The world's top slopestyle skiers treated Cardrona to a master class yesterday as they battled to qualify for the freeski slopestyle world cup finals at the Winter Games.
The good news for New Zealand fans was that Jossi Wells was among the very best.
In the second of two qualifiers, Wells soared to the top of the list with an impressive second run, scoring 89.80.
For Wells, it was a special moment to be able to shine on his home snow at Cardrona.
''It's amazing being here with all the guys I travel round the world with in competitions, bringing them here to my home town and being able to bring my A game to the qualifiers,'' Wells said.
''It's a really heavy field out there and it's going to be a technical final. It's going to be gnarly.''
Switzerland's Luca Schuler, ranked just 33rd on the AFP world tour, was the surprise package, nailing second with 88.40, followed by Americans Noah Wallace (85.20) and Sochi Olympic gold medallist Joss Christensen (82.80).
In the first heat, Britain's James Woods ran away with the lead in his first run. His winning score of 91.40 made him the only competitor to break the 90 point barrier.
Switzerland's Andri Ragettli came close with 89.60 on his last run, placing him second, followed by Norwegian Oystein Braaten with a first run score of 85.20.
Olympic silver medallist Devin Logan (US) risked elimination after she fell on her first run in the women's qualifiers, but she made the recovery of the day on her second with a score of 70.80, establishing her as fourth finalist.
Norwegian Tiril Sjaastad Christiansen claimed top spot with 88.40, setting her up well for her bid to retain the slopestyle title she won at the 2013 Winter Games.
German Lisa Zimmermann, who won bronze in 2013, qualified second with 84.20, while Italian Silvia Bertagna took third with 79.20.
American Keri Herman (69.80) and Canadian Kaya Turski (68.80) took the last two places for the six women going through to the final, which is also the first platinum level event of the season on the AFP tour.
Apart from Christiansen, who missed the 2014 Olympics with a serious knee injury, all the women's qualifiers competed at Sochi, signalling a star studded final.
The top Canadian duo beat the United States 5-4 in the final of the mixed doubles curling in Naseby.
Canada, which qualified with a 9-5 win over Japan in the semifinals, led 4-1 at one stage in the final but had to withstand a furious comeback from the United States.
New Zealand teams finished sixth (Bridget Becker and Sean Becker) and seventh (Eleanor Adviento and Brett Sargon) in the 12 team competition.
