PD Factory Team Sweeps the Extreme Week Event

In late June the PD Factory Team set off on a two-week, action-packed adventure to the Scandanavian wonderland called Norway. The primary objective was to compete in the European Swooping Tour (EST), one of the many sports being showcased on the Extreme Week billet. But the competition was merely the icing on the proverbially over-stuffed, cream-filled, triple-layer cake. Also on the docket for the PD guys: BASE jaunts to the famous rock walls at Gudvangen and Kjerag; some radically aggressive canopy flights along mountain ridges and waterfalls; and a myriad of high-profile team exhibition jumps into downtown Voss.

The Competition

For the third consecutive year the PDFT earned top spots at the Voss EST event, this time sweeping all three medals and the bulk of the $10,000 cash purse. Shannon Pilcher took the gold, scoring 785 out of 800 possible points. Teammates Jonathan Tagle and Ian Bobo were second and third, with 694 and 654 points respectively. Noticeably absent was teammate Jay Moledzki, who reluctantly had to cancel his trip at the last minute.

The turnout at this year's competition was smaller than previous year's, but that didn't stop Norway's national freefly team, the SkyWalkers, from bringing on the heat. In several rounds these talented pilots scored in the top percentile, proving that they will be serious contenders in the months and years to come.

Media Exposure

As Extreme Week participation and sponsorship have grown, so has the media coverage. This year's event was covered exclusively by Norway's largest television network, NRK (www.nrk.no), and the PDFT was fortunate to partner up with them for a special 2.5-minute television spot on the evening news.

Watch the NRK video

Several other Norwegian and European media companies covered the PDFT activities during the week, joining them on several BASE trips, and covering the competition from beginning to end. Some of the companies include: Rideguide (Canada, www.rideguide.ca), Aftenposten TV (Norway, www.aftenposten.no), One-2-One Sports (Sweden, www.121sports.se), Gus Hurst - Extreme Sport Photos (extremesportphotos.com).

Many thanks to everyone in Voss for always rolling out the red carpet. Special thanks to Bjorn Magne Bryn, Trude Sviggum, Vibeke, Alastair McCartney, Ditta Valsdottir, the SkyWalkers, Justin & Gus, the Nissan crew, and the Voss kitchen staff.

Visit the PD Factory Team website to view more photos from this event.