Three Summit County riders have advanced out of qualifiers at the 10th annual Laax Open in Laax, Switzerland.

Silverthorne’s Red Gerard and Chris Corning both advanced to the semifinal round out of Heat 2 of the men’s snowboard slopestyle qualifiers on Thursday, Jan. 16. Gerard took the sixth-qualifying spot with a score of 76.08, and Corning followed in seventh with a score of 76.

Gerard and Corning will now compete in the semifinal on Saturday, Jan. 18, among 22 other riders. Silverthorne’s Jake Canter competed in Heat 1 of slopestyle qualifiers on Wednesday but placed 39th overall and 15th in his heat.

In the women’s snowboard slopestyle qualifiers, Frisco’s Lily Dhawornvej continued to have a standout season on the U.S. Snowboard rookie slopestyle team. After making the women’s big air final in Kreischberg, Austria, and earning an invite to the Aspen X Games, Dhawornvej placed sixth overall in qualifiers in Laax with a score of 68.96.

The placing means that Dhawornvej will now have three World Cup final starts in the 2024-25 season and is guaranteed at least eighth place in the final. Silverthorne’s Kaitlyn Adams attempted to qualify to the eight-woman final alongside Dhawornvej but came up a few points short and placed 24th overall.

The men’s slopestyle semi-final and final as well as the women’s snowboard slopestyle final are slated to take place on Saturday, Jan. 18. On Friday, Jan. 17, local riders like Jason Wolle, Lucas Foster, Chase Blackwell, Zoe Kalapos, Rochelle Weinberg and Maddy Schaffrick are slated to compete in the qualifying rounds of the snowboard halfpipe competition

To watch a livestream of the event, visit LaaxOpen.com/en/