Two years ago, Tom Wallisch brought the time-honored yet neglected format of the rail jam back to life in a big way with the Steel City Showdown. After a pandemic break last year, the Showdown returned in 2022 with some of the best rail skiing yet seen on Planet Earth.
Last weekend Tom Wallisch’s Steel City Showdown took over the slopes of Seven Springs ski resort in Pennsylvania, and my, what a showdown it was. A stacked roster of top rail slayers lined up against a hungry field of ams and up-and-comers, and the result was nothing short of legendary.
This is the second installment of the Steel City Showdown. The first took place in 2020, but the pandemic cancelled plans for a follow-up the next year. We’re glad to see that the Showdown has returned in 2022, and that the rail-jam format is indeed alive and well on the hard slopes of Pennsylvania.
With full livestreams online from qualifying, semi-finals and finals, there are literal hours of premium video content to be absorbed from the Steel City Showdown. If backslides, front swaps, pretzels and dizzying spins in and out are your forte, grab yourself some popcorn, get comfortable and prepare yourself for a show. This is rail skiing at its finest.
Spoiler alert: in the women’s category, Marion Balsamo took the win ahead of Drew Hooker and Alexa Juncaj. For the men, a heated final on Saturday, March 19 ended with Tucker Fitzsimons in third, Alex Hall in second, and Mac Forehand taking the top spot.
Steel City Showdown 2022: Qualification Livestream (YouTube)
Steel City Showdown 2022: Semifinals Livestream (YouTube)
Steel City Showdown 2022: Full Finals Livestream (YouTube)