his 20th birthday, came a close second in the AFP overall big air ranking and cemented himself as one of the world’s best in big air by collecting several major titles throughout the season.

Jossi Wells at JOSS. Image – Shay Williams

The two paired up for the Jon Olsson Super Sessions (JOSS) competition in Are, Sweden through April – representing ‘Down Under.’ The comp – in which teams of two invited competitors plus one ‘rookie’ representing their nation put together a five minute video edit with a two-man film crew over two weeks – has been called the World’s best freeski challenge.
The boys placed sixth in the event and Russ came away with second place in the Jon Olsson Invitational, a big air competition held mid way through the two weeks of JOSS.

To watch all the videos from the JOSS click HERE

Mountainwatch.com’s Reggae Elliss caught up with Russ Henshaw just before JOSS, read the interview here