Kiwi snow star Nico Porteous has begun his build-up to the Beijing Winter Olympics in style, claiming his first freeski halfpipe World Cup medal of the season with a second-place finish in Colorado.
The 10 finalists had three runs to put down their best score, judged on the difficulty, variety and execution of their tricks, and the amount of amplitude they could gain above the lip of the 22-foot high superpipe.
The event's top qualifier, Porteous was last to compete, as he chased down the score of 93.5 set by first-placed American Alex Ferreira.
A clean run incorporating his left double cork 1620 was good for a score of 92.25, landing him in second.
Contending with increasingly stormy conditions, the Wanaka native's execution on his second run wasn't quite as sharp, leaving him secure in second.
Only two points separated the podium placegetters, with Ferreira taking gold with 93.5 points, Porteous silver with 92.25 and Canadian Brendan Mackay in bronze on 91.50.
"I'm really happy with the way I skied," says Porteous, 20. "I gave it my all.
"I've never done a full run of doubles before, so I was happy with that. They weren’t the cleanest, so that's something to work on in the future."
Porteous will try to add to the bronze medal he won at the 2018 Winter Olympics at next year's Games, which begin in February.
