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Edwards’ freeride skier Leonardo lands invite to Junior Worlds in Austria

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December 16, 2019, 9:18 am
Joey Leonardo of Edwards.

To say Joey Leonardo of Edwards is a rising star of big mountain, freeride skiing misses the point of the sport, which is to actually descend, taking the most breathtaking line on sheer and treacherous mountain faces with the style, skill and confidence most of us don’t possess on our skis.

So let’s just say Leonardo, a Battle Mountain High School junior who also races alpine for the Huskies, is a descending star of a sport most recreational skiers can relate to more than banging gates. Who hasn’t looked at the gnarliest line and dreamed of nailing it – maybe hucking a rock or two in the process?

It’s also the stuff of ski films, where legends like Shane McConkey pioneered the sport and launched the International Freeskiers and Snowboarders Association (IFSA) – the group that organizes junior competitions in North America. The best freeride skiers stay very cool under pressure.

And at the relatively young age of 16, Leonardo has that demeanor on skis, propelling him near the top of the Junior Freeride rankings and landing him an invite to January’s 2020 Junior Freeride World Championships in Kappl, Austria. The IFSA is part of the Freeride World Tour.

“I’m super-excited and grateful for the opportunity I have to go to Worlds,” Leonardo said. “I am also thankful for everyone who’s helping me to get there.”

An independent competitor, Leonardo finished last season ranked eighth overall in North America, sixth in the U.S. and third in the Rocky Mountain Region in the 15- to 18-year-old age group. He won a regional competition in Vail and was second in a national competition in Taos, New Mexico.

But despite all his accomplishments, there are no cash prizes in freeriding – at least at the junior level (you can maybe win a helmet or some goggles) – so the Edwards community is rallying to help send him off to Austria this season with a fundraiser at Etown restaurant in Edwards on Monday, Dec. 16 at 5 p.m.

“It will be 10% of the evening’s sales after 5 until we close,” said Miller Lewis, one Etown’s owners. “We’re looking forward to celebrating Joey’s incredible accomplishments and hopefully raising some funds for his Austrian adventure.”

Editor’s note: A version of this story first appeared in the Vail Daily.

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David O. Williams

Managing Editor at RealVail
David O. Williams is the editor and co-founder of RealVail.com and has had his awarding-winning work (see About Us) published in more than 75 newspapers and magazines around the world, including 5280 Magazine, American Way Magazine (American Airlines), the Anchorage Daily News (Alaska), the Anchorage Daily Press (Alaska), Aspen Daily News, Aspen Journalism, the Aspen Times, Beaver Creek Magazine, the Boulder Daily Camera, the Casper Star Tribune (Wyoming), the Chicago Tribune, Colorado Central Magazine, the Colorado Independent (formerly Colorado Confidential), Colorado Newsline, Colorado Politics (formerly the Colorado Statesman), Colorado Public News, the Colorado Springs Gazette, the Colorado Springs Independent, the Colorado Statesman (now Colorado Politics), the Colorado Times Recorder, the Cortez Journal, the Craig Daily Press, the Curry Coastal Pilot (Oregon), the Daily Trail (Vail), the Del Norte Triplicate (California), the Denver Daily News, the Denver Gazette, the Denver Post, the Durango Herald, the Eagle Valley Enterprise, the Eastside Journal (Bellevue, Washington), ESPN.com, Explore Big Sky (Mont.), the Fort Morgan Times (Colorado), the Glenwood Springs Post-Independent, the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, the Greeley Tribune, the Huffington Post, the King County Journal (Seattle, Washington), the Kingman Daily Miner (Arizona), KUNC.org (northern Colorado), LA Weekly, the Las Vegas Sun, the Leadville Herald-Democrat, the London Daily Mirror, the Moab Times Independent (Utah), the Montgomery Journal (Maryland), the Montrose Daily Press, The New York Times, the Parent’s Handbook, Peaks Magazine (now Epic Life), People Magazine, Powder Magazine, the Pueblo Chieftain, PT Magazine, the Rio Blanco Herald Times (Colorado), Rocky Mountain Golf Magazine, the Rocky Mountain News, RouteFifty.com (formerly Government Executive State and Local), the Salt Lake Tribune, SKI Magazine, Ski Area Management, SKIING Magazine, the Sky-Hi News, the Steamboat Pilot & Today, the Sterling Journal Advocate (Colorado), the Summit Daily News, United Hemispheres (United Airlines), Vail/Beaver Creek Magazine, Vail en Español, Vail Health Magazine, Vail Valley Magazine, the Vail Daily, the Vail Trail, Westword (Denver), Writers on the Range and the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. Williams is also the founder, publisher and editor of RealVail.com and RockyMountainPost.com.