(Bellingham, WA) Monument Snowboards is excited to introduce you to new Memento Mori snowboard from the 2009-2010 collection featuring artwork by Kelsey Brookes.  2009-2010 will be a pinnacle collection of amazing riding freestyle boards featuring artwork from some of the most critically acclaimed artists from around the world.

Memento Mori
MSRP: $459
The Memento Mori is a true twin tip and one of the lightest boards you will ever ride!  This lightweight dominator uses our E.S.P Ultra core matrix to allow for perfect swing weight during spins.  It combines a bamboo and X Wood core with Volcanic TTX glass to deliver lightweight performance. The bamboo sidewalls provide extra snap, reduced weight, high tensile strength and side impact protection.  Bamboo sidewalls also allow for solid energy transfer down the edge of the board so that you have unsurpassed grip in the iciest of conditions.  This board is the choice for the tech savvy rider out there that demands a top performing freestyle board.

SIZES:
158, 160, 163

ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Conscientious has two states of being in this world, aware and unaware. Awareness is the state you are in at the moment if you are reading this. Unaware is what you were before and what you will be after you are aware. The paintings featured on this board represent the only exception to that rule. Creation exists beyond the grasp of physical parameters and universal constants, unseen by tangibility and rationality, place where rules are fluid and dynamic, forever changing in accordance to the unknown. These paintings are a product of this place, this limbo between two worlds. When I close my eyes these paintings are what I see.
- Kelsey Brookes

Kelsey Brookes was born in 1978. A formally trained scientist who spent years tracking viruses for the U.S. government, he now lives and works in San Diego as a painter. His art can be found broadly throughout the US and Europe and is represented internationally by the Lazarides gallery (London). Kelsey’s figurative paintings draw influence from Hindu and Buddhist deities, exotic animals, sex, and rustic American quilts. Each figure is adorned with ghostly representations of the natural world, animals and plants that unfold from the body into the surrounding canvas. His chimeras are frozen with animalistic intensity in explosive and sometimes tortured positions. Kelsey blames this raw, anxious form of art on the U.S. University system which refuses to teach its scientists how to draw.

About Monument Snowboards:
Each year we curate an ever-growing pedigree of artists to create site-specific art and deliver the highest quality product on the market. Turning our back to momentary trends, vapid graphic design and company branding, we focus on the visual impact and technical superiority of our boards. Everything we produce is created hand in hand with a roster of established and emerging artists in an attempt to infuse art into the world around us. Our dedication to provide premium products drives us to search for new and unique approaches to enhance riders’ snowboard lifestyles worldwide.  Started in 2001, based on a collective of Mid-Atlantic artists, MNMNT was started and driven by art.  Providing unique products to riders.  Today, that collective is worldwide, with many artists across the globe contributing to our vision.  While many companies have changed their direction based on the industry trends, MNMNT has stayed true to its beginnings.

Monument Snowboard Team
Jeremy Cline, Doug Mercer, Ethan Deiss, Robby Balharry, Chris “Chach” Chance, Mike Fink, Nick Geisen

For More information: www.monumentsnowboards.com

SQUAW VALLEY USA ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH MONSTER ENERGY AND JIBBING-FOR-JACKSONS TERRAIN PARK CONTEST SERIES

JIBBING-FOR-JACKSONS - Best Tricks Jam Session, February 14, 2009
a ski & snowboard contest where every worthy trick gets paid

[Squaw Valley USA] January 28, 2009- Squaw Valley USA announced today that Monster Energy has been named the official energy drink sponsor of Squaw Valley USA and the Village at Squaw Valley USA. As the resort’s exclusive energy drink sponsor, Monster Energy will have a presence throughout the mountain including title sponsorship of Squaw Valley’s biggest terrain park, the Monster Park at Riviera.

On Saturday, February 14, Monster Energy presents “Jibbing-for-Jacksons” the first event in a terrain park contest series, taking place on lower Exhibition under the lights.

The first Jibbing-for-Jacksons is a rail/slopestyle contest in which the all-new Monster Energy terrain park feature will be unveiled and central to the competition setup. The contest is open to 50 skiers and 50 snowboarders, male and female (100 total competitors). The contest format for Jibbing for Jacksons is a Best Tricks Jam Session which has no losers, but many, many winners. Each time a judge sees a skier or rider stomp a trick worthy of a “Jackson,” Monster officials will hand the competitor a $20 bill.

Jibbing-for-Jacksons is open to skiers and riders of all ages and talents and consists of both men’s and women’s ski and snowboard divisions. The first 50 skiers and first 50 snowboarders to register will make up the competion pool. Registration is at 4 pm, practice starts at 5 pm, and the competition will begin shortly after. If time allows a special will follow the competion.

Being that Jibbing-for-Jacksons is a night contest held on Searchlight (on lower Exhibition), competitors and spectators can rock out under the lights to tunes spun from a slopeside DJ booth. Jibbing for Jacksons is free for spectators (no lift ticket necessary). Entry fee for all riders is $20 (it’s about the Jacksons) and helmets are mandatory. Athletes under the age of 18 must have a parent or guardian present at registration to sign a liability release form.

Of the newly formed partnership, Monster Energy Marketing Guru Christopher Stumbles says, “We are very excited to partner with Squaw Valley USA. Through this sponsorship, we believe all will benefit from our support of Squaw Valley, its terrain parks, events and all-around presence around the mountain. We are stoked to be the exclusive energy drink for Squaw Valley USA and look forward to building a unique synergy between Monster and Squaw.”

Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it snowmobiles, SX, rally, insane distance jumping, MX, MotoGP, road racing, supermoto, off-road, FMX, skate, MTB, rock crawling, wake, mini bikes, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days.
Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, Monster’s fruit juice hybrid dubbed “M-80,” the party-friendly MIXXD, the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream drink line supercharged with our Monster Energy blend, along with the new Monster Energy “Hitman” energy shot. Nate Holland digs ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com.

Squaw Valley USA and Monster Energy congratulate Nate Holland who won his fourth consecutive X Games Gold Metal on Saturday, January 24, 2009. Nate rides for both Monster Energy and Squaw Valley USA.

The most up-to-date resort conditions, operation schedules, events and live mountain cams are available on www.squaw.com.

THIRTYTWO BOOTS ON SPEED!

ThirtyTwo Introduces the FASTEST Way to Get In and Out of Boots

Las Vegas – ThirtyTwo boots are on SPEED, but no illicit pills or powder are involved, the brand’s new Fast Track Lacing System allows you to get in and out of your boots in seconds.  The collection of men’s and women’s boots featuring Fast Track lacing will be introduced at SIA, Jan. 27-30 in booth D52.

The Fast Track Lacing System is composed of two zonal pull handles used as leverage for getting the boot on, locking hardware for easy release during entry and exit and pull tabs that regulate tension of the laces.

The styles featuring the Fast Track Lacing System include the men’s model Sonic and in both the men’s and women’s models; Lashed, Prion and 86.

ThirtyTwo’s team is the most talented, passionate and dedicated group of snowboarders in the world.  They are committed to pushing creativity, innovation and progression to the next level.  These riders spend countless hours on testing and R&D on ThirtyTwo product all year long.

About ThirtyTwo

Established in 1995, ThirtyTwo was created by snowboarders for snowboarders.

Rider-owned and privately held since day one, ThirtyTwo has led the snowboard market with new and never before seen innovations in technology, performance, comfort and eco-friendly initiatives.  All ThirtyTwo products have been tested and approved by the best snowboarders in the world.  For additional information, visit www.thirtytwo.com.

Just when you thought you’d seen it all….Here’s some more gear to wrap your head around. And don’t worry, there’s more to come.

Transworld Snowboarding Presents, Get Real.
Rider List:
Jed Anderson
Chris Grenier
Scott Stevens
Eero Niemela
Kyle Clancy
Mikey Rencz
Sammy Luebke
Scotty Lago
Patrick McCarthy

Norwegian crew Fallen Soldiers having fun in Northstar.

Get out and Howl homies!

bass ackwards mountains


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From the North Shore of Truckee comes the core, Sammy Luebke. Solid indy powder freestyle footage from this underground ruler.  Luebke rips the puriest powder in Canada and across the globe! F*#k Yeah SAMMY!

Check Sammy’s Part in the Standard Films release Aesthetica available to buy the DVD direct HERE and look out for iTunes Release coming out February 15th 2009

Windells is the Only Snowboard Camp with a private campus. Check it out.

With votes tallied and a consensus from the snowboard community gathered, snowboarding’s celebration of riders and their pursuits enjoyed one last wild night in Las Vegas as the 10th Annual Rider’s Poll embarked. A rich, brimmed gathering of everyone snowboard made this poll one of the best turnouts to date.

The show sparked up with a rolling slideshow of some of the year’s best images and no shortage of beverages, while a cut of TransWorld’s upcoming film project Get Real fired up the crowd and really got things rolling. MC Todd Richards took a hold of the stage and rightfully off-script led the show—and when Todd is on, no one is safe from insult or weird humor. Nor was the stage safe from Travis Rice’s podium pillaging. Dude picked up four out of the five men’s awards from his insane shred exploits. Rider, Video Part, Standout, and Readers’ Choice of the year all went to Travis. That’s it, bit not all though.

The Rome gang (this time clothed as Hunter S. Thompson) stayed at bay while Marie-France Roy climbed the stage a couple times as well with awards for Video Part and Readers’ Choice. Raewyn Reid picked up Rookie Of The Year for the ladies and delivered an acceptance speech from the road, while Jamie Anderson took the cake as Women’s Rider Of The Year. Girl has been shredding tough for a while now.

With props out to Craig Kelly and George Dobis, Northwest shred pitbull Lucas Debari enjoyed the honor of Men’s Rookie Of The Year for logging a heavy video part in TransWorld’s These Days. With the awards coming to close, Jamie Lynn’s band Kandi Coded let some rock and roll rumble followed by Tweakbird.
In a decade of acknowledging the way we slide on snow, we’ve witnessed pioneers accelerate the growth of snowboarding and batter down walls that limit it. From nominees and winners clasping the reigns of riding’s future to everyone who snowboards, this show was for you.

Men’s Rider Of The Year:
Travis Rice

Women’s Rider Of The Year:
Jamie Anderson

Men’s Rookie Of The Year:
Lucas Debari

Women’s Rookie Of The Year:
Raewyn Reid

Men’s Video Part Of The Year:
Travis Rice

Women’s Video Part Of The Year:
Marie-France Roy

Men’s Readers’ Choice:
Travis Rice

Women’s Readers’ Choice:
Marie-France Roy

Standout Of The Year:
Travis Rice

Read a history of the Riders Poll here.

HIP HOP STAR AND GRAMMY WINNER COMMON

TO HEADLINE MUSIC STAGE AT WINTER DEW TOUR’S TOYOTA CHAMPIONSHIP AT NORTHSTAR-AT-TAHOE

ON FRIDAY, FEB. 20

Progressive Rock Band Tweak Bird to Kick Off the Free Show

at 5 p.m.

NEW YORK – January 27, 2009 – The Winter Dew Tour today announced that hip hop star and two-time Grammy winner Common will headline the Verizon Wireless music stage on Friday, Feb. 20, at the Toyota Championship, the third and final stop of the Winter Dew Tour, in Truckee, Calif.

Common burst onto the hip-hop scene in 1992 with his debut album “Can I Borrow a Dollar” and hasn’t looked back. In 2006 his hit record “Be”, produced mostly by superstar rapper Kanye West, was nominated for four Grammy Awards and won the coveted honor for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for the hit single “Southside” featuring West. Cannon, who is set to release his highly anticipated album “’09”, also boasts a burgeoning acting career. The Chicago native held significant roles in blockbuster films “Smokin’ Aces”, “Street Kings”, “American Gangster”, “Wanted”, and the upcoming “Terminator Salvation”.

“I’m a huge Common fan so I’m pumped to see him perform live,” said Tanner Hall, currently first in the Freeski Superpipe Dew Cup points standings. “Common is the perfect performance to end the successful inaugural season of the Winter Dew Tour.”

Progressive/Psych-Rock band Tweak Bird features a tandem of brothers, guitarist Caleb and drummer Ashton Bird. Tweak Bird’s debut EP “Reservations”, released in September ’08, is filled with instrumental-style jamming and the high-energy sound the Los Angeles based Bird brothers have become known for.

All music from the Verizon Wireless music stage is free to the general public including the Friday night concert with Common and Tweak Bird.

The third and final stop of the inaugural Winter Dew Tour season, Northstar-at-Tahoe, will be broadcast LIVE on NBC with additional broadcasts on USA Network.

TV Schedule

NBC                 Saturday, Feb. 21^th 2:30pm-4:00pm EST                  SKI Slope Men Finals

NBC                 Sunday, Feb. 22^st 4:00pm-6:00pm EST                  SNB Pipe Women/ Men Finals

USA Network     Friday, Feb. 20^th Midnight-1:00am EST                 SNB Slope Women/ Men Finals

USA Network     Saturday, Feb. 21^th Midnight-1:00am EST                 SKI Pipe Men Finals

Similar to the Dew Tour’s summer competition structure, the Winter Dew Tour is based on a cumulative points system as the top snow athletes battle it out for a piece of the $1.5 million prize purse and the chance to take home the Dew Cup at the conclusion of the season in February.

The complete 2008/09 Winter Dew Tour schedule is as follows:

Event Date Location

Stop 1                           Dec. 18-21, 2008           Breckenridge, Colo.—Breckenridge Ski Resort

Stop 2                           Jan. 8-11, 2009              West Dover, Vt.—Mount Snow Resort

Toyota Championship     Feb. 19-22, 2009            Truckee, Calif.—Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort

Ruins Board Shop


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With the Poker Lounge bumping from the beats of DJ Episode, DJ Slipmatt, and DJ Greyboy; the quaint group of rounders, rockers and celebrities joined the characters of snowboarding’s poker community including special guest Dingo, who grilled the players on a broad range of topics. The event raised $6,000 for Protect Our Winters which will be presented tonight at the Transworld SNOWBOARDING Riders Poll Awards.

yuiyui


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We’re in Vegas, checking out all the new gear. Some good stuff. Here’s a gallery. Froth on.

Check back for more of the same in the coming days.

Get the Flash Player to see this player. Austin Smith and Bryan Fox at the Dirksen Derby.

Matt Belzile, Ottowa. Photo: Rich Odam.

Rich Odam kept it short and sweet with his introduction, although not much needs to be said; his photographs speak for themselves.

“This gallery includes some images taken the past couple of years while shooting with the Child Support and Down with People crews and a couple of very recent lifestyles I shot with the upcoming Stepchild/32 video crew while on the road.”

- Rich Odam

Get the Flash Player to see this player. The behind the scenes of TADASHI FUSE’S - HEART Films volume 2.
Check out more at www.heartfilms.com.

A big ol’ Volcom crew rolled up to Bear Mountain over the weekend, for the first on-hill stop of their shred-rock tour, the BLIZZARD BIZARRE. The Legendary Jamie Lynn is frontman and guitarist for Kandi Coded they played Saturday on the deck of the base lodge. Loud & rocking.  Along with Volcom label mates, and fellow Northwesters, Tweak Bird and a bunch of team riders, the Volcom crew brought a party to the hill this weekend. 

Team riders Johnny Lazzareschi, Zack Stone, Tyler Flanagan, Pat Moore, and Zack Marben were all onboard the RV and shreddedZ—in fact they are still up there—all over Bear. 

Check HERE for the next stop of the tour and join in the hard-rocking action. 

peep the gallery. 

USASA Scholarship Foundation Distributing Past Awards

TRUCKEE, Calif. (January 25, 2009)—The United States of America Snowboard Association (USASA) is asking that past scholarship recipients collect their award or donate their unused award back to the USASA Foundation.  Anyone who won a scholarship award prior to 2003 is hereby given notice that you have until June 30, 2009 to collect your award or let USASA know if you intend to use it within the next five years.

Money must be used to offset the costs of education, snowboard or ski camp, or coaching.  Checks will be issued directly to the educational institution, camp or coach.

Please let us know if you cannot use the money for its intended purpose and would like to donate your award back to the USASA Foundation to be given out again.  If you do not collect your award prior to June 30, 2009 or if you do not let us know your intent to use the award by then, your award will automatically revert back to the USASA Foundation.

The USASA Foundation, Inc. was created last year in order to provide further support for USASA members.  More information about the Foundation and its grant programs will be posted on www.usasa.org.

Please contact Sarah Linton at sarahlinton01@hotmail.com if you would like to verify whether or not you won a USASA Scholarship award prior to 2003 or to express your intent to use the award in the next 5 years.   If you know you won an award, you may collect your funds by contacting Karen Mertl at Karen@usasa.org.

Contact: Sarah Linton 303.928.9446

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Video by Justin Gunson

CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE X GAMES XIII COVERAGE PAGE

www.hiddenvalleyski.com


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Features riding from Moonlight park crew and other riders from Montana. Shot and Edited by Jonny Durst

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SNOWBOARD SuperPipe Men’s Final

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CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE X GAMES XIII COVERAGE PAGE

Kevin Pearce. Mens Pipe Elimination. Photo: Chris Wellhausen

X Games spectators are fired up to watch the guys compete in the X Games XIII mens pipe. Saturday night was only pipe elimination and the crowds gathered all over the deck of the pipe and filled the area at the bottom.

The men’s pipe elimination started out with sixteen riders and when the night wrapped up there were only eight left to advance to Sundays nights pipe finals. 

SNOWBOARD SuperPipe Men’s Elimination

This upcoming Wednesday January 29, we’ll be celebrating not just the best rookies and riders of this year at the 10th Annual Rider’s Poll in Las Vegas, but we’ll also be reflecting on year’s past. We dusted off the old mags so we can all take a  ride down memory run together. Through these ten awards shows you can track the history of snowboarding itself—the reign of Tara Dakides, the influence of Craig and Terje, and the staying power of snowboarding’s biggest stars like Peter Line, JP Walker, and even the young Shaun White. 

The 1991 Inaugural Awards Show

The first ever awards show was held on March 20, 1991 (five years after the first issue of TransWorld SNOWboarding debuted in 1987) at the Shark Club in Las Vegas. It was a reader polled awards show instead of pro rider polled. (The ballot was in a previous issue and the page was marked up and mailed in by TWS readers.) The simple categories and the list of winners reads like a roll call of all that was cool about snowboarding.

Best All-Around: Craig Kelly, Tara Eberhard

Best Racers: Peter Bauer, Tara Eberhard

Best Halfpipe Riders: Craig Kelly, Tina Basich

Best Freeriders: Damian Sanders, Tara Eberhard

Most Extreme: Damian Sanders, Bonnie Leary

Peetu Piiroinen. Photo: Chris Wellhausen

So the slopestyle turned out a lot better than it could have.

With wintery conditions persisting all morning, as the women were readying for the slope finals things were looking nasty. The female skiers were first up yesterday and played the role of guinea pigs on the course. They didn’t fare well.

It was dumping and the slope run was slow. So slow that a lot of the girls were knuckling. Rumor was one girl dislocated a knee, and as we rode the lift up to the top of the run to check out the shreds, we saw one girl who was being attended to by a half-dozen medics in the landing of the last jump.

The vibe at the top of the course was serious. With just six girls in the finals there weren’t too many lurking around the “Athlete Staging” tent. But those that were there were throwing a lot of high fives, encouraging words and “I love you’s”. These girls are serious competitors, but they’re friends first and all about hyping each other up. And they need all the positive vibrations they could get. The weather was clearing up, it’d more or less stopped snowing, but the course still had it’s tricky sections. With all the new snow all the landing were getting pretty rutted and bumped out. But the girls kept their heads down and put up some solid runs.

Relative rookie Megan Ginter was charging, throwing massive back threes and one back seven. Her efforts would earn her a bronze in this her second X-Games appearance. Spencer O’Brien was throwing down some serious runs, maybe the smoothest of the day. But, Spencer fell on her last run and left the door open for the Brit Jenny Jones. And Jones stepped-up, dropped in and hammered out one helluva run, which ended with a  front seven and earned her the gold.

And then…as soon as the women were done the dudes were taking a few practice runs. The warm-ups were ridiculous. The dudes handled the course like they were mini-shredding. It looked like a video, or really a video game.

Shaun qualified 8th which meant he was first to drop, which meant he’d have to put up he best runs and just hope he didn’t get bumped out by all the remaining riders. He only posted a 50 point first run, but came back on his second and put up a  96. And that run would stand as the best of the day and Shaun’s ticket to X-Games gold. Lago was hot on his tail and stomped two clean runs, but only got 94.66 from the judges. Mikkel Bang followed these two and ended up taking third with a best run score of 91.33.

Results
Women’s
Jenny Jones:90.00
Spencer O’Brien: 87.66
Megan Ginter: 82.00
Kjersti Oestgaard Buaas: 75.00
Hana Beaman: 65.33
Kimmy Fasani: 64.00

Men’s
Shaun White: 96
Scotty Lago: 94.66
Mikkel Bang: 91.33
Chas Guldemond: 91
Peetu Piiroinen:90.33
Andreas Wiig: 89.00
Tim Humphreys: 88.66
Jussi Oksanen:75.00

Torrance, CA – Flux Bindings is very proud to announce JP Solberg as the newest addition to the International Team.  Flux is especially excited to have him on our side.

It is an undeniable fact that JP ‘s effortless style and grace on the hill is what catapulted him into snowboard stardom. His powerful but catlike jumping ability makes him one of the smoothest riders on the planet, no joke.  Since coming on the scene in 2001 and being voted Transworld Rookie of the Year, JP Solberg has made himself into a household name. He commits himself year after year into putting together epic video parts alongside Romain DeMarchi and the Absinthe crew.

Since leaving his previous sponsor, JP has made a conscious decision to “associate myself with companies that only produce the highest quality products and will support me 100% in all my efforts”. That’s why he chose to team up with Flux. At the same time, he wants to “enjoy my freedom, snowboard more than ever and see where that takes me. I’ve been living in this bubble for a long time, I’m excited to go the distance and see my true potential with Flux”.

The addition of JP Solberg to the Flux family will have a recognized and positive influence for Flux Bindings internationally.

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Video by Justin Gunson

CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE X GAMES XIII COVERAGE PAGE

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A sick park that there is no walking up to hit one feature because there is a tow rope and a chair lift that talk second to get up see you there


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SNOWBOARD SlopeStyle Men’s Final

SNOWBOARD SlopeStyle Women’s Final

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alex bocage alex ferland hugo chartier

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Video by Gravis

Tonight it was all about Torah.

With the best women snowboarders in the world gathered to shred the 22-foot X Games pipe it proved to be one heavy competition.

Each of the six girls in the finals were blasting out of the pipe and putting down some of the most progressive pipe runs to date. Kelly Clark brought her trademark brand of “amplitude” (to borrow the announcer’s terminology) and took silver. Hannah Teeter linked fives and sevens flawlessly and earned bronze.

But it was Torah, with her unmatched style and hecka-tech runs that got the gold.
Here’s her run: Back three, switch back seven, McTwist, air-to-fakie, cab seven.

Dig that. The judges did.

In qualifiers that same run earned her a 97.66, which is the highest score any girl has ever earned at the X Games. One for the record books.

And really, the whole night was. These girls were going bigger than ever. Sometimes too big.

Gretchen Bleiler was looking good going into the second round of runs, but on her first hit she got a little too loose trying a front nine, landed on the lip, scorpioned into the transition and then scorp’d again into the flat bottom. She was down for a minute and motionless. Medics went running, she started to move, then stood up smiling.

The crowd erupted in cheers for the hometown hero, who was last year’s gold medalist. But, Gretchen didn’t make it back up for a third run and that left the door wide open for Clark, Teeter or Torah.

Teeter dropped and put together a solid run. She boosted and looked really stylish doing so. But when judgment was passed she was sitting in third. So it was Clark and Bright battling for gold. Clark dropped first, blasted a double-overhead frontside air, but “over-amped”(again, the announcer’s jargon, not mine) on the second hit and slammed hard.

And that was it. Torah was sitting in first with her final run to go. She was slightly injured—has a shoulder that “just always seems to slip out of the socket,”—so she took a victory run and simply surfed that white wave to the podium. Six slashes later she was standing at the bottom of the pipe as this year’s gold medalist.

Results

1. Torah Bright: 91.33

2. Kelly Clark:88.33

3. Hannah Teeter: 83.00

4. Ellery Hollingsworth: 70.66

5. Kaitlyn Farrington: 66.00

6. Gretchen Bleiler: 40.00

Andreas Wiig. Photo: Chris Wellhausen

We woke up to fat flakes of snow falling.  By the time we were done with breakfast and headed out the door it was lightly raining. When we got to mountain we couldn’t see the hill. It was shrouded in fog.

Pretty much perfect weather for slopestyle. Yeah right.

So the women went first. Their elimination runs ran from 10 to Noon. Then it was the men. And the conditions only got worse. The course floated in and out of the dense clouds. Snow fell wet and heavy and it was all anyone could do to get down the run safely.

But still, proving themselves true professionals a lot of the girls managed to put down some impressive runs.

Here’s who made it.
1. Jenny Jones
2. Spencer O’Brien
3. Megan Ginter
4. Kjersti Oestgaard Buaas
5. Hana Beaman
6. Kimmy Fasani

When the time came for the dudes, the riders gathered in the “Athlete Staging” tent at the top of the course and watched each others runs on the TV they had set up.

Team managers and wax techs scrambled to swap out goggles and tune snowboards. There wasn’t much anyone could do though, the weather wasn’t letting up and runs were only getting more treacherous.

But the vibe remained lighthearted in the tent. Lots of good-natured shit talking going on.

“Mikkel you look like a Ken doll,”
“What, really?”
“ Yeah, your hairs naturally highlighted, your tall, got chiseled features, and..”
“And, you’ve always got your chin up. But that’s probably just ‘cuz we’re all always looking up to you..”

Laughs.
Then one of the Snow Park Technologies builders walks into the tent.

“Gunny wanted everyone to know that we’re salting the lips.”
“Oh great now instead of knuckling, we’re gonna be going huge.”
“Yeah but that’s probably better than how it is right now,”
“Yeah that knuckle didn’t look like much fun, you got a lot of that knuckle.”
“Man I’m just at the point of the day, where I want to get it over with.”
“One more run and I can just go kick back on the couch.”
“That’ll be a relief.”
“I can’t tell you how stoked I was just to get through the rail section, but then I was like ah, well now I gotta deal with these jumps.”

So each dude waited his turn, then walked up to the start gate, strapped in, waiting again. 30 seconds. Course is clear. Okay, 10 seconds. Alright you’re good to go.

Then they’d drop, disappear into the mist, and try to make it to the bottom. At the bottom the crowd gathered watched the runs on the jumbo-tron, occasionally turning away when a rider went down, cheering for some more than others, and always erupting when Shaun stomped his tricks.

The last round of runs decided who’d advance and some heavies were unseated.
Here’s who made it into finals. Let’s hope the weather clears, ‘cuz other than that everyone’s set to go off.

1.    Chas Guldemond
2.    Scotty Lago
3.    Peetu Piroinen
4.    Andreas Wiig
5.    Jussi Oksanen
6.    Mikkel Bang
7.    Tim Humphreys
8.    Shaun White

Women’s Superpipe Finals are tonight, check back late-night for a complete run down of how it all shook out.

SNOWBOARD Slopestyle Men’s Elimination

Top 8 advance to finals

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On the south east corner of Chesnut and Main street downtown stillwater…you can\’t miss it!!!


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The real Chuck G comes to life in this extended version from Aesthetica. Chas can spin backside like no other while hitting, ripping and stomping his way through this freestyle Guldemond remix.

Check Chas’ Part in the Standard Films release Aesthetica available to buy the DVD direct HERE and look out for iTunes Release coming out February 15th 2009

Snowboard Slopestyle Women’s
Elimination Results from Aspen/Snowmass on Friday, January 23, 2009
Top 6 advance to final

Name                                      Bib No.           Hometown                             Score

1.         Jenny Jones                             526                   Bristol, Great Britain                  84.33

2.         Spencer O’Brien                        530                   Whistler, BC, Canada                 80.33

3.         Megan Ginter                            525                   Seattle, Wash                            76.66

4.         Kjersti Oestgaard Buaas            531                   Trondheim, Norway                    70.66

5.         Hana Beaman                            521                   Big Bear, Calif.                          64.66

6.         Kimmy Fasani                           522                   Mammoth Lakes, Calif.              63.66

7.         C.C. Curry                                 538                   Deschutes River Woods, Ore.    44.00

8.         Bev Vuilleumier                         535                   Incline Village, Nev.                   42.66

9.         Chanelle Siadics                        534                   Newport Beach, Calif.                42.33

10.        Silvia Mittermueller                    529                   Munich, Germany                      42.00

11.        Leanne Pelosi                           539                   Calgary, AB, Canada                 34.66

Out-of-Bounds Avalanche Survey - Prizes Available!

The Canadian Avlanache Centre and Simon Fraser University are currently working on an out-of-bounds avalanche decisions making study and would like your input…

Several recent avalanche incidents and deaths in Canada and the United States have focused the media spotlight on out-of-bounds skiing. The Canadian Avalanche Centre, in conjunction with Simon Fraser University, is currently conducting a study about avalanche related decision making by out-of-bounds skiers and boarders. Findings from the study will be used to develop tools for communicating avalanche risk and assisting out-of-bounds decisions making. We are now looking for participants for an online survey which includes questions about experience and background, typical skiing/riding partners, perceptions of avalanches and ski patrol and an interactive ‘pick a run’ exercise.

All participants who complete the survey will be entered in a prize drawing for:
-One Backcountry Access Tracker DTS Avalanche Transceiver
-Two Black Diamond Bandit AvaLung backpacks
-Two Black Diamond Transfer 3 Shovel and Probe sets

At the conclusion of the study interested participants will be emailed a personal analysis sheet that includes a comparison of your avalanche hazard consideration to other study participants.

The survey can be found at: http://www.outbounds.rem.sfu.ca

Your participation in the online survey would be much appreciated. Please pass the link on to any of your acquaintances who might be suitable for this study.

Mikkel Bang. Photo: Chris Wellhausen

X Games XIII contest events started Thursday evening with Big Air. The riders dropped in high up on the course, blazed through a channel of the gap, before reaching the take off of the jump at mach speeds. Andreas Wiig, Mikkel Bang, Travis Rice, and Torstien Horgmo showed X Games spectators an exciting evening of heavy action. Check the photo slideshow below to get an idea.  

Simple nine set handrail. Great to learn handrails on. Be ready to bring a drop in ramp and shovels. Not alot of room. And there should be no trouble from the fuzz.


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The clock is ticking—it’s time to check back in on our nominees—a little refresher before the main event. Just a reminder that, with the exception of the Reader’s Choice award which was voted on by all of you, all these nominations are made by the pro snowboarders themselves—a peer vote.

Men’s Rider of the Year

A title clinched by Wolle Nyvelt in 2008, held by Shaun White before him, and multiple times by Kevin Jones before then—who will win the title this year?

Travis Rice
Jake Blauvelt
Gigi Rüf

Women’s Rider of the Year

The big award of the night for the ladies—will it be four-time nominee Torah Bright, maybe it’s Jamie Anderson’s year after last winter’s park blasting performances, or has everyone fallen under the spell of Marie-France’s rail rallies? This just might be the heaviest roll call we’ve ever seen in the women’s ROTY.

Torah Bright
Jamie Anderson
Marie-France Roy

Men’s Video Part of the Year

Already we’ve got to give props to That’s It, That’s All and Forum’s heroic return to team movies with Forum Or Against ‘Em, but which of these three riders will bring home the ice block? 

Travis Rice: Brainfarm/That’s It, That’s All 
Pat Moore: Forum/Forum Or Against ’Em 
Jake Blauvelt: Forum/Forum Or Against ’Em 

Women’s Video Part of the Year

Once again, so much diversity in this category—Annie Boulanger wrecks shop in the backcountry ala Victoria Jealouse, while Marie-France breaks new urban ground coast to coast, and Natasza Zurek continues to silently destroy everything in her path. But who have the riders chosen?

Annie Boulanger: Absinthe/Ready 
Marie-France Roy: Rome/No Correct Way 
Natasza Zurek: Runway/See What I See

Men’s Rookie of the Year

Check out that lineup, new names for sure. Louif and Lucas both made names for themselves with webisodes and full parts in These Days—but Louif and Lucas’ riding styles and background couldn’t be more different—Louif from the right coast of Canada and Lucas from the underbelly of Mt. Baker. Icelandic viking Eiki unilaterally flushed out the rad filming with Rome. 

Louif Paradis
Eiki Helgason
Lucas Debari

Women’s Rookie of the Year

Pelosi’s pretege’ Raewyn, has been doing her thing with the Runway crew the last few years, but it looks like her progressive moves have finally caught the attention of her peers. Bev V. took it to the next level last month at the Breck Dew Tour Slopestyle,  but she was doing damage on the competition circuit well before then. And Ellery also had her moment on the podium at the Mount Snow Dew Tour Superpipe, but this fierce competitor is no stranger to victory in competition.

Raewyn Reid
Bev Vuilleumier
Ellery Hollingsworth

Standout of the Year

It means just that—who did something that captured and symbolized the year? Last year it was Terje Haakonsen’s quarterpipe air, the year before it was David Benedek’s next level moves, Who had what it takes this year?
Travis Rice—for his super-human performance in That’s It, That’s All.
 Gigi Rüf—for his three video parts in one year!
Johan Olofsson—for his NoBoarding exploits documented in Standard’s Aesthetica.

Men’s Reader’s Choice

Eiki Helgason
Scott Lago
Travis Rice

Women’s Reader’s Choice

Jamie Anderson
Desiree Melancon
Marie-France Roy

Video Courtesy ESPN

It’s on in Aspen.

X-Games 13 is underway and with one of the gnarliest slopestyle courses yet, the 22-foot Superpipe and a stacked field of riders it’s shaping up to be the most “X” games yet.

The day started with the first round Women’s Superpipe competition. The girls took their qualifying runs from ten to noon under partly cloudy skies and mild temps. And they were ripping. There were a lot of 9’s thrown. Kelly Clark came out boosting. And Torah was getting hella-tech. From the looks of it the final will probably be a heated match between Clark and Bright.

Here’s who qualified and will advance to the final.
1.    Torah Bright
2.    Kelly Clark
3.    Hannah Teeter
4.    Ellery Hollingsworth
5.    Gretchen Bleiler
6.    Kaitlyn Farrington

While the ladies were doing their thing in the ditch, the men were over on the slopestyle course trying to dial in their runs. It proved to be a tall order, as the course is incredibly tight and the jumps are f-ing huge.  There was a lot of talk about this being one of the hairiest slopestyle courses anyone’s ever ridden. Should be some kind of showdown.

The most intimidating feature on the course, was undoubtedly the channel gap. After Travis Rice failed to clear the channel and fell into the gaping crevasse riders stopped trying the transfer.
The biggest criticism of the course is how close all the jumps are. You basically land one jump and are shot right into the lip of the next. Shit’s tech. And kids to broke off. Kevin Pearce fell hard on the second table and sustained a concussion. He left the hill early with a bandage and a lump over his eye. He seemed fairly unfazed, but had to bow out of tonight Big Air comp and word is he’s on the go-list for the rest of the weeks events.

Chas Guldemond got Kevin’s spot in the tonight, and even though he’s got a nasty case of shin splints Chas said he plans on really givin’ ‘er under the lights.

Big Air practice starts at 6:30 and the finals get going at 8pm.

Check back later tonight for all the results.

Waterville Valley Turns Pink for 2009 Boarding for Breast Cancer Event

For the fourth consecutive year Waterville Valley is turning its mountain pink to raise funds for Boarding for Breast Cancer (B4BC) on Superbowl Sunday, February 1. There will be lots of ways for skiers and riders to participate including an Oakley Pink Rail Jam and an Ultimate Pink Raffle featuring women’s skis and snowboards from Rome, Burton, Nitro, Salomon, K2, Flow and Forum. Also in the raffle are products from Skullcandy, goggles, gloves and jackets from Oakley, Electric, Smith Optics, Eastern Boarder, Volcom, Thule, Wigwam, Giro and NH Old School. Pink B4BC Raffle tickets will be $2 each and sold all weekend.

Waterville Valley’s terrain park crew will host an Oakley Pink Rail Jam for B4BC on Sunday. Registration is from 8 a.m. - 10 a.m. at the Event Yurt and the $40 entry fee includes an Exhibition lift ticket, Pink goodie bag and Pink Raffle ticket. The Rail Jam starts at 12:00 pm. The resort will donate the full $40 entry fee to Boarding for Breast Cancer.

Waterville Valley has raised over $20,000 for B4BC. in the last three years. Resort employees participate by pledging an hour or more of their pay to go to B4BC. By turning the mountain Pink, Waterville Valley is supporting B4BC’s efforts to educate young women about the importance of early breast cancer detection and the value of an active lifestyle.

Find out more on the event HERE.

X-Games Snowboard Superpipe Women’s Qualifying Results Just Rolled In.

1. Torah Bright / 97.66 / Bib 560 / Cooma, Australia
2. Kelly Clark / 95.00 /  Bib 561 / Mount Snow, Vt.
3. Hannah Teter / 86.66 / Bib 378 / South Lake Tahoe, Calif.
4. Ellery Hollingsworth / 85.66 / Bib 373 / Darien, Conn.
5. Gretchen Bleiler / 84.66 / Bib 559 / Aspen, Colo.
6. Kaitlyn Farrington /  73.66 / Bib 563 / Bellevue, Idaho
7. Kjersti Oestgaard Buass / 73.33 / Bib 531 / Trondheim, Norway
8. Maddy Schaffrick / 64.33 / Bib 376 / Steamboat Springs, Colo.
9. Molly Aguirre / 62.66 / Bib 556 / Mammoth Lakes, Calif.
10. Faye Gulini / 55.33 / Bib 381 / Vail, Colo.
11. Leslie Glenn / 51.00 / Bib 319 / Breckenridge, Colo.
12. Meg Pugh / 49.66 / Bib 382 / Cottonwood Heights, Utah
13. Tricia Byrnes / 48.00 / Bib 562 / Aspen, Colo.
14. Lizzy Beerman / 37.00 / Bib 558 / Weston, Vt.

farewell-party-poster

Boreal Mountain Resort in Truckee, CA is set to host the second stop of the US Snowboarding Grand Prix this January 30 – February 1st, 2009. This 3-day spectator event will be one you won’t want to miss. With a $300,000 purse and the possibility to drive off with a brand new truck, these pro riders mean serious business. Come watch as the best riders in the world compete in the Olympic sized Half Pipe built to 22ft. just for the competition on the 30th and 31st. The excitement continues on Saturday night with a special Jr Jam sponsored by XBOX 360. Then on Sunday the 1st, the focus shifts to the custom Boardercross course for the SBX. The event will later be televised on NBC Sports 2/14 at 3:00 p.m. EST, but why wait to see what happens when you can see it live with walk-up access to the event or by snow with a lift ticket. Expect great music, free swag and one heck of a good time.

Bonding Snowboard Gear With The Environment
Inside Working Holiday Distribution—The New Home of Bond Outerwear & SLVDR Clothing

TransWorld took a field day to explore the newly founded and appropriately named Working Holiday Distribution offices, encompassing Bond Outerwear and SVLDR Clothing. While both companies arose independently, they, as well as their creators planted the root of their business heavily in social and environmental responsibility.

Bond’s progressive outerwear line has gained a name as “the first carbon neutral outerwear company” from environmentally-minded practices that stem from their involvement in production as well as the materials that make up their outerwear. Recycled nylons, polyesters, plastics and organic materials combine to create a sleek, yet surprisingly technical product offering. Every single piece of outerwear, layering, and accessory utilizes a composition of recycled and repurposed materials with very few, if any, new materials. In fact, the only newly produced elements found on the outerwear are generally the zippers, dyes and waterproof coating. From the speckled, recycled buttons and barrel locks to coconut husk fibers that make up the some of the lush fabrics—each piece represents a strong step forward in textile production.

And while no company, at least currently, can be completely “green” or “sustainable,” the heads at Working Holiday are at least taking a dynamic approach and shift away from other destructive production methods. While critics can find fault in transportation effects and logistics, the fact that the company is offsetting their production with carbon neutralizing investments in their factory and doing something rather than nothing is worthy of attention.

Building a team isn’t out of the question either with the recent addition of TJ Schneider as well as a handful of am riders. The company also dropped a run of limited edition (450 to be exact) boards laced with the artwork of Steve Nazar (Cartoonist, originator of the classic T&C surf characters and creator of Big Dog Sportwear graphics among other things) to build up some hype.

SLVDR on the other hand, prides itself with involvement on the social side of things by using a generous cut of sales to donate action sports product to deserving youth around the world. These sports played a key role in the development of SLVDR and part of fulfilling this brand’s mission is to deliver the same opportunities of activity and life for others.

When asked about the main reasons for starting SLVDR, founder Rob Myers says, “I started SLVDR to fulfill a few personal desires—to work on an affordable luxury sportswear line that featured my attention to detail, fit, and quality fabrics; to have control of a brand from the inception and influence all aspects of the company; and to finally to give respect and homage to the boardsports that have shaped and guided my life since I was eleven years old.”

Although SLVDR is tackling social woes instead of environmental ones, the recent merge with Bond could result in similar assembly and production practices. But for now, the clothing is positioned as “affordable luxury”—using premium materials and unique details to create a quality product and using it as a means for elevating other’s unfortunate social standings. In a year’s time, Rob would “love to see SLVDR in a place that everyone who appreciates the product and gets the brand direction has an opportunity to support the company. The more people we reach with the brand means more deserving kids that can receive support from our donations. SLVDR is not just about cutting and pasting a logo on garments and collecting a check. A friend once said ‘If I am given the mic, I want to say something meaningful’ that is how I feel about SLVDR.”

bondunlimited.com
slvdr.com
wecansolveit.org
carbonfund.org

Click this link to view our website:
http://www.snowboardaddiction.com

“The world’s best freestyle snowboard coaching!:
Presents - how to do a front board. A broken down analysis to sliding frontside boardslides.

You can watch this video here on Youtube in either regular or goofy.

Check out our website (http://www.SnowboardAddiction.com) to get the full program.

Brought to you by:
Burton Snowboards
Mountain Dew
Electric Visual
Camp of Champions

Filmed on location at Whistler Blackcomb

Rider: Nev Lapwood

Tempting Fate In The Himalayan Outback

Words by Jennifer Sherowski. Photos by Eric Bergeri.

As featured in the January 2009 issue of TransWorld SNOWboarding. Don’t miss an issue… Subscribe HERE!

One of the very best things about traveling to snowboard is that you’re not a normal tourist. You’re not the chubby dad pointing his video camera at everything that moves. You’re not part of that Japanese tour group filing off the bus to see their damn sight. Nah, you’re out there tearing the place apart and meeting local riders doing the same. Because after all, experiencing a foreign land isn’t really about ingesting unidentifiable food or inquiring slowly and loudly with accompanying hand gestures, “Where can I use the toilet?” No, real integration only happens when you get mixed up with the locals and accept the native attitude.

With that said, TransWorld spent two weeks exploring one of the world’s oldest and greatest nations—the Republic of India. From the tip of a 14,000-foot peak on the border of Pakistan to the dirty streets of Delhi and all points in between, we were true adventurers. And although we may have fought it at first, by the end of our journey we’d for the most part accepted what it really meant to be in India. In other words, we’d faced the fact that every single question we asked— Will the gondola be open tomorrow? Does the sun ever come out here? Will the power go out again tonight? Is the fruit salad safe to eat? Does our cab driver know where he’s going? Will we make it through the drive alive?— would be answered in the exact same way:
“Inshallah.”

Literally translated as “if God wills,” this Arabic word spans India’s copious languages (Hindi, Farsi, Urdu, Kashmiri, Punjabi, et cetera) and embodies a sort of shoulder-shrugging resignation about events to come. Neither optimistic nor pessimistic, it’s just a humble acceptance of the future.
Of course, as Westerners we’re used to things like schedules, maps, and answers in the affirmative or negative. Yeah, we’re not really inshallah kind of people. But you know, by the travel-worn end of our journey—after almost drowning in the fruits of a seemingly never-ending snowstorm, after one of us fell to acute food poisoning (me!) and the rest endured other interesting gastrointestinal dilemmas, after being constantly surrounded by dudes with AK-47s, the setting off a big meaty avalanche, and after one of the quietest most peaceful powder runs of our lives—we could do nothing more than relax, shrug our shoulders, and have some faith. Things would work out … inshallah.

Kashmir: A Backstory

There were seven of us in total—riders Chad Otterstrom, Ryan Thompson, Steve Fisher, and James Frederick, along with photographer Eric Bergeri, TWS filmer Joe Carlino, and me. We were headed to Gulmarg, a tiny town in the Northern province of Kashmir, way up high in the Himalayas. I’d be lying if I said we knew what awaited us. I’d read the U.S. State Department’s warning about travel to Kashmir (the region extends into Pakistan and is just emerging from a 60-year war). However, I’d also heard that “the U.S. State Department is full of shit!” You never really know. For the most part, we tried to ignore the incendiary comments and we’d just find out when we got there.

Now, I’m pretty sure I didn’t hear anything about the history of India during my Western school-system education, so I was as surprised as anyone to learn that the “India” we think of (Bengal tigers, Rajasthani princesses, Bollywood, et cetera) and “Kashmir” are two very different places. Situated along the northern cusp of India where the Himalayas erupt like a massive spinal column from the rolling Punjab plains, the “princely state of Jammu and Kashmir” (as it used to be known) is comprised of mostly Islamic mountain people who probably identify more with their fellow Muslims in Pakistan and Afghanistan than the largely Hindu population of more southerly Indian territories.

Although savagely beautiful, Kashmir is a war-torn place. My fairly inexpert understanding of the conflict is this: The year 1947 marked the end of British rule in India and the subsequent partition of all the princely states. A struggle over whether Kashmir would belong to India, Pakistan, or remain independent launched the Indo-Pakistani War—a struggle that ravaged the area for the next 50 odd years, continually demanding that Kashmiris’ chief concern was simple day-to-day survival. The tension has dissipated somewhat in the last decade, with India currently occupying half of Kashmir and Pakistan controlling about a third with the rest in a gray area.

The Road To Gulmarg

Walking single file out of the airport in Srinagar (the winter capital of Kashmir) with each of us hauling two giant gear bags was a lot like being at the zoo—except in reverse. We were now in “occupied territory.” A lineup of tattered soldiers or cops (or both?) fixed us with piercing stairs, especially (or so I imagined) eyeballing me—the sole female shamelessly walking around in the company of six men. A little distracted by our surroundings, I lagged behind the line in order to gawk around, until Eric waited up and whispered, “This isn’t a good place to get separated.” It was true. Even the dogs—skinny, scrappy, and sly—were eyeballing us.

I don’t really blame people for staring, though. There was no getting around the fact that we were seven foreigners dragging odd-shaped, overstuffed duffels leaking electronics-charger cords and candy-bar wrappers. Yeah, in India (especially rural India), there’s just no blend-in factor. You’re either a dusky local wearing a turban or ferin (the local Kashmiri garb of a long wool robe with sleeves), or you’re a foreigner. Forget “trying to not to stand out.”

Anyway, the Srinagar airport doubles as the city’s army base and consists of a camouflaged airstrip surrounded by camouflaged hangars and bunkers next to a parking lot that was, incidentally, the only thing within miles not camouflaged. The Srinagar runway doesn’t have lights (that’d be a dead giveaway), so flights can only take off and land during daylight hours and in good weather.

Loaded into jeeps with our bags lashed sketchball style to the roof, we passed by men and boys on donkeys and bikes, colorful jalopy buses, and armed soldiers on guard every twenty yards or so. The guards squinted into the raw winter afternoon—no gloves and generally no hat or much other protection against the biting wind other than an army-issue canvas jacket and machine gun. Their presence near the airport made sense to us, but the firepower never really diminished throughout our two-hour drive, and eventually we realized that the entire Kashmiri region is being guarded by the bored, tired, and shivering ranks of the Indian Army.
Obviously, we weren’t used to being around semi-automatic weaponry on a daily basis, and those guns made us nervous. What was the purpose of all that firepower? The short answer is that it’s for show. An occupying army’s job is, after all, to simply hang around and intimidate. And it was working … on us.
However, you couldn’t help feeling a little bad for these guys—the soldiers, I mean. The ones who weren’t bored out of their brains patrolling some shack in the middle of nowhere were making a sad attempt at winter overland training. Picture a line of knock-kneed, spindly fellows skating cross-country like it’s maybe their second or third time on skis, ever—machine guns strapped haphazardly to their backs. Man, my maternal instincts kind of kicked in here. I wanted to tell them to just put the guns down—’cause if you think running with scissors is dangerous, try learning to cross-country ski with a firearm on your back.

The Mountain

Gulmarg sits on the side of Mt. Apharwat, a 14,000-foot Himalayan peak a few short miles from the Indian/Pakistani border and just 75 miles from Rawalpindi, the city where Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was gunned down a couple weeks before we showed up. But all of our anxieties about violence and political unrest flew out on the savage wind as we exited the gondola onto Apharwat’s rocky ridgeline and took in the view from the top of the world. The jagged Himalayas spread out before us like rows of sharks teeth and off in the distance loomed a shadowy purple figure—Nanga Parbat, the ninth highest mountain in the world.

The terrain dropping away from us was all powder-loaded bowls in between wind-scoured ridges funneling into rolling deciduous-tree glades, which eventually gave way to luscious fir-tree lines rife with natural kickers and hips. If this resort were in North America, it’d be an expansive place serviced by an army of high-speed lifts dumping you into every nook and cranny. But this was India, so a sole second-hand gondola (plaques inside the cars read “Grenoble, France”) took you straight to the top—where, cowboy-style, you could hike, traverse, or hooligan into whatever dangerous terrain awaited.

I know what you’re thinking. With terrain like that, Gulmarg’s gotta be the next Whistler or St. Moritz, right? Well, that kind of development probably will happen … but not anytime soon. Nothing’s very organized. I mean, the Kashmiri people have just endured a war, so their mind-set isn’t organization and thinking ahead—it’s all about day-to-day survival. Also, there’s no uninterrupted power source to the town, meaning the power goes out at least a couple times a day—the gondola shuts down and all the hotel lights and heaters turn off. Can you imagine the fur-coat set dealing with that? Nah.

However, Gulmarg is definitely on the come-up. This season marked the beginning of a legitimate explosives program for avalanche control using C-40 bought directly from the Indian army. Also, Ski Himalaya—a tour company owned by Australian businessman Peter Robinson—and the place that facilitated our trip to Gulmarg—has done tons to help the local infrastructure. Instead of bringing in their own non-Indian drivers, guides, and other employees to service their international traveler clientele, Ski Himalaya has become the largest employer of local Kashmiris in the area and is all about empowering them to lay their own foundation. The place also brought over American Dave Watson (two-time Everest summiter and our trusty guide for the trip) to train its team of Kashmiri ski and snowboard guides.

Anyway, a giant storm was forecasted for Gulmarg the day we arrived, and sure enough, the next morning we awoke to a thick curtain of flakes falling slowly and steadily. The upper mountain was closed—visibility up there was nil. “Awesome, snow!” we foolishly exclaimed. Be careful what you ask for. The storm stalled out over Gulmarg and dumped on us for the next five days. We watched the hotel snowbanks go from shoulder high to head high to way overhead. It snowed five feet in about as many days, and we wallowed around on the lower part of the mountain in literally shoulder-deep powder, waiting anxiously for the sky to clear enough for avalanche control and our chance at riding the real stuff up top.

At some point throughout this endless parade of blizzardry, I fell prey to serious food poisoning. I won’t go into too much detail, but suffice it to say that I spent about 24 hours on what I considered my deathbed and lost several pounds in food-weight and fluid. This marked a major turning point in the trip, because suddenly nobody’s stomach was happy. Ravenous hunger from hiking all day at high attitude was replaced with grumbling indigestion and diarrhea. Nothing at the hotel buffet sounded good to anyone anymore, and Ryan (a notorious germaphobe) was consuming nothing but PowerBars he’d brought from home. When I could finally eat again, I played it safe with white bread and Kit Kats. Our strength and morale were faltering.
There’s nothing like a little sunshine to perk up even the most stricken traveler, though. Our final day in Gulmarg dawned clear, and so we rallied green-faced and weak up the gondola to the very top of the mountain. And what can I say? It was amazing. Himalayan powder is some of the best on the earth—light and dry, yet with a milky quality that renders it totally bottomless. The boys sent it off cornices and cliffs, and many a rooster tail was discharged into the sunshine. Our last run, we hiked to the very summit of Mt. Apharwat (a couple hundred feet above the gondola’s top) and figure-eighted down thousands of feet of untracked vertical straight to our hotel. Silent, peaceful, and hip deep in powder—that was the way we ended the day.

Adventures In Delhi

Back in Dehli, we were starved, sweaty, and submitting more fully than ever to culture shock. Upon stepping out of the New Delhi airport, we were swarmed by the homeless and destitute trying to carry our bags, tuck in our shirts, show us the way to the parking lot, give us complements—anything for a tip. Because most of us were Americans—making us cheap as hell and also fierce guardians of our personal space—we zigged and zagged through the crowds in full escape mode whilst desperately looking for the vehicles that would transport us to our hotel. What we found, however, was not vehicles, but a vehicle—as in one vehicle arranged for seven people and all of our accompanying film/shred/travel gear. It was an interesting ride—all elbows in the ribs, armpits in the face, and knees jabbing into sensitive spots.
The city of Delhi is a magnificent, amazingly dirty metropolis filled with vibrant colors, potent smells, and the immense beauty of an intensely alive place. It’s also a center of serious poverty. We never, ever got used to starving toddlers pulling at our pant legs and armless, toothless men begging in the traffic lineup.
We saw so much in the few short days we were in Delhi. Ruins, mosques, markets—it was all a blur. Uniformed schoolboys called out to us as we whizzed by in rickshaws and people took our picture from bus windows. Once, after taking a snapshot of Jama Masjid, Delhi’s most famous mosque, I turned around and—snap! Two teenage boys had nabbed a picture of me! Apparently a blond Western chick was more of a photo op in India than a seventeenth century mosque. In fact, me getting photographed happened frequently all around town and (as you can imagine) got old really, really fast.
Pathetically and completely shamefully, we ate at Pizza Hut twice on our last day in Delhi—and it wasn’t even good! Its only real redeeming quality was that it didn’t make us violently ill. We were so ready for home we could taste it. This is not meant to be a judgment call about India at all, but our “adventure mode” had given way to “get us on a f—king plane mode.” We’d gone into the trip fully down to taste and test everything the country had to offer, but now it seemed too intense for our travel-worn souls. Yes, the food was pungent, spicy, and delicious—but our stomachs couldn’t handle it. And yes, the air was soft, breezy, and balmy—but it made our snot black and potentially fostered malaria-carrying mosquitoes.
You see, India harbors a rare richness of culture, history, and environmental beauty. It’s nothing less than extraordinary—but you don’t go there without courage and the taste for adventure. But hey, if you’re traveling without those things, then something’s really wrong with you anyway.

Did You Know?

Kashmir For Dummies (That Was Us)

Tipping: India operates on the tipping system, so get ready to shell out. Luckily, when we exchanged our money we were given an almost comically large stack of tattered bills. Even though the hundreds of 250-rupee bills we had of were the equivalent of two dollars (an amount that would probably feed an entire family for a couple days), we had a hard time just giving them away. “I don’t know,” somebody would inevitably say. “It’s 250—that sounds like a lot!”

Booze: Kashmir is a mostly Muslim territory. Muslims don’t drink alcohol. However, the Indian soldiers (mostly Hindu) are issued alcohol rations, and they supplement their income by selling this hooch on the sly. We became hip to this phenomenon a few days in and bought some beer from the back door of a restaurant—it was crap malt liquor and nearly undrinkable. Once we got hold of a bottle of “whiskey”—a vile, amber-colored chemical concoction that smelled of bug spray and tasted of grain alcohol. If that’s what Muslims think booze tastes like, no wonder they don’t drink.

Natural predators: Before traveling to Gulmarg, we had to sign a Ski Himalaya release saying that the company was not responsible in the event of an attack by snow leopards or monkeys. Yep, the ultra-rare snow leopard flourishes in the Gulmarg area and has been known to maul unsuspecting folks by jumping down from tree limbs and attacking. We didn’t see any, of course, but we did see monkeys—which, while cute from afar, were revealed to be gross, rodent-esque trash scavengers with soul-piercing stares.

Bonfire Launches Boots in 2009

PORTLAND, ORE.  (January 21, 2008)– Bonfire Snowboarding is pleased to announce the launch of a new collaboration with Salomon Snowboards.  Bonfire Boots will launch in the fall of 2009 at select retail stores.

<object width=”400″ height=”267″><param name=”allowfullscreen” value=”true” /><param name=”allowscriptaccess” value=”always” /><param name=”movie” value=”http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2911860&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=&amp;fullscreen=1″ /><embed src=”http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2911860&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=&amp;fullscreen=1″ type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” allowfullscreen=”true” allowscriptaccess=”always” width=”400″ height=”267″></embed></object><br /><a href=”http://vimeo.com/”>Bonfire Boots Preview</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/user1192473″>Bonfire Snowboarding</a> on <a href=”http://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a>.

Bonfire’s design team has harnessed the power of Salomon’s world-leading boot development group to create two men’s boots and two women’s boots that feature custom fit foam and utilize the finest quality materials in the boot industry.

“I’ve wanted to make Bonfire boots for a long time,” said Bonfire Founder Brad Steward. “The colors, design details are on point – and the fit and performance are exactly what you would expect from a collab with Salomon’s Italian boot team.”

The Men’s Bolt boot will retail for $219 and features a soft feel liner built around a legendary last.  Custom fit foam allows for heat moldable customization at the shin and forefoot area.

The Men’s Blaze boot brings the heat to the street. Straight out-of-the-box comfort, a quick lace liner and thick cushioning EVA soles make the Blaze shred-ready.  It will retail in select shops for $199.

Modern materials meet retro style in the Women’s Geometric boot.  The Geo will retail for $229 and has all the bells and whistles including a soft feel liner designed around a women’s specific last.

The Women’s Flame goes glam with snake skin detailing, and subtle colors to compliment any kit.  Retailing for $199, the Flame has extra thick EVA foam outsoles to cushion feet on any terrain.

“Bonfire boots have been in the pipeline for several years and now with our 20th anniversary in 2009, we’re ready to launch,” said marketing manager Amy Eichner.

For more information please contact your local Bonfire sales rep or Sales Manager Karen Craig.

For more info on Bonfire Products, team, events and more check out www.bonfiresnow.com www.facebook.com

millions of kinks… good luck not getting kicked out


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“The images in here show my journey of 2008. In between all of the crazy action, I hope to bring ya stories, vibes, personalities, a few laughs and connections. Hopefully, in some of the images, you are brought behind the camera, and into the life of pro shreds, ie snow nomads. Enjoi.”

- Cole Barash

Bio: Cole Barash

Age: 21
Homebase: Oceanside, CA
Equipment: Canon bodies and lenses, leica m7, and hasselblad 501.
Lighting: Profoto 7b2, 2 acute 600r, sunpak 555

Do you still shoot film, why?:

Yeah, for sure. More for personal stuff, as most companies and magazines are heavily reliant on digital these days. The main thing about shooting film is, IT SLOWS ME DOWN. You focus much more on your composition, getting your lighting completely dialed and waiting patiently for that moment. Instead of rapid fire with digital, which is easy to do, this can ruin a portrait session.

What companies are you shooting for:

NIKE SNOW, Oakley and Billabong. I no longer shoot for Forum, although those guys are my homies, I’ve had some of the craziest times with them. I will always be tight with that crew. Forum is a solid program, I learned a lot coming up with them and will always respect my roots.

Photographers who influence you:

I would say original big influences for me were Zacher, Skoglund and Mathis. There shit was so ill! So different; Zacher would shoot it all, showing how it is beyond the action; real stories. He doesn’t care, he just shoots! Skoglund is just gnarly, so tech, always experimenting. And mathis, all his urban stuff in True Life days was real inspiring; always switching up crazy films, and such strong compositions.

What photographers are you hyped on in snowboarding today:

Frode, Blom and Blotto. Frode gets it done in Europe, love his work recently. Blom is coming out with some rad material as well, inspiring for sure. Blotto is the road warrior, always coming back with the goods. AND there is this new guy, Carlos Blanchard, SUPER stoked on his black and white stuff.

What is up with the NIKE SNOWBOARDING ads? And are they the same as NIKE 6.0?

No NIKE SNOWBOARDING is a separate core brand similar to NIKE SB. NIKE 6.0 is mainstream action sports. For the NIKE boot ads, we just wanted to do something different. They are weird, and some people probably dont understand them. We chose environments true to each rider (ie, Benne’s was mocha salsa in SLC) , all shot at night, moody and contrasty, and we spot lit the boots to add mystery.

What feature or cover in Transworld Snowboarding were you most stoked on this year and why?

The Transworld Photo Annual cover. Curtes slaughtered that shot, the light and angle for the turn was so sick. Not to mention its Terje, such insane style, looks like hes surfing. And the fact his signature is on every copy, it looks rad, shows he was stoked on it and it was an original idea to have him sign it. Its refreshing to see a legit pow turn on a cover in a new way, they are hard to shoot.

What advice do you have for any upcoming photographers:

Keep shooting, and shooting. Always try, reinvent yourself, and experiment. If you really want to be a snowboard photographer, your gonna have to pay your dues, and put in a lot of long days, so get ready. Also, always be scanning through as much eye candy (good imagery) as possible via websites, mags, photo books, blogs whatever, develop your eye and expose it to all. And keep asking questions….

Check out more of Cole’s photography at www.colebarash.com. You can also check out his blog at www.ColeBarash.Blogspot.com.

STOP #5 OF THE 2009 NORTH AMERICAN PBRJ TOUR - WATERVILLE VALLEY, NH

The 5th stop on the 2009 North American Peanut Butter & Rail Jam tour went down under a blue, sun filled sky on Saturday, January 17th!

Looking through a window, the weather was perfect. If you happen to suffer from nerve damage and can’t feel your extremities, the weather was perfect. The point I’m trying to get at is despite all the sun, the temperature was -22 and one’s eyeballs would freeze if one opted out of blinking for a few seconds! Apparently I’m a wimp because this didn’t appear to be an obstacle for the 100 competitors that ignored the forecast and forged on regardless. A tip of the cap to them!

Luke Mathison and the WV terrain park crew worked hard to put together the best setup we’ve seen since the PBRJ first appeared at the resort seven years ago. This time around riders were confronted with a down rail, a menacing gapped up-down box and a down-flat-down rail!

The proceedings got underway shortly after 10am with the 15 & Under Division! Garrett Mernick and Dylan Peters jumped out of the gate with intensity usually reserved for the finals. Soon enough Jack Herald, Cody Ellison and Robert Connors answered the challenge and the battle was all-out mayhem! In the blink of an eye we witnessed b/s 180 swtich 50-50s, nollie back tailslides and bunch of smooth front boards! When the snow settled, Garrett Mernick had taken 1st, Jack Herald 2nd, and Dylan Peters 3rd!

The 16 & Over Division riders were up to bat next and wasted no time knocking a few heavies over the fence! Dylan Dragotta, Andrew Aldridge and Sawyer Dean’s riding sent a clear message to fellow competitors that more then the status quo would be needed to land atop the podium this day my friends! Switch front boards, back lips, a 50-50 gap b/s 270 boardslide and switch 50-50 f/s 360 out are just a few of the tricks went down with apparent ease! After much number crunching, Sawyer Dean landed in 1st, Andrew Aldridge laid claim to 2nd and Jeremy Montpuisi slid into 3rd!

It was the ladies turn next and they competed like champions! The cold temps continued to make those unprepared pay the price. Halfway through their heat though, a few of the girls had taken off their jackets and were down to sweaters! Those of us who were more stationary couldn’t believe it! The girls threw down some seriously respectable tricks and stoked all the guys out! Boardslide, gap front board, switch 50-50, a b/s tailsilde and a lot more went down during the girl’s heats. At the end of the day, Laura Rogoski was1st, Mary Rand 2nd and Millie Chapman 3rd!

As usual, the Open Division competitors were last to ride and were expected to leave everyone with a good taste in their mouths. Damn that was delicious! These guys exceeded expectations and made most of us forget about the assorted amputations (that would be a cool band name) we’d need to have as a result of the cold. Though many “radical stunts” went down, the f/s 270 front board to gap f/s 270 switch 50-50 is the one that stands out in my head! Of course that isn’t to take anything away from the rest of the riding. Shaun Murphy, Rob Hallowell and the Open crew absolutely destroyed the three PBRJ features! After a little math was applied, Shaun Murphy was in 1st, Rob Hallowell 2nd and the mighty Stu Gingras was in 3rd!

A huge thanks to Deb Moore, Jamie Cobbett, Luke Mathison, Jeremy, Kevin (AKA “Stevens”), Jeff and the rest of the Waterville Valley family for all their hard work! This is seriously one of our favorite PBRJ tour stops and something memorable always seems to go down. Thanks also to Matt Lareau for all his hard work before, during and after the PBRJ. Matt stoked out the top 3 riders in each division with killer custom PBRJ headbands! Thanks once again to B. Duteau for accommodating us back in 2004. Last, but not least, thanks to Electric for supporting with goggles as well as $50 and a pair of shades for their “Gooeyest Move” award!

Results:

15 & Under:
1st: Garrett Mernick
2nd: Jakc Herald
3rd: Dylan Peters
4th: Cody Ellison
5th: Robert Connors

16 & Over:
1st: Sawyer Dean
2nd: Andrew Aldridge
3rd: Jeremy Montpuisi
4th: Dylan Dragotta
5th: Mike Hahn

Girls:
1st: Laura Rogoski
2nd: Mary Rand
3rd: Millie Chapman
4th: Eileen Koontz
5th: Maggie Esbaugh

Open Divison:
1st: Shaun Murphy
2nd: Rob Hallowell
3rd: Stu Gingras
4th: Jeff Sponzo
5th: Tanner McCarty

Electric’s “Gooyest Move”:
Sawyer Dean!

D-1 for the Nissan Russian Adventure 2009 in Sochi The snow was long awaited in Sochi and it fell!

On Tuesday, thick snow made the visibility for the riders nearly impossible when they went to check out the venue chosen for the first day of competition. On Wednesday morning, the clouds disappeared leaving blue skies, but the time required to secure the face was a concern for the organization, so they decided to postpone the first day of competition with a possibility of beginning on Thursday. So the 57 riders present will have the opportunity to ski and check out the area today.

The bib draw as part of the opening ceremony took place on Tuesday in the Nissan village at the base of the mountain. Mitch Toelderer (AUT) and Richard Permin (FRA) will trace the first lines in snowboard and ski with bib numbers 1 and 2. The Pro Freeriders Board 2009 made the decision for the second day of the competition to reverse the starting list to even out their chances. The final ranking for the event will be defined by the addition of the scores for the two days unless a second competition day is not possible in which case, the first day will determine the final ranking.

Everyone is in the starting blocks for the first stop in Krasnaya Polyana with two great venues chosen by the mountain guides present:

The Salymovski face, chosen for the first day of competition and situated at the top of the ski lifts, is perfect for public viewing; andthe arrival area is easily accesible thus they will be able to see the riders up close. With 300 vertical meters and between 30-45% slope incline with a few trees freshly covered with a thick layer of snow, this face should allow the riders to go fast with many possible lines. The venue announced for the second day, though not yet confirmed, is the Rosa Huta (the Alpine Olymic venue for 2014) that has 400 vertical meters and 35-45% slope incline.

Nicolas Hale Woods, founder and organizer of the Freeride World Tour
“Snow is blessing the Sochi region for the Nissan Russian Adventure 09, 1st stop of the Freeride World Tour. It has been snowing close to 1.5m during the last 72 hours, to a point where our mountain guides are eager to see the end of the snowfalls. Riders are warming up dropping endless pillow lines, with never ending face (snow) shots. Nobody can wait to see these mountains with bluebird days, which should be the case as of tomorrow. Some serious avalanche checks are necessary to confirm day 1, hopefully on Thursday.”

The Freeride World Tour 2009 Since 2008, the Freeride World Tour has made sports history bringing together international freeriders. For the first time, skiers and snowboarders, men and women, travel the world seeking the Freeride World Champion title.

The stages of the Freeride World Tour 2009 (FWT)
20 - 25 January: Nissan Russian Adventure- Sochi, Russia
27 February - 5 March : Nissan Tram Face - Squaw Valley USA – New event
8 -14 March: Nissan Freeride de Tignes, France
20 - 29 March: Nissan Xtreme – Verbier 09, Switzerland

The Freeride World Qualifier 2009 events (FWQ)
30 January-2 February: the North Face Masters of Snowboarding – Snowbird (USA) – Sister event* of the Nissan Tram Face Squaw Valley USA
5-15 February: Scott Big Mountain Fieberbrunn (AUT), sister event of the Nissan Freeride de Tignes (FRA)
13-16 February: the North Face Masters of Snowboarding – Crested Butte (USA), sister event of the Nissan Tram Face – Squaw Valley USA
15-19 February: Freeride de Chamonix (FRA)
19-22 February: Winter Mysticxperience (ITA) Monte Rosa
20-22 February: The Monster Golden Ticket in Squaw Valley USA, sister event of the Nissan Tram Face – Squaw Valley USA
6-8 March: the North Face Masters of Snowboarding – Kirkwood (USA)
4-7 March: Salomon Extreme Freeride Championships - Taos, New Mexico (USA)
13-18 March: Nendaz Freeride (SUI), sister event of the Nissan Xtreme – Verbier 09 (SUI)
31 March-5 April: Jasna Adrenaline (SK)
22-26 April: Röldal Freeride Challenge (NOR), sister event of the Nissan Russian Adventure - Sochi 2010 *A sister event is a FWQ which will qualify the winners of each category to participate in the FWT event to which it is linkedwww.freerideworldtour.com

VERMONT ADAPTIVE HOSTS DISABLED SPORTS USA KIDS AND FAMILY CAMP
AT SUGARBUSH RESORT, FEB. 6-8

Special weekend created to develop skills while having fun with peers, family and instructors.

WARREN, Vt. (Jan. 20, 2009) — Vermont Adaptive Ski & Sports, the only year-round organization in the state to offer daily programs for people with disabilities, will host the Disabled Sports USA Kids and Family Camp Feb. 6-8 at Sugarbush Resort in Warren. The camp is part of the organizations line-up of programs for the 2008-2009 winter season, enabling participants to develop personal snowsports skills while having fun skiing or snowboarding with peers and instructors.

“Our goal is to provide a fun way for kids to meet new friends and to learn how to safely ski with their peers,” said Maggie Burke, Vermont Adaptive program coordinator at Sugarbush. “Our camp’s focus is not only on skiing skills and introductory alpine racing techniques but also on valuable life skills such as safety in the outdoors and being active and healthy. It’s a great opportunity for families to meet and share experiences.”

The two-day event is filled with on snow skill clinics, practice gate training, indoor rock climbing, a pizza party and movie night, free time for skiing, coaching, a fun race, and an awards ceremony.

The weekend is open to all families with participants ages 7-16. The cost is $250/participant and $200/family member or friend. (Sliding scale fees are available on a case by case basis.) Cost includes lift tickets for the weekend, rental equipment, indoor climbing, crafts, a commemorative tee shirt, and Saturday night dinner. Space is limited and reservations are required. For reservations contact Maggie Burke, 802.583.4283, or north@vermontadaptive.org. More information is available at www.vermontadaptive.org.

Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports is the only year-round disabled sports program with daily programming in the state, which is committed to empowering individuals with disabilities. The organization promotes independence and further equality through access and instruction to sports and recreational opportunities including alpine skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports; kayaking, canoeing, sailing, rock climbing, horseback riding, and more. More than 400 volunteers serve clients from all over the world in three locations in Vermont - Pico Mountain at Killington; Sugarbush Resort in Warren; and Bolton Valley Resort in Bolton. For more information, visit www.vermontadaptive.org.

“That’s It, That’s All.” Wins Big at X-Dance Festival

Snowboarder Travis Rice honored for innovative riding captured on new technology as the�“Athlete of the Year,” film wins “Best Overall Film” and “Best Cinematography”

Jackson Hole, Wyoming (January 21, 2009) – “That’s It. That’s All,” the groundbreaking snowboard film produced by Brain Farm wins both “Best Overall Film” and “Best Cinematography,” while snowboarder Travis Rice awarded “Athlete of the Year” at the X-Dance Action Sports Film Festival held in Salt Lake City, UT. The panel made up of filmmakers, athletes and entertainment executives awarded “That’s It, That’s All.” from a pool of 35 of the finest films in adventure and action sports screened throughout the four-day event.

“’That’s It, That’s All.’ has made an impact on the industry that cannot be ignored,” says Brian Wimmer, founder and director of the X-Dance Action Sports Film Festival. “It has all of the components; cinematography, editing, soundtrack, action and just enough story to completely raise the bar.”

In an attempt to push the progression of action sports films, “That’s It, That’s All.” leaps past the status quo athleticism and quality of production. For two years, producers Curt Morgan and Rice traveled the world in search of conditions that capture the essence of snowboarding. This quest took the riders to New Zealand, Japan, Germany, Canada, Valdez, AK, Jackson Hole, WY and Mammoth, CA. Using the features found in these locations, Rice began inventing new tricks including the first landing of a double backside rodeo 1080 (spinning three times, while going through 2 inversions).

“Tonight is all about thanking my friends, family and Quiksilver and Red Bull, who helped to make this happen. I really want to thank my mom for helping me out, so that I can concentrate of snowboarding,” Rice humbly adds. “Receiving official validation from our peers in both filmmaking and fellow athletes with these awards in a year that featured so many really solid projects is incredibly humbling. We’re already looking for ways to top this, so get ready!”

Using a dozen state of the art cameras including the Wescam 35 and Cineflex HD, the producers created a visual snowboard film that redefines the genre. “That’s It, That’s All.” includes the most unique footage ever shot of Travis Rice, Mark Landvik, Nicolas Müller, Terje Håkonsen, Jeremy Jones, John Jackson, Pat Moore, Scotty Lago, Bryan Iguchi, Kyle Clancy, Jake Blauvelt, Danny Kass and many more. There are many ‘firsts’ in the film including the first landed attempts at a handful of tricks, first time in locations and the first full, professional quality HD core snowboard film.

“That’s It, That’s All.” Is available on DVD, Blu-ray™ and iTunes. To purchase “That’s It, That’s All.” check out ThatsIt-ThatsAll.com or stop by your local Quiksilver or snowboard shop. 

Read the FULL Story & Photo Gallery on TITA from the TransWorld Snowboarding Sept Issue HERE

 Watch the Metal Teaser here

Travel in style and comfort! The ultimate in-between shoe.

The Freaks are back!

From 14th to 20th of March the European mecca of snowboarding Mayrhofen will be on
fire! Back once again for the 7th year running, this unprecedented combination of boardsports,
art and music, the Ästhetiker Wängl Tängl is on.

The format of this years contest in the Vans Penken Park is a “Gäng Jam” – a crew contest where teams of
three riders compete against each other. The best team will take home the majority of the prize money
and, as if this wasn’t enough, to the individual rider of the comp, Suzuki gives a stylish Suzuki DR125SM
motorbike.

For the first time ever the qualification will be open for everyone provided they enter in a team of three.
Three weeks before the event, the Vans Penken Park will be modified accordingly with countless man
hours and all kinds of heavy duty machinery. Once again the piece de resistance will be the Red Bull end
section and as per usual will require some pretty tech bowl riding skills from all entrants!

The Ästhetiker Skateboard Jäms are always focal points for the Austrian scene and demonstrate the
affinity between the two boardsports. This year numerous Austrian skate stars will be joined by various
international Pro Skaters from the Carhartt and Vans Teams. Once again the bombastic atmosphere of the
event combined with the caliber of the massive Mega-Miniramp will set Mayrhofen alight.

Contemporary youth culture has always been relevant for the Ästhetiker and so they are going to set up
special sessions for the various invited artists which are going to be very similar to the format of the board
contests. For the final party the Ästhetiker invited two true heavyweights of New York Hip Hop to throw
down with Austrias own Waxolutionists-Live-Band. Its gonna go off!

The contributing artists have a national and international background and are eager to work together. This
year the Pow-Surfers of Wolle Nyvelt will be the canvas for the artworks. Pow-Surfers are specially
shaped boards designed to be ridden in the deep snow without bindings.

The various concerts and parties will be the icing on the cake for this year’s event. Last year the Poetry
Slam was exceptionally good, and so the guys are cooking up a special one of a kind evening which no
guest should miss out on!

For all of you out there who want to be part of the event we have cooked up a special deal which reads as
follows: Price from 399,- Euro per person per week. Included are 7 nights accommodation with
breakfast, liftpass and free party entry the whole week, Open Pro Park Snow and Skate (except during
contest hours) and obviously a decently filled goodie bag. Whoever is interested in being part of this week
but doesn’t feel like stepping up to the contest, can book online on www.aesthetiker.com

Some fun looking shots entered this week for POWDER (check the gallery below with some of the highlights). Next weeks TAG Photo Contest is “PIPE,” so let’s see your best shots. Post ‘em & Tag Them.

This weeks winner is:

Powder in NJ

Not much powder in New Jersey but Adam Howell takes what we have. Photo by Jay Cagney.

Congrats Jay Cagney, please Email me for your prize: nick.hamilton(at)transworld.net

Honorable Mention goes to this shot:

Laid Back

My bro Michael Lalonde keeping it simple in some Whistler, BC Christmas day powder. Photo by Paul Lalonde.

Next weeks TAG Photo Contest is “PIPE,” so let’s see your best shots. Post ‘em & Tag Them.

Remember to include a caption with the Rider Name, Location, and Photographer name.

Here’s a gallery of some of the other sweet shots entered in this weeks contest, check it. Thanks everyone for taking part.

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Stop #2 of the TransAM, Big Boulder, Pennsylvania.

CHECK OUT THE PHOTO GALLERY HERE

Words by Adam Kisiel

I called it home for 21 years. The Roots live in the heart of it. Notorious B.I.G. talked about the state penn and getting girls at Penn State. It’s the home of the cheese steak, Rocky, and is one of the only states you can call out with the simple two letters, PA. It is the spot most notably where Ian Oliver and the Big Boulder Park Crew are resurrecting monsters in Frankenstein type fashion. If Big Boulder Park had two big electrodes on both sides, Ian and the crew hooked up the cables and pumped the electricity straight to the heart of the beast bringing to life the craziest Transworld Snowboarding TransAm to date.

Much like the seven other monstrous parks caged up at Big Boulder, this savage TransAm park grew over night and by daybreak it was out of control. One hundred and ten warriors stepped up to slay this demon, which was created to scare even the most courageous rider. The fiend of a park wasn’t just the child of Big Boulder Park; Ride Snowboards played a role in helping bring up this creation with the Ride Slime Wall feature. The Slime Wall was oozing green slime and could be rode from the side or hit like a hip from end to end. The middle of the wall was made of ice and had the Ride Snowboards and Big Boulder Park logo carved in it. That alone made this park ferocious, but Oakley added a pit of bloodthirsty sharks under a flat bar that had riders screaming as they jibbed over the gap for their lives. If the riders could stomach the bloody appendages floating in the Oakley shark pit they had to be battle ready to ride the pole jam to Marshmallow bonk feature by High Cascade. The Marshmallow grinning at the carnage ensuing around it saw spinning, flipping, and bonking overhead.

The onslaught started with all one hundred and ten riders battling the beast at the same time in the traffic jam. During the hour and half clash only the top forty combatants moved on to the Ultimate Final. The Ultimate Final had the forty riders attacking each section of the monster in ten-minute intervals. Christina Myal and Dom Luza let the charge through the top half of the hellion of a park out over the Dakine Down box, the Zumiez Couch flat down kinked rail, and Big Boulder Park Ledge. One wrong move on any of those features and the riders were dropping away to the darkness below that could be seen by the Dakine paper shreds and the Zumiez Couch. All had front row seats to the mayhem above. Lawrence Prince punished the Ride Slime wall with a front side 540 landing well past the end of the wall and earning him Best Trick honors. Kevin Breen and Billy Keil slayed every part of the beast along with the likes of Jen Oleskowicz and Jess Kirman elevating them to top honors.

Winners were treated like royalty with Custom TransAm Dakine backpacks filled with awesome prizes from Transworld Snowboarding, High Cascade Snowboard Camp, Dakine, Oakley, and Zumiez. To prepare them for their next shred battle Oakley gave them custom TransAm goggles. Ride Snowboards gave the first place winners new Ride Snowboards shining in the light like an Excalibur sword and Dakine awarded board bags for the warrior on the move. The gold came in the shape of the coveted Transworld Snowboarding TransAm trophy, the final award of first place knighthood. A huge giveaway, with tons of awesome prizes, helped heal the wounds of the other fallen riders. Ian Oliver and the Big Boulder Park Crew are making park monsters that would make most children pee the bed. Come to Big Boulder Park located in PA just a short drive from Philly and NYC and stake your claim as a true park slayer.

Congratulations to the TransAM winners:

Ladies

1^st Christina Myal, 2^nd Jen Oleskowicz, 3^rd Jess Kirman

Men

1^st Dom Luza, 2^nd Kevin Breen,  3^rd Billy Keil

Best Trick winner, Lawrence Prince, for a FS 540 to flat

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Boyne Falls, Mich. (January 20, 2009) – A new ladies ski and snowboard retreat is being held at Boyne Mountain Resort in Boyne Falls, Michigan on Tuesday, February 3 through Thursday, February 5. The retreat offers women two days of fun and the chance to connect with others through skiing, snowboarding, cocktail parties, spa visits, fitness sessions, a fashion show and more.


“This women-only retreat offers a fun and relaxed environment for learning and to advance skiing and boarding abilities,” said Heidi Clark of Boyne Mountain SnowSports Academy. “The instructors leading this retreat are all ladies so they understand a women’s body and the physiology of how our bodies work and how that relates to skiing and snowboarding techniques.”


Teaching professionals from Boyne Mountain SnowSports Academy serve as guides for the gathering, greeting participants at the Tuesday evening champagne and hors d’oeuvres welcome reception, leading equipment discussions and personalized evaluations, participating in morning stretches, leading up to four hours of daily on-snow workshops and video analysis, and bidding farewell during the Thursday afternoon reception. The retreat also includes meals, a fashion show, fitness classes and 50-minute spa treatment from the resort’s Solace Spa.


Catering to all levels and abilities, on-snow class sizes are limited to eight or less to ensure individualized attention. Among the Boyne Mountain SnowSports Academy teaching professionals is Morgan LaFonte, 1993 Women’s World Extreme Snowboarding Champion, feature snowboard film rider and Michigan native.

This new Ladies Ski and Snowboard Retreat at Boyne Mountain starts at $399 per person or $529 including two night’s lodging in the resort’s luxurious Mountain Grand Lodge and Spa.

For additional information, please visit www.BOYNE.com or call 800.GO.BOYNE (462-6963).

BOYNE is a collection of mountain and golf resorts, retail stores and real estate opportunities based in Michigan. Each of the collection is a member of the Boyne Resorts family of resorts and attractions and includes Boyne Mountain Resort in Boyne Falls; Boyne Highlands Resort in Harbor Springs and The Inn at Bay Harbor - A Renaissance Golf Resort in Bay Harbor as well as Bay Harbor Golf Club, Crooked Tree Golf Club, Avalanche Bay Indoor Waterpark, Boyne Country Sports and Boyne Realty. With countless lodging and meeting facilities, eight championship golf courses, premiere snowsports terrain, three spas, distinctive dining, spectacular events and Michigan’s largest indoor waterpark, we ask……what are you up for? For more information on BOYNE, please visit www.BOYNE.com.

The third Main Event stop happened on January 17th, the day after the coldest day the East Coast has seen this winter. With a temperature of –20 the night before the event, the crew at Ski Sundown worked with Josh Lempert from Snowgrind to put together the biggest jump and one of the best course set ups The Main Event has had this season. A solid 45 foot, fun looking jump was the follow up from three jibs above; a down bar, flat down, and a picnic table for kicks. Riders faces lit up when they got there and saw what they had in store for the day. Connecticut wasn’t ready for the show The Main Event had in store for them.

To kick off the morning, we were shocked by the level riding of the Mini Main Event riders 13 and under. Hosted by Burton’s Nick Scoffield, he kept the crowd live on their toes watching this jam format on sunny Ski Sundown. The Mini shredders were ripping the pole jam, and flat down box to jump set up. Kids were getting creative with one footers, and spins off both features and stepping it up to a level we have not yet seen from this division.

In the men’s heavyweight division we watched Nate Powers throw down some stylish cab 9’s in qualifiers. He then attempted the biggest backside rodeo of the day to land and pop his shoulder out of place, still walking home with 3rd. Travis Neuenhaus never stopped impressing the crowd and the judges with the best back 9 mute we witnessed all day and rode away with a 2nd place finish. Local CT ripper Justin Kosko was the winner of this Main Event with no doubt the biggest airs and best style throughout qualifiers and finals. His winning run was the cab 9 lein to stomp like a master ninja into an envelope filled with cash money.

As the level of progression and persistence continues to rise from the best regional riders in New England, we continue our search for the best rider on the East Coast to win the wildcard into the US OPEN, and Jr. Jam this upcoming March at Stratton Mountain, VT. Next stop is Stowe, VT…then Sugarloaf, ME. Once The Main Event works its way through these banger course set ups and local shredders, we plan to see everyone at the finals for a grand finale under the lights at Loon Mountain, NH.

Pro Men
1st Place Justin Kosko
2nd Place Travis Neuenhaus
3rd Place Nate Powers

Pro Women
1st Place Kelli Redes

Am Men
1st Place Ethan Burke
2nd Place Aaron Rossi
3rd Place Nick Dipero

Am Women
1st Place Kate Moy

Cutting Edge’s Boy’s Mini Main Event (13 & Under)
1st Place Jamie Male
2nd Place Joey Leon
3rd Place Keagan Rice

Cutting Edge’s Girl’s Mini Main Event (13 & Under)
1st Place Maggie Leon

Sartorius Sports Men’s Best Trick
William Mayo with a cab 900 mute.

Sartorius Sports Women’s Best Trick
Kelli Redes with a crail grab oozing with style.

A Huge thanks to our sponsors for the great prizes and all their support, to Burton Snowboards, Flow Snowboarding, Redbull, Fuel TV, Direct TV, Dekal.com, RED Helmets, Anon Optics, Snowgrind, Scion, Rye Airfield, Cutting Edge Skateboards and Sartorius Sports Check out all event details and photos at www.maineventseries.com <http://www.maineventseries.com> . Come out and join us for the rest of the Main Event Series:
Stowe Mtn, VT – Saturday, January 31st, 2009
Sugarloaf Mtn, ME – Sunday, February 15th, 2009
Loon Mtn, NH – The Finals – Saturday, February 28th, 2009

Millington, MI – January 15, 2009 – Promoter Pat Grzebinski, of popular Michigan Motocross track Baja MX, has teamed up with Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort to host the area’s first Winter Action Sports event.  The Event will be held at the beautiful Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort in Mount Pleasant, Michigan on Valentines Day weekend, February 14th and 15th, 2009 and will include a $3,000 USASA Snowboard Rail Jam as well as a Snowboard Rail Camp by Pat Milbery.

With a partnership that may be the first of its kind, Baja MX Inc. and Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort have decided to host the area’s first Winter Action Sports event.  The “Freeze X Fest” event will be a combination of 3 separate venues to be run during the holiday of Valentine’s and President’s Day weekend.  The $3,000 USASA Snowboard Rail Jam event will take place on Saturday, February 14th and will be complimented by a Snowboard Rail Camp coached by Red Bull Athlete Pat Milbery on Sunday the 15th.  Other events include a $10,000 AMA Ice Racing Grand Championship and a Freestyle Snocross show featuring Jimmy Blaze and company.

“The Baja team is really excited to be part of this event, and come Valentines Day, we know that the athletes and fans will be too”, says Pat.

Pat also added that with the steady decline in the economy, athletes and their families deserve more than just the racing and snowboard competition, they deserve to have a lot of fun too, which is why he sought out the help of Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort.  Along with the 3 featured events, spectators will also enjoy: Hospitality and giveaways from a variety of event sponsors, an interactive Public Snow Luge, and other forms of live entertainment and special guests.  Moreover, Yamaha will be on hand with a variety of new 2009 Snowmobiles for guests to hop on and ride around a huge rolling snow course.  All this and more can be seen from Soaring Eagle’s beautiful Casino and Resort, just a few hundred feet away.

“Soaring Eagle is happy to have Pat’s experience in providing quality entertainment for racers, families, and fans alike, and we’re honored to host such an exciting event”, says Bill Masterson, Executive Director of Marketing, Sales and Entertainment.

Regarded as the largest Casino and Resort in the Midwest, Soaring Eagle’s exceptional facilities will provide a great location for anyone who attends.  A neighboring field of 50+ acres and a huge snow hill will more than accommodate the weekend’s venues.  Moreover, with a variety of over 500 rooms and suites, fine dinning and buffets, a huge gaming area, “Kid Quest” child care, and more, athletes, friends and family will have all the fun they can handle, both day and night.

To learn more about the event go to www.freezexfest.com.

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Stop #2 of the TransAM, Big Boulder, Pennsylvania. Photo: James Honsa

The TransAM tour made it’s next stop on Saturday, January 17 at Big Boulder’s terrain park in Pennsylvania.

108 amateur shredders came out to show their talent on a fun course that consisted of Da Kine’s down box, High Cascade’s marshmallow, Oakley’s shark pit, Ride Snowboards slim ledge, and Zumiez rail & couch.

After the 108 shreds battled it out in a freestyle jam format for the qualifiers, 40 of them were selected for the final jam session.

Congratulations to the TransAM winners:

Ladies

1^st Christina Myal, 2^nd Jen Oleskowicz, 3^rd Jess Kirman

Men

1^st Dom Luza, 2^nd Kevin Breen,  3^rd Billy Keil 

Best Trick winner, Lawrence Prince, for a FS 540 to flat

Photo: James Honsa

test

nothing serious, just playing around on the shitty park.

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Video from our friends at Gravis

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Check out the Photo Gallery & Full Results HERE

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For More NOBOARD Content Check This:
NOBOARD VIDEO
NOBOARD in JAPAN

Sorm Flip (NO SOUND)

[Photo gallery coming super soon]

BEO Superpipe champion Kevin Pearce on his game. PHOTO: Christy Chaloux

The sundecks at Laax were packed today with zinka-smeared, sunglassed, vacationers soaking in the rays. The local kids even got the day off school to come watch the Superpipe finals. Today’s conditions were perfect for a pipe contest … and for taking in the views. Man, these Swiss know how to enjoy life to the fullest.

The format for today’s Superpipe finals was three runs all judged with an overall impression score. Before the contest got going, the head judge talked to the riders about what they wanted to see, stressing that it wasn’t a spin to win contest—it’s about style, variety, and progression—riders were wondering, should I do my back to back 10s or throw in a old school grab instead—but you know what, in the end, the most technical runs (read spins) won. 

The 22-foot pipe (instead of eighteen) was in near perfect condition. It was the first 22-footer the riders had been in this year—the next will be at the X Games next weekend. From what Kelly Clark explained to me, the extra vert allows riders more time in the air to spin, so those sevens, nines, and tens flow longer and spins can get styled out instead of forced. It’s just a matter of adjusting your riding style to be patient and carry more speed up the walls. Kelly and Kevin’s style of riding both obviously benefit from the extra vert.

Besides the enormous pipe, the other noteworthy thing was that a lot of riders were missing the transition on the way back in. Most runs had a moment where the rider was either going to be able to suck up the lower trannie impact or blow out—with the exception of one run—Kevin Pearce’s. He started off the contest with a “wicked” bail on the last hit of his first run. He went for his front 9 and caught his edge on the way in, whiplashing his head on the flat bottom. Ouch. He shook it off, but it wasn’t until his final run, after every other rider had gone, with Shaun in first and Iouri in second that Kevin threw his run together perfectly touching down high up on the transitions, somehow sucking up enough on his bottom front 9 to not suffer the same fate … it looked like it could have gone either way for a nanosecond. Kevin’s winning run started with a massive Crail into a McTwist, followed by a frontside 1080 tailgrab, Cab 1080, sticking that Frontside 900, and ending it with a safe frontside grab. Victory! Shaun’s second place run was mixed up a bit from the usual, noticeable absent was the back to back 10—he went huge stalefish, into a lofty McTwist followed by a frontside 720 Mute, a Cab 1080 tailgrab, and ending with a backside alley oop rodeo 540—keep in mind that Shaun’s final run was before Kevin’s. Iouri Podladtchikov placed an impressive third in his 7th BEO—it wasn’t that long ago that he stood on the podium as the 2005 BEO Junior Jam pipe champ— a real Open success story.

The women’s contest was really no contest—Kelly Clark had it from the beginning, but even on her victory run, she decided to add a trick, just to ‘see if she could.’ She starter with a Kelly-sized frontside 720 tail grab followed by a Cab 720 (this back to back 7 combo up top was new—be on the lookout for her to pull it out at the X Games), then she went frontside 540, backside 540, and ended with a lofty frontside air. Kjersti came in second with a strong run, and third place finisher Paulina Ligocka kept things interesting starting off with a front 900 and pulling an impressively technical run before falling on the last hit. Keep an eye out for this new face in women’s pipe.

On a side note, this was the 10th anniversary of the BEO, and it just happened that the first snowboard Olympics was 10 years ago in Nagano … (and Kevin Pearce was 10 years old)—wait, I’ve got a point here,  Gian Simmen and Nicola Thost, the two Olympic halfpipe gold medal champions from the first snowboarding Olympics were here competing. Even though it had been five years since she’d been in a halfpipe, Nicola was able to put together a sweet run including a front 7—she also milked that pipe for more hits than any other riders ending in fifth place! Gian Simmen, a Swiss national hero, got the crowd on their feet and also put together three solid runs in the finals ending up in 9th place. Very cool.

Kjersti Buass and Shaun White both won new Volvo XC 60s for best overall female and male BEO riders. The Open series continues in two weeks at the first ever Canadian Open February 2-8—the fourth event in this season’s Burton Global Open Series. Prost to good weather and Swiss chocolate. Auf Wiedersehen.

Women’s Halfpipe Finals Results

1. Kelly Clark (USA) Burton 94.17

2. Kjersti Oestgaard Buaas (NOR) Roxy 85.33

3. Paulina Ligocka (POL) Roxy 81.17

4. Linn Haug

5. Nicola Thost

6. Sarka Pancocchova

7. Lisa Wiik

8. Cilka Sadar

Men’s Halfpipe Finals Results

1. Kevin Pearce (USA) Burton 95.50

2. Shaun White (USA) Burton 92.33

3. Iouri Podladtchikov (SUI) Volcom 89.33

4. Mathieu Crepel

5. Peetu Piiroinen

6. Mason Aguirre

7. Markku Koski

8. Markus Malin

9. Gian Simmen

10. Roger Kleidval

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‘Get Eagle with the lone star from Mammoth, Lonnie Kauk. Check out his powder mayhem footage from Terrace B.C. plus more park stomping than you can shake a stick at…. and to top it off, the bonus park edit features a fresh remix track from Datachi. enjoy!’

Check Lonnie’s Full Part in the Standard Films release Aesthetica available to buy the DVD direct HERE and look out for iTunes Release coming out February 15th 2009

Billabong’s Flaunt It is an All-Girls Slopestyle & Rail Jam snowboard series that is aimed at giving girls from all levels a chance to ‘Flaunt It’, while providing over $20,000 in cash and prizes for the girls to vie for. The first 6 events throughout the USA and Canada are qualifiers for the Series Finals to be held at Tremblant. Each qualifier has a cash purse of $1,500 up for grabs plus the winner will receive airfare and accommodations to the series finals at Tremblant.�The finals have a cash purse of $8,500 ($4,000 for 1^st place!) with tons of product and prizes given out based on best scores, best tricks, style, etc.

Each contest is being designed with fun in mind and Billabong invites all local female shredders to come out and Flaunt It. The slopestyle contests are jam format so that everyone can get pumped watching each other, learn new tricks, and not feel the dreaded ‘it’s now or never’ pressure in the traditional competition format when only allowed a few runs.�Each competitor will be allowed to do as many runs as they want with the judges watching throughout the day to determine the standout riders and presenting the awards at the end of the day.

 billabong.com/flauntit

Schedule:

          �Jan 25^th:�Martock, Nova Scotia

          �Feb. 7^th:�Norquay, Alberta

          �Feb. 21^st:�Blue Mountain, Ontario

          �March 1^st:�Waterville Valley, NH

          �March 7^th:�Mount Seymour, British Columbia

          �March 15^th:�Sierra-At-Tahoe, CA

          �March 28^th (FINALS):�Tremblant, Quebec

Lauri Heiskari. Photo: Colin Adair.

Finnish ex-patriot, street rail ripper, tech park enthusiast, flamboyant hat wearer, DC teamrider, Melrose Place fan—Lauri Heiskari is many things. Always down for the adventure and ever turning out the jaw-dropping video part, Heiskari’s latest celluloid magic involves a little more powder than years past. Yep, he’s honing his backcountry talent with the true master—DC teammate Devun Walsh.
We met up with Heiskari on the steeps and deeps of Chile’s Al Colorado and Valle Nevado. That’s right, pow in August—there’s just no rest for the wicked.—J.S.

So you were heli-boarding down there. What’s your take on heli-ing? Is it really worth all the money and effort?
I’ve done it twice now, and it’s amazing! I feel very fortunate for getting to do it since it’s so freakin’ expensive. I’m terrified of it, too, though. I’m a bit scared of the turbulence—that little hotbox is a lot shakier than an airplane! I just pump up the music and stare at the ceiling [laughs].
Helis are a great way to check out different terrain quickly and access peaks that are impossible to reach by hiking or using sleds. One bad thing is that it’s really time consuming, especially if you’re trying to hit a jump, and with a crew trying to film from the heli, too … it’s quite a hassle.

Photographer Colin Adair said that you didn’t get to see any of the lines on recon—that Devun and Iikka did all the scoping. How did it feel getting dumped out of the heli and having to approach terrain blindly?
Well, you kinda see it on the way in there, and those guys were there last year, so they already had an idea about where to go, so it was all good. I have a lot of faith in Devun’s knowledge of where to go and what to do, so if he tells me to jump into a ditch blindfolded, I will.

You obviously didn’t ride any backcountry growing up in Finland, right? So how’d you finally get over the lack of experience and start feeling comfortable in the backcountry?
Well, I do feel a lot more comfortable compared to when I first started filming, and every year I’ve learned tons and gained more confidence. Thanks, Dev! But it was really hard for me at first, because Finland is almost totally flat, and so big terrain and deep snow made me really feel out of place for a while. I just wanted to go back to the park … what was I thinking?

Seriously! Tell me about the snow on this trip—was it all time?
It snowed a ton while we were there, and it was amazing—so much fun. It sure does feel good to go straight to three feet of uncrowded pow in the middle of summertime instead of a packed, weird salt/snow summer-camp situation. Actually, that doesn’t sound too bad, either—never mind.

What’s Chile like?
People from Chile are really nice and polite—some of ’em are pretty hippied out and stony, but still really nice. But you probably want to make sure that the heli driver didn’t have a “long dinner” the night before he’s supposed to fly with you. Just a little sniff of his breath, and if you don’t catch a buzz off it, then you should be good.
The trip was really good in general, besides the fact that every morning something new appeared on my board—either a kook-tag or a weird penis—so by the end of the trip everybody’s boards were pretty R-rated and definitely not recommended for resale.

I heard some people recognized you on the streets of Santiago and wanted a photo with you. What’s it like to be that famous?
I actually just paid them to do it, and then to ask, “Who’s that?” while pointing at Iikka—just to piss him off. Nobody knows me.

Describe your most rewarding moment of the entire three days.
Every trick you land in pow keeps replaying in your mind for days. It’s just awesome. Otherwise, maybe the freeride runs with the heli!

What song was listened to most often on your iPod?
Main Flow and 7L, “Forever.”

Do you still have a house in Finland? Where do you officially live right now?
San Clemente [California], baby! Yeah, I love being close to everything and being able to live a beach life for a couple of months before going back to the winter wonderland life. Back when I used to live in Finland, the “beach life” was “surrounded by alcoholics in the pouring rain” life.

Haha! What’s something you really miss about Finland?
If I had to name one thing, it’d be the culture. It’s just different there—homey. That’s where I’m from, so I know how things work. Here, everything works a little differently, and the people are different. I’m figuring everything out by myself and using my second language on all these weird forms and papers—and I just can’t make that call to dad and have him to do it [laughs]. I do think there’s a lot more dishonesty with people here.

What’s making you happy these days?
Just life in general. I love what I do. I’m living in this great place, and I have people I’ve been tight with for so long around me. It’s great to pick a location in the world and just move there and still have your best friends with you. I’m trying to enjoy everything. I want to learn how to cook, ride more pow, surf my ass off, take some great photos, and chill with my girl and Iikka and Eero and enjoy this crazy world.

What are some of your other recent obsessions besides snowboarding?
Surfing, working out, fish-eye-lens pictures, looking for furniture for my first house, and drawing graphics—which end up looking pretty horrible. It’s a work in process. I consider myself like Picasso—like, it might take a couple lifetimes for my art to get truly appreciated … maybe more.

What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned in life so far?
Don’t be a jealous of anybody. People are always gonna have something you don’t, and you’ll always have something they don’t. Jealousy starts everything bad, and it can ruin great friendships. People need to appreciate you because of who you are, not what you have or don’t have.

Registration is now open for the ‘09 TransAm stop in Powder Ridge, Minnesota!

We know you’ve been practicing all those new moves and it’s time to put ‘em to the test. The TransWorld art crew picked up some classy trophies and there’s heaps of gear to dish out at the TransAm events. Go to transam.transworld.net and click on register here on the bottom right to sign up!

Upcoming TransAm Contests:
January 31, Powder Ridge, Minnesota
February 21, Keystone, Colorado
March 14, Nothstar-at-Tahoe, California
March 21, Bear Mountain, California

Some throw away handrail shots from the month of December. Cruising handrails around New York and Vermont with Tim Lyons, Richy Schakow, Dom Luza, Ben Girardi, Matt Colton, Jesse Curran, Tim OBrien, Steve Hough, Chris Fredette, Jordon Emerson, Billy Keil and Christian Mahhard.

Filmed & Edited By Matt Colton.

Coltrain Visuals

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Goofin off with that mad steeze!

{Photo Gallery coming super soon!]

The slopestyle course at this year’s European Open, had a bit of a twist, well, more like a halfpipe right in the middle. The course started off with a spine fitted with a log goalpost and a barrel jib, then it went into a wallride, a down box or downrail, and then into a two-hitter pipe. This top portion of the course counted for a full half of the points scored, the lower three jumps counted for the other half. Obviously, those riders who excelled in both pipe and slopestyle did the best in the course.

It was a long day for the riders, it started with 7:45 a.m. practice (keep in mind that there’s some jetlag involved in hoping a flight to Switzerland straight from Vermont), then practice led to semi-finals in the morning, course maintenance, more practice, and then 3 full runs of finals in the afternoon. The finals for the 16 men and 8 women alternated with only the best of the three runs counted. Despite the long hours, the riders were at 100%.

Danny Davis sets a course to victory. PHOTO: Christy Chaloux

Roxy rider Lisa Wiik came up through the open qualifiers with consistently strong runs just edging out second place finisher, and hometown hero Sina Candrian by .16 of a point—a super victory for the longtime competitor. All three of the girls on the podium were killing it on the advanced course today. Lisa front 180 nosebonked the barrel, to a half Cab on the wallride, to a nosepress down the box, McTwisting through the pipe, and then going backside Indy 5, front 3 stale, to back three over the large kickers. Sina threw a bonk on the barrel, to a 180 down the wall, backside boardslide down the box, backside to frontside 5s in the pipe, front 5 on the first kicker, Cab 5, to the only nine of the women’s event on the last kicker. Sina plans on riding at the U.S. Open and the Roxy Chicken Jam this winter, so you might get a chance to see her for yourself. Kjersti Buass came in a solid third.

The men’s finals were gripping, well actually the final runs of the men’s finals were gripping. For the first two-thirds of the contest, Shaun White was winning by a landslide, but everything changed in the final run. Danny Davis started off with a sweet backside 3 handplant on the barrel, to an alleyoop rock n roll combo on the wallride, switch backside lipslide down the box, and into the pipe with a switch backside 7 to a back seven—these calculated combos up top boosted his score before he even dropped into the jumps, but once he did, he went switch back 9, front 10, to a Cab 9. Zowee! That got him into first ahead of Shaun who still had his final run to go. Peetu followed up Danny with a backside 360 bonk on the barrel to frontside air onto the wallride, followed by a nosepress to revert on the downbox—cab 7 to front 7 in the pipe, and then Cab 9, backside Rodeo 9, to Cab 10 on the last hit—not enough to take out Danny, but enough to put him in second. Shaun came out on his final run and got a good start at the top, but uncharacteristically fell on one of the jumps, and the rest is Euro Open history. Not a bad podium to end with, this is Danny’s second fist place finish in a major comp this winter including his first place finish in the Breckenridge Dew Tour Superpipe. 

I asked around at the end whether the riders liked this new pipe in the middle of the slopestyle course setup—well, the answer is kind of obvious, the ones who ride pipe did, the ones who don’t ride pipe didn’t. Danny Davis said he really liked it, but felt for the riders who weren’t expecting to have to pull out their pipe skills in the park. As far as spectating went, it added another really cool element to the slopestyle course and sort of packed in the action. I give it a couple of thumbs up, but maybe the riders just need a heads up in advance in the future. What do you think of it?

Women’s Slopestyle Finals Results

1 Wiik, Lisa (NOR) ROXY 75.83

2 Candrian, Sina (SUI) BURTON 75.67

3 Oestgaard Buaas, Kjersti (NOR) 72.67

4. Silvia Mittermueller (GER)

5. Cheryl Maas (NED)

6. Sarka Pancochova (CZE)

7. Silje Norendal (NOR)

8. Julia Baumgartner (AUT)

Men’s Slopestyle Finals Results

1 Davis, Danny (USA) Burton 91.17

2 Piiroinen, Peetu (FIN) Burton 90.83

3 White, Shaun (USA) Burton 90.33

4. Chas Guldemond (USA) DC, 84.17

5. Mathieu Crepel (FRA) Quiksilver, 82.67

6. Antti Autti (FIN) Flow, 78.83

7. Stale Sandbech (NOR) Oakley, 77

8. Markku Koski, (FIN) ThirtyTwo, 71.83

moonstone 2008

Another day, another contest … but the 10th Annual Burton European Open isn’t just any contest and Laax isn’t just any old venue. TWS arrived here with a slew of American riders on the circuit traveling from the finals at the Dew Tour at Mount Snow straight into the semi-finals at the Euro Open the following day. Unlike the Dew tour though, this Laax pipe is a monster 22-foot Super (duper?) pipe and the setting, high in the Swiss Alps, is next level. No one is immune to the epic views all around. It’s a damn nice place to grab an espresso and watch some pipe riding.

So, while we arrived yesterday, this contest has been on since last Wednesday, because as the name implies—it’s an open event and everyone gets a chance to compete. The event started with Juniors fourteen and under riders competing in this same 22-foot pipe and Superpark with Roxy rider Emma Bernard taking it for the girls pipe and Ty Walker taking first in the girls slopestyle. Swiss rider Patrick Burgener swept the juniors event with a first place win in both pipe and slopestyle.

The juniors event was followed by open qualifiers for the main event—it’s anyone and everyone’s chance to earn a spot to compete against the best of the best. In slopestyle it was Stale Sandbech and Lonnie Kauk taking the first and second open spots in qualifiers and ten more men taking up the remaining spots. In women’s slopestyle, Lisa Wiik and Cilka Sadar took the top two of the six open spots.

The following day, eleven pipe riders qualifed for the open spots including Finnish rider Ilkka-Eemeli Laari and Norwegian Stale Sandbech again! The thirteen open women’s spots were gobbled up by Lesley McKenna, Cilka Sadar, Lisa Wiik, and Sarka Pancochova among others.

Which catches us up to yesterdays pipe semi-finals, which saw a few of the same names qualifying for the 16 open spots in mens and 8 in womens. The women’s division was absent some of the big names riders with the exception of Kelly Clark who posted an almost ten point lead in front of second place finisher Linn Haug—basically dominating the field with back to back fives way out and a stylish front seven. (On a down note, Jamie Anderson flew out of the pipe onto the deck and got herself a bit of a hip hematoma, possibly taking her out of the competition circuit for a week or two, and definitely taking the strongest contender out of tomorrow’s Slopestyle finals.)

The results were:

1 Clark, Kelly (USA) Burton 91.17

2 Haug, Linn (NOR) Burton 82.33

3 Sadar, Cilka (SLO) Burton 79.50

4 Thost, Nicola (GER) Burton 74.67

5 Pancochova, Sarka (CZE) Bern Unlimited 72.50

6 Ligocka, Paulina (POL) Roxy 68.50

7 Wiik, Lisa (NOR) Roxy 68.33

8 Oestgaard Buaas, Kjersti (NOR) Roxy 66.67

The men excelled in the 22-foot beast, with Shaun White and Kevin Pearce battling it out in separate heats for the top qualifying position—with Kevin just pulling ahead of Shaun, which sets us up for a fun finals today. Shaun combed up a front five to back five, front 10 to Cab 10, finishing with a front 7 to a Haakon flip. Kevin threw a few straight airs in his run, he started with a big ol’ frontside air, a McTwist Japan to frontside 720, to a Cab 1080, to front 900, and ending with a huge Indy. The judges were down for it. The results were:

1. Pearce, Kevin (USA) Burton 95.00

2. White, Shaun (USA) Burton 91.83

3. Haller, Christian (SUI) Burton 89.33

4. Malin, Markus (FIN) Thirty Two 84.17

5. Schmidt, Christophe (GER) Head 80.67

6. Piiroinen, Peetu (FIN) Burton 77.67

7. Podladtchikov, Iouri (SUI) Volcom 77.50

8. Burgener, Patrick (SUI) Nitro 76.50

9. Kleivdal, Roger (NOR) Sweet 73.83

10. Aguirre, Mason (USA) Burton 73.00

11. Crepel, Mathieu (FRA) Quiksilver 72.83

12. Koski, Markku (FIN) Thirty Two 72.50

13. Davis, Danny (USA) Burton 72.17

14. Stewart, Ben (NZL) O’Neill 70.50

15. Simmen, Gian (SUI) O’Neill 70.50

16. Hast, Miikka (FIN) Protest 68.83

Check back later today for the final pipe results.

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It’s way better than your grimy go-to hoodie. Taped seams, plush cocona lining and legit waterproofing are just a few reasons. $209, holdeouterwear.com

Like the name says, when a fickle day rolls in just slip this on under your jacket or roll it solo come spring time.
$70, billabong-usa.com

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DCP Signs with Northwave/Drake

Northwave North America (NNA) is proud to announce that David Carrier Porcheron has signed a two year contract to ride on Northwave boots and Drake bindings.  The French-Canadian has been a professional rider for the last 10+ years, working with major film productions and competing in key contests around the world.

Recently participating in a photo shoot at Brighton Resort, the whole team was able to test out the 2010 line before its release at SIA and ISPO.  DCP has been riding on Northwave “Decade” snowboard boots and Drake “Super Sport” and “Czar” bindings, he quotes: “The boots are so comfy, right off the shelves, and I really love the lacing system.  I am stoked to be part of the team and I am looking forward to a powdery winter to represent.”

Among his sponsors, DCP has also recently signed with The North Face and is working with friends and business partners, JP Solberg and Romain Di Marchi, to start a new board company.  In addition, he is also heavily involved with Spy Optics and they will be promoting his 5th pro-model out this year.

This winter DCP will mainly focus on filming with Absinthe for their new project, but may also be involved with other film productions and participate in a few major events.  When not filming or competing, David floats between Vail, CO, and Whistler, BC, where he lives with his wife and 2 year old daughter.  And if that wasn’t enough travel, he also partially resides in Dominical, Costa Rica where they are building a new rental house.

With all his accomplishments, DCP has become a widely respected and influential figure in snowboarding.  NNA Marketing and Team Manager, Desiree Moore says, “I’m excited to have DCP on the team because he brings so much to the table and has amazing skills.  The team as a whole is cohesive and stronger than ever.  I am looking forward to a great new year.”  Northwave welcomes DCP as a new member on their International Pro Team.

The Northwave/Drake International Pro Team is:
David Carrier Porcheron, Seth Huot, Risto Mattila, Alexis Waite, Patrick McCarthy, Matt Beardmore, Hans Ahlund and Matty Ryan.

This fleece-lined softshell is all twilled up with a comfy organic feel and a ply of waterproofing. $190, quiksilver.com

Stroll around town—in the rain, snow, whatever—and be tucked away from the elements in this light spring/layering jacket from 686.
$140, 686.com

This hoodie’s stocked with a fleecy interior, waterproof softshell and improv mittens tucked into the sleeves. $130, sessions.com

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The Nike Snowboarding crew took a little trip out Spokane, Washington to shoot some pics. Justin Bennee jumped while photographer Cole Barash captured the action. According to Barash, the urban Nike shoot included a  helicopter for some tricky angles. During the shoot, the local news crew swooped in to see what was up.

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“Uniquely” Oakley Movie
Receives Honor at X-Dance Film Festival in Salt Lake City

WHO:

The “Uniquely” Oakley Movie will be honored this weekend at the annual X-Dance Film Festival in Salt Lake City. “Uniquely” is a travel inspired women’s multi-sport (snowboard, ski, surf, skate, and wake) film that exposes the “unique” personalities and lifestyles of the athletes involved as they pass the baton, or camera, from one location to the next. The adventurous tales of dedicated Oakley athletes including Claudia Goncalves, Gretchen Bleiler, Karina Petroni, Lauren Perkins, Layne Beachley, Leilani Gryde, Lyn-z Adams Hawkins and Marie-France Roy are highlighted.

WHAT:

For one action-packed week each winter, the world’s top action sport filmmakers and athletes, along with cutting-edge bands, DJs and key figures from the entertainment industry, gather in Salt Lake City to celebrate action sports culture.  This four-day film festival will screen 35 of the finest films in adventure and action sports, including the “Uniquely” Oakley Movie.  Engaging Q&A sessions follow each screening giving the audience a chance to meet the filmmakers and icons from their favorite sports!

WHERE:

Off-Broadway Theater
272 South Main St.
Salt Lake City, Utah

WHEN:

Friday, January 16th - Monday, January 19th
Noon - 10:00 PM

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Johnny Miller gets worked at rail gardens 16 stair

The North Face Masters of Snowboarding 2009, the Largest Big Mountain Snowboarding Tour in the Country, Features a $45,000 Prize Purse and Two New World-Class Venues

Salt Lake City, Utah, December 17, 2008 – Now in its sophomore year, The North Face Masters of Snowboarding (TNF Masters) has become the largest cohesive competitive big mountain snowboarding tour in the country. A three-stop tour, TNF Masters is designed to cater to the motivation, talent and skill of world-class big mountain snowboarders. The 2009 tour visits Snowbird, Utah, Crested Butte, Colorado, and culminates at the ultimate big mountain competition venue of Kirkwood, California.

“The North Face Masters tour is going to be off the chain this year,” said TNF Masters Alyeska, Alaska, 2008 champion Rob Kingwill. “I am excited to be a part of the movement toward giving big mountain snowboarding competition the recognition it deserves. All three 2009 venues are world-class, and I can’t wait to see what happens.”

TNF Masters features a $45,000 cash prize purse and serves as a qualifier event to the Freeride World Tour. Winners from the Snowbird and Crested Butte TNF Masters events will have the opportunity to compete in the Nissan Tram Face at Squaw Valley, California.

“Freeriding, the use of natural terrain, fall line, and innovation from riding style is the essence of big mountain snowboarding,” said TNF Masters Head Judge Tom Burt. “The TNF Masters series is designed around this and that is the reason why I agreed to become the head judge. The terrain will be delivered by Snowbird, Crested Butte, and Kirkwood. All have different flavors of terrain so each will bring its own challenges for the riders, and every rider will bring their own style and innovation to each venue. When the two mesh the best freerider will emerge.“

TNF Masters gathers big mountain snowboarding tribes from all around the world. All male and female snowboarding competitors above age 18 are welcomed to participate. Registration is now open on www.thenorthfacemasters.com.

The North Face Masters of Snowboarding 2009 Series Schedule
Stop #1 – Snowbird, Utah. January 29-February 1, 2009
Stop #2 –Crested Butte, Colorado. February 12-15, 2009
Stop #3 –Kirkwood, California March 5-8, 2009

Fans of big mountain snowboarding can catch same-day coverage of the Semi-Final and Final rounds of each TNF Masters event on www.thenorthfacemasters.com where there are complete videos, photos, athlete profiles, detailed event schedules, registration information and more.

For more information please visit www.thenorthfacemasters.com.

clips from past seasons

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Video By: News Room Cinema

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Burton SNOWatHOME Contest

Burton Snowboards and SNOWatHOME are working together on what could be the coolest contest of the season, the winner will receive a complete snowmaking system courtesy of SNOWatHOME. Burton is looking for the best backyard snowboard video you can put together. Build a park in your backyard, or use the natural terrain of your favorite urban spot. Call up your crew, get creative and get it all on film. Put together a sweet edit from your footage and upload it to the Burton website. Burton is going to review all videos and pick the best, so pull out that video camera and get outside. This is your chance to take your backyard park to the next level with the ultimate home snowmaking system.

Contest deadline 11.59PM EDT March 15th, 2009
For complete details or to upload your video, go to the Burton website:
www.burton.com/contests/SnowAtHome.aspx
Check out the SNOWatHOME products at www.snowathome.com

Once the sun set Saturday afternoon, Bear Mtn lit up their first night contest of 2009. Bear Mtn. hosted Simon Chamberlain’s contest, “SIMON SAYS,” an open registration amateur jib contest. Simon Chamberlain would be the judge for the evening and Joe Sexton got in the mix, keeping the shreds hyped while they battled it out. Simon called out tricks for the competitors during the jam session. The tricks started out simple and progressed into more challenging ones until there was only one rider standing. Tons of local talent showed up and entertained the weekend Bear Mtn. visitors through the evening.

SNOWBOARDING

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CLICK HERE FOR FULL PIPE RESULTS & PHOTO GALLERY

CLICK HERE FOR SLOPESTYLE FULL RESULTS & PHOTO GALLERY

CLICK HERE FOR SLOPE VIDEO

Winter Dew Tour

The Winter Dew Tour consists of three major, multi-sport events spanning across the country, with a cumulative points system, and a $1.5 million competitive purse. Each event features men and women’s snowboard (superpipe and slopestyle), and men’s freeskiing (superpipe and slopestyle). At season’s end, the overall point’s leaders in the six disciplines are crowned year-end champions and awarded the prestigious Dew Cup. As part of an Alli property, key lifestyle elements compliment the competitions at each Tour event including the Festival village, specialty competitions, and live cutting edge music. The Dew Tour is broadcast live on NBC Sports with additional competition and lifestyle broadcasts on MTV, MTV2 and USA.

Some great shots entered this week for URBAN (check the gallery below with some of the highlights).

This weeks winner is:

Urban Jib In Alaska

It was -5 outside when he hit this. Ridiculous. But i got the shot. No worries. Nosepress to 15 ft. drop. Garrett Swenson in AK. Killin it. Photo by Kevin Nealley

This is a banger.  Totally unique sick spot, big drop off the end.  Good steez on the press.  Bluebird Urban and looks totally freezing cold too. I would crop the photo a little off the top take some of the extra sky off but otherwise it’s a real banger

Congrats Kevin Nealley, please Email me for your prize: nick.hamilton(at)transworld.net

honorable mention goes to this shot:

Threading the needle

Rider Rory Mckelvey, photographer RICHARD HOPE

Although it doesn’t really come to mind with Urban, it’s definitely one of the sickest photos I’ve seen on TWSNOW.com user posted section, keep up the good work.

Next weeks TAG Photo Contest is “POWDER”, it’s been dumping all over the country so lets see those shots out in the fresh stuff.  Post ‘em & Tag Them.

Remember to include a caption with the Rider Name, Location, and Photographer name.

Here’s a gallery of some of the other sweet shots entered in this weeks contest, check it.  Thanks everyone for taking part.

Shaun White took the lead from Steve Fisher on his last run to take the Dew trophy tonight, and in doing so finds himself atop the overall Dew Tour rankings. Kelly Clark put an exclamation point at the end of her homecoming weekend by taking first on the women’s side, edging out fellow Vermonter Hannah Teter.

The Mount Snow park crew spent all morning digging out the pipe after we received about a half foot of snow overnight, re-cutting the pipe and getting it all nice for the nationally televised final. Kevin Pearce sparked the men’s session with an awesome first run, starting with a lofty frontside 9 into a McTwist with a tweak that Terje would be proud of. Later down the pipe Kevin threw a nice frontside 10 tail that really psyched the crowd, ending with a huge frontside air at the bottom of the pipe that made me chuckle in awe. Unfortunately, Kevin’s time on top was short lived. No sooner than you could mutter “Mister Extremo” (or whatever the hell the Dew Tour’s mascot is called), Steve Fisher came spinning down the pipe to snatch the lead. Linking up large 7’s, 9’s, and 10’s all the way down the pipe, Fisher’s first run score had him sitting on top of the leader board almost all night, but in the end it was White who took the cheese, literally. Podiums all weekend received wheels of cheese. What else would you give away in Vermont? Shaun got off to a slow start, scoring a 58.50 on his first run after washing out on his last hit. But with his fan club behind him, Shaun came out swinging on his second run. An alley oop backside rodeo to start things off made way for a plethora of big spins, ending with a switch alley oop backside rodeo on his last hit.

New England monopolized the podium for the ladies, with 17-year-old Connecticut native Ellery Hollingsworth taking third place honors. A clean skate style backside air started things off, and she ended with a seemingly effortless backside 7 on her heelside wall after floating a few 5’s through the middle section of the pipe. With the last run of the final, Hannah Teter linked up back-to-back 5’s with back-to-back 7’s, but it just wasn’t enough to match the amplitude and power of Kelly Clark. She went huge each hit, showcasing a perfect frontside 7 that was higher than just about everyone else’s straight airs. Kelly was definitely a fan favorite this weekend and took full advantage of the home cooking and overall welcome she received at her home mountain. With the win tonight, Kelly is on top of the overall Dew Tour standings, ahead of Hannah Teter by 25 points. We’ll see if things are shaken up at the next and final stop of the tour when it travels to Northstar-at-Tahoe, California.

 Stay tuned for a photo gallery to see some of the action.

Men’s Final Results:

1. Shaun White

2. Steve Fisher

3. Kevin Pearce

4. Danny Davis

5. Mason Aguirre

6. Scotty Lago

7. Matt Ladley

8. Charles Reid

9. Dylan Bidez

10. Elijah Teter

11. Greg Bretz

12. Luke Mitrani

Women’s Final Results:

1. Kelly Clark          �

2. Hannah Teter          �

3. Ellery Hollingsworth          �

4. Kjersti Østgaard Buaas          �

5. Charmaine Ironside          �

6. Kaitlyn Farrington

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Winter Dew Tour

The Winter Dew Tour consists of three major, multi-sport events spanning across the country, with a cumulative points system, and a $1.5 million competitive purse. Each event features men and women’s snowboard (superpipe and slopestyle), and men’s freeskiing (superpipe and slopestyle). At season’s end, the overall point’s leaders in the six disciplines are crowned year-end champions and awarded the prestigious Dew Cup. As part of an Alli property, key lifestyle elements compliment the competitions at each Tour event including the Festival village, specialty competitions, and live cutting edge music. The Dew Tour is broadcast live on NBC Sports with additional competition and lifestyle broadcasts on MTV, MTV2 and USA.

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A sweet Heikki Sorsa Video from our friends at Gravis

THE O’NEILL EVOLUTION, 2009
Run With Gravity

Peetu Piiroinen wins the Finnish battle at the O’Neill Evolution 2009 quarterpipe final

Davos, Switzerland, 10 January 2009. It was a battle to the Finnish in more ways than one at the O’Neill Evolution 2009 quarterpipe final.

Peetu Piiroinen, the 20 year old Finn from Helsinki, beat his countryman Risto Mattila in a closely contested final, with the two riders matching each other trick for trick, and Peetu just taking the win with a huge bs540 on the final run.

Risto had led the way in the first two runs as both riders raised the level for this dramatic final. Risto’s first massive bs 540 around the 5 meter mark, was followed by the same from Peetu who could only manage to reach the 4 meter mark.

Then came the battle of the bs airs. Risto started it with a huge 7.0m bs air – ensuring himself the $9,000 Highest Air prize, as Peetu reached only the 6.7m mark.

With the lead in his hand, Risto went back to the bs540 with more height and style, earning himself 82.5 points, and what looked like the event victory.

But that was before Peetu pulled out possibly the trick of the whole competition – the most stylish and perfectly executed bs540 reaching the 5.5 meter mark and earning him 93.83 points and the victory.

“I am feeling so good right now,” Peetu said. “It’s been a long day. I am so stoked to win this. It’s also nice riding against a friend in the finals like this, because for both of us it doesn’t matter who wins, we are just happy for each other.”

Talking about their matching tricks, Peetu said “I was watching a bit what Risto was doing, we didn’t talk about it and plan to do the same tricks though.”

Risto Mattila was forced to settle for second place for the second year running at the O’Neill Evolution, but the 27 year old Finn was not despondent – quite the opposite in fact.

“I am pretty stoked,” he said. “I just started to get used to the massive quarterpipe in the finals. I don’t mind taking second place again. I am on the podium!”

In third place was the Dutch O’Neill rider Steve Krijbolder who narrowly missed out on the highest air prize with his 6.9m air. “I feel super good,” he said. “This is my first finals so it was so amazing to finish third.”

Janne Korpi missed out on the chance to close the gap on Chas Guldemond’s lead, crashing the landing on his second run in the quarterfinals and breaking a bone in his knee.

“I am frustrated,” Janne said. “But it’s good that Peetu won because after I won the slopestyle I agreed to split half the money with him. But the deal was if he won the quarterpipe he would split half the money with me – I knew he would win it.”

It was a spectacular final to end a spectacular O’Neill Evolution 2009, as the young superstar Canadian O’Neill rider Seb Toutant agreed; “Its one of my favourite events,” he said. “It feels so special when you are here. It’s such a good mix of all the good riders, the lights, the crowd and knowing it’s on live TV,” he said. “When you are doing an event at the top of the mountain with no crowd and no cameras, you aren’t as motivated or you don’t have as much fun.”

“I enjoyed last year as well,” he said. “But I loved the slopestyle this year, the new format was great, and the quarterpipe was bigger and better. This event gets better and better every time.”

Seb finished in the top 16 of the quarterpipe and in 8th place in the slopestyle but continuously impressed the Davos crowd with his huge tricks and confidence. There was no question that he was running with gravity.

“We came up with that theme after trying to look beyond just the competition and understand the nature and the elements behind the sport,” said event director Bernhard Ritzer.

“We looked into the basics of what was happening in the quarterpipe as these guys flew through the air. Basically they were using, playing with and fighting against gravity - so we took that theme and ran,” he said. “Not only that but we wanted to go back to the nature within the sport, and really bring that through in this event.”

The result was a stunning quarterpipe and slopestyle course sitting next to each other at the bottom of the Jakobshorn, with floating ecologically friendly balloon lights, recycled Christmas trees (to be recycled once again as firewood), and snow sculptures to enhance the theme throughout the slopestyle course.

“My favourite moment of the event was probably the slopestyle,” said Bernhard. “It was a great addition to the event. It got great feedback from the riders and the crowd especially with the new format.”

“This has definitely been the best O’Neill Evolution so far,” Bernhard said. But no doubt it will be back next year with even more flair and originality.

FINAL QUARTERPIPE RESULTS:
1 Peetu Piiroinen FIN F 183.66
2 Risto Mattila FIN F 174.50
3 Steve Krijbolder NED SF 99.67
4 Arthur Longo FRA SF 58.67
5 Antti Autti FIN QF 148.67
6 Chas Guldemond USA QF 132.83
7 Gian Simmen SUI QF 119.33
8 Janne Korpi FIN QF 104.34
9 Manuel Pietropoli ITA 16 125.50
10 Sebastien Toutant CAN 16 111.84
11 Rocco Van Straten NED 16 106.50
12 Adrian Oesch SUI 16 106.34
13 Dimi De Jong NED 16 103.17
14 Kim Rune Hansen NOR 16 92.67
15 Allan Besse FRA 16 79.67
16 Benoit Thomas-Javid FRA 16 67.16
17 Colin Frei SUI Davos Platz 32 129.00
18 Jean Jacques Roux FRA 32 124.00
19 Olivier Gittler FRA 32 102.34
20 Iouri Podladtchikov SUI 32 101.67
21 Pal Sorensen NOR 32 97.50
22 Tim Humphreys USA 32 77.17
23 Ben Stewart NZL 32 76.50
24 Christian Kröll AUT 32 73.66
25 Fredrik Evensen NOR 32 54.33
26 Thomas Franc SUI 32 50.17
27 Nicola Boscacci SUI 32 46.50
28 Davide Vagheggi ITA 32 41.83
29 Ulrik Badertscher NOR 32 0.00
29 Mats Hofgaard NOR 32 0.00
31 Cody Hierons GBR Q 112.00
32 Corsin Simeon SUI Q 111.33
33 Wolfgang Beer AUT Q 106.00
34 Fabian Fassnacht SUI Q 101.34
35 James Hamilton NZL Q 93.67
36 Christian Weber SUI Q 65.67

Photos Frode Sandbech

Here is Friday’s Slopestyle Results:

THE O’NEILL EVOLUTION, 2009

Run With Gravity

Janne Korpi takes out the slopestyle final of Evolution 2009 with Finnish finesse

Davos, Switzerland, 9 January 2009. It was a battle that no one could have predicted - a young Belgian rider taking on the might of Finland. However, Janne Korpi, the O’Neill rider from Nummela in Finland had no trouble defying gravity to beat 17 year old Seppe Smits in an epic slopestyle O’Neill Evolution 2009 final.

“I’m so stoked,” said Janne who now moves up to second place on the Swatch TTR World Tour rankings. “It’s been a long day and my legs are so tired.” While the knock-out round format suited the consistency and skill of Janne, it was the intimacy of the competition that he found to be more of a challenge.

“I don’t really like going up against and having to battle my friends,” he said. “That is hard.” However, he didn’t have too hard a time in the final. His three runs consisted of a fs1080, a cab1080 and then a massive bs rodeo 900. On all of them, as commentator Gian Simmen pointed out, “he stomped the landing.”

His fellow finalist Seppe joined the rest of the crowd in Davos in admiring the talent of the young Finn: “There was nothing I could have done, no trick I could have done could have beaten Janne,” he said.  

It was quite an achievement for the 17 year old Belgian. His three runs featured a bs900 mute, a huge cab 9, and a bs720.

“It’s the best result I have ever got,” he said. “It’s just so crazy. I am just so stoked, I almost can’t believe it.”

Despite his youth and his first success at this level, Seppe was calm throughout – as demonstrated by his heart rate monitor, which remained surprisingly constant and low – unlike many of the other riders who were sporting the monitors from the quarter-finals.

Seppe came through the knockout rounds, eliminating the likes of Iouri Podlatchikov, Kim Rune Hansen and the current Swatch TTR World Tour leader, Chas Guldemond.

Chas, who finished fourth, still retains his number one status despite being knocked out by Seppe in the semi finals. “I was so disappointed at first, but then I sat back and enjoyed the final,” he said.

Chas had previously stomped two massive 1260s – the first to make it through the round of 16, and then again in the quarterfinals against Peetu Piiroinen. “How was that?!,” he said. “I’ve never stomped them before like that.”

This was no ordinary snowboard competition, and this was no ordinary slopestyle course. The face of Jack O’Neill – the founder of O’Neill and inventor of the wetsuit, had been carved into the second kicker for everyone to soar over.

A snow sculpture of the solar system, representing the O’Neill Evolution challenge of 2009 to defy gravity, sat at the bottom of the course congratulating all the riders who flew through it.

And with the slopestyle winner crowned, now it’s all about the quarterpipe – and last year’s Evolution quarterpipe winner Kim Rune Hansen is exctited, although also a little hesitant to get back onto it: “The quarterpipe is so scary,” he said. “I was scared last year as well. I try not to think about it too often, but because I’ve been injured a lot this season I’ve been thinking about it a bit more.”

This is the first competition back for the Norwegian rider since being injured back in May. “I am still getting used to things again.” However if his performance in the slopestyle is anything to go by - reaching the quarterfinals in style, only going out to Seppe Smits – he should be in top form.  

Quarterpipe finals start tomorrow (January 10). The round of 32 will start at 3.45pm.

FINAL SLOPESTYLE RESULTS:

1 Janne Korpi FIN F 183.17

2 Seppe Smits BEL F 164.84

3 Kevin Backstrom SWE SF 156.00

4 Chas Guldemond USA SF 112.33

5 Peetu Piiroinen FIN QF 172.66

6 Elias Elhardt GER QF 167.50

7 Kim Rune Hansen NOR QF 160.00

8 Seb Toutant CAN QF 39.00

9 Gjermund Braaten NOR 16 164.33

10 Stefan Gimpl AUT 16 151.33

11 Jaakko Ruha FIN 16 144.17

12 Tim Humphreys USA 16 143.17

13 Maxime Henault CAN 16 115.00

14 Ulrik Badertscher NOR 16 112.67

15 Ville Uotila FIN 16 102.66

16 Mattias Nyberg SWE 16 99.34

17 Tore Holvik NOR 32 139.00

18 Antti Autti FIN 32 135.00

19 Risto Mattila FIN 32 127.50

20 Jonas Carlson SWE 32 124.84

21 Torgeir Bergrem NOR 32 123.67

22 Markus Malin FIN 32 117.34

23 Dimi De Jong NED 32 115.83

24 Gian Simmen SUI 32 104.34

25 Colin Frei SUI 32 98.17

26 Henning Marthinsen NOR 32 92.00

27 Andreas Gidlund SWE 32 89.17

28 Sindre Iversen NOR 32 82.17

29 Iouri Podladtchikov SUI 32 75.00

30 Arthur Longo FRA 32 61.50

31 Fredrik Evensen NOR 32 60.16

32 Eirik Haugo NOR 32 54.33

33 Patrick Burgener SUI Q 137.33

34 Petja Piiroinen FIN Q 137.00

35 Ethan Morgan GER Q 136.66

36 95 Wanger Mario AUT Q 126.00

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Words And Photos By John Poulin

            The Dew Tour was welcomed to Mount Snow in solid East Coast fashion: plenty of snow, wind, and a thick blanket of gray, with Torstein Horgmo and Jamie Anderson taking the top spots in yesterdays slope qualifiers. Torstein’s first run landed him a 90.33, topping the 81.83 that second place qualifier and New England native Sam Hulbert turned out. Rounding out the top three was Charles Reid, who matched Hulbert’s first run score but a 64 on his second run dropped him to third. Saturdays final is shaping up to be a good one, with the likes of Frends Kevin Pearce, Scotty Lago, and Norwegian powerhouse Andreas Wiig in the mix. Apparently Wiig can out bench-press every ski racer on the Norwegian national team, we’ll see if that gives him an edge in tomorrow’s final. They’ll all be jousting with the pre-qualified podium from the Breck stop: Shaun White, Mikkel Bang, and Janne Korpi. A few final bound ladies include number two qualifier Chanelle Sladics and Megan Ginter, who took the third spot.

The results from Thursday’s slope prelim:

Men’s:


1. Torstein Horgmo 90.33


2. Sam Hulbert 81.83


3. Charles Reid 81.33


4. Andreas Wiig 79.50


5. Eric Willett 78.50


6. Brandon Reis 78.33


7. Scotty Lago 75.33


8. Madison Ellsworth 70.00

9. Kevin Pearce 68.67

10. Yale Cousino 67.67

Women’s:


1. Jamie Anderson 76.50


2. Chanelle Sladics 76.00


3. Megan Ginter 74.00


4. Jenny Jones 66.67


5. Marie-France Roy 56.00


6. Bev Vuilleumier 54.83


7. Christina Curry 50.67


8. Kimberly Fasani 43.17


9. Kjersti Ostgaard Buaas 39.17


10. Hana Beaman 34.17

The sun was out this morning for the pipe prelims, a red carpet for hometown hero Kelly Clark, who received the biggest ovation of the day before she even dropped in. It was Hannah Teter that took the number one qualifying spot though, going huge on every hit and showing off a clean front 9. Ellery Hollingsworth qualified third with a pair of clean back-to-back sevens, and I can’t help but mention my favorite trick of the women’s qualifier: Kjersti Buaas’ front 5 stale. It was rad.

The top six girls advance to the final. They are:

1. Hannah Teter – 92.50


2. Kelly Clark – 86.25


3. Ellery Hollingsworth – 77.25


4. Kjersti Østgaard Buaas – 71.50

5. Kaitlyn Farrington – 70.50


6. Charmaine Ironside – 63.00

Second on the applause-o-meter and fifth in the men’s qualifier was Luke Mitrani, hearing a roar of approval from his Frends after stomping a switch backside 9 for the last hit on his heelside wall. That was probably the trick of the day, possibly surpassed by Elijah Teter’s switch method that MC Preston Strout was especially pleased with. The Frends crew could only hold their excitement for about an hour, Scotty Lago and Mason Aquirre broke into a dance off at the bottom of the pipe as soon as DMX came over the loudspeakers. Eighteen-year-old Dylan Bidez will have the last drop during Sunday night’s final; qualifying first with a run that began with back-to-back nines. Greg Bretz busted his wrist up in practice, but came out for both of his runs and found himself sitting in second place at the end of the day. Behind him is Mason Aguirre who, according to Preston, “has one of the best styles in the game”. I just might have to agree with him.

These guys are going to the finals on Sunday:

1. Dylan Bidez – 94.00


2. Greg Bretz – 90.25


3. Mason Aguirre – 88.00


4. Steve Fisher – 85.75


5. Luke Mitrani – 84.75

6. Kevin Pearce – 84.50

7. Charles Reid – 77.50


8. Elijah Teter – 75.75

9. Matt Ladley – 75.50

Avalanche Awareness Days 2009 at Grouse Mountain

Join the Solicitor General, the AdventureSmart Team, the Provincial Emergency Program, the Canadian Avalanche Centre, and North Shore Rescue at Grouse Mountain on January 10 and 11, 2009, to promote public safety in the face of avalanche hazards. Avalanche Awareness Days is an annual public education initiative, and the event is very timely this year in light of the province-wide focus on issues concerning snow instability and access to uncontrolled terrain.

As part of the annual campaign, everyone is encouraged to attend and learn about outdoor safety and snow awareness. The AdventureSmart Team will demonstrate new safety equipment and survival techniques proven to save lives.

A press conference will be held on Saturday, January 10, at 10 a.m. by British Columbia’s Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General, the Honourable John van Dongen, in front of the Peak Chalet at Grouse Mountain. The executive director of the Provincial Emergency Program, Cam Filmer, will also speak. Media interested in attending the event are advised to contact the public relations office at Grouse Mountain on Friday, January 9, to arrange Skyride passes for personnel.

Please note that Saturday will be an exceptionally busy day atop Grouse Mountain and advance notice of your attendance is required to secure a spot on the Skykride.

For more information, please contact:

William Mbaho
Manager, Public Relations & Communications
Grouse Mountain Resorts Ltd.
Direct: 604.998.4255
Mobile: 604.764.8522
Fax: 604.984.7234
wmbaho@grousemountain.com
www.grousemountain.com

Your votes have been tallied and the results are in. Here are the nominees for Reader’s Choice as voted on by you, right here on twsnow.com:

Men’s Reader’s Choice:
Eiki Helgason
Scott Lago
Travis Rice

Women’s Reader’s Choice:
Jamie Anderson
Desiree Melancon
Marie-France Roy

The winners will announced on January 28 at the 10th Annual Rider’s Poll awards show. Tune into twsnow.com to find out who you chose as your top rider of the year.

Click here for the Rider’s Poll Nominees release

ROME COMMUNIQUE:

THE ROME SDS 2010 SHOP KID (SK) COLLECTION CONTEST

1.9.2009

For the coming 2009-2010 season, the Rome SDS is expanding the idea behind the Artifact SK (Shop Kid) that it has made for the last two years.  It’s taking the one SK board and turning it into an entire SK Collection.  And this time, the shop kids will be doing the graphic design.  More than ever, the ideas is to listen to kids on shred.

In 2009, for the second annual Artifact SK, Rome collected base graphic ideas from riders who work in shops to replace the “Live Nude Girls” on the inline Artifact.  In the end, we couldn’t decide on just one winner so we picked the two most “appropriate” inappropriate ideas that got emailed in.  Rob Bohr from PA and Jon Ingalls from VT were the two riders who won the personalized boards.

For 2010, Rome is expanding the SK concept to create the SK Collection:

1.    Rome is adding a boot (Libertine) and a glove (Movement) to go with the Artifact SK to create a collection of SK product.
2.    Rome is giving shop kids more control over the collection and letting them create the art, colors and materials for the graphics of each of the models.
3.    The winners of the board, boot and glove categories win $$ and two free models of the product they designed.
4.    As in the past two years with the Artifact SK, the SK Collection will be available only to riders who work in shops through Rome’s Operative Program.

If you work in a shop and want to design art for the SK Collection, drop into www.romesnowboards.com/skcontest to download the design templates and entry forms, and learn about all the details of the contest.

All art needs to be submitted to Rome by March 31st, 2009.  Once Rome receives the art, Rome riders and artists will pick one winning design for each of the products.  The winners will work with Rome designers to finalize the art.

JJ Thomas joins the Eesa team!

After a couple seasons of flowing JJ proddy outta straight-up respect for his riding and all-around good guy persona, we put the pieces of the puzzle together and put JJ on the program full-time.  Recently we had the pleasure of rapping with JJ about shredding, the scene and other random things in his life.  As a dual-tasking full-timer between Breck and Encinitas, JJ gave us some insight to some of his favorite things.

Eesa: So what’s the deal with the dual homesteads?

JJ: My geographical pattern of migration is awesome and consistent.  It goes from starting the winter in Denver with my parents for Thanksgiving.  From there I ride the parks of summit county and compete on a regular basis.  Around the end of January and early February I start filming in the powder in Utah and Wyoming and from there take a wild car trip somewhere crazy!!  Around early May I start to shut it down and pull out the clubs and surf board in the great state of California before going to Mt. hood and then on to the south pacific and then before you know it its winter again.

Eesa:  Whoa, that sounds kind of hectic, besides the shred and surfing, what else garners your time.

JJ: Well, I’m a huge fan of retro video games like Galaga and Ms. Pac Man and when I’m not nerding out I‚m a big Basketball fan (JJ has a mad cross-over and finger-roll if you think you can step to him, trust us, his first step is deadly).

JJ’s so pumped on ballin‚ he tried to take it to the hole during a Jazz game but was intercepted by the steakneck bearing down on him just before he was about to charge the court.

JJ: I also love to golf wherever and whenever I can.

Eesa:  That’s rad, well you’ll love the Arkade and Baller sock collection we’ve got coming out next year.  So what else, any secret spots you’d like to divulge?

JJ:  There’s an epic pizza joint in Breck, you either know where it is or you don’t.  Apologies for being so vague, but it’s as good as your local powder stash, you’ve got to keep it on the DL to keep the kook factor down.

Eesa:  All right, sweet thanks for the Œtip‚.  Let’s rap this up, what’s the main reason your riding for Eesa?

JJ: I ride for Eesa because they make the softest, freshest, most functional lifestyle layering in the world.  With that being said, I say thank you and peace out to you if you‚re reading this wherever you are and have a great winter and even better summer.

Read more

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Oceanside, Calif. – January 8, 2009–The world’s top pro riders have already chosen who will be crowned with snowboarding’s highest awards at the upcoming 10th Annual Transworld SNOWboarding Riders’ Poll Awards. Meanwhile, thousands of the magazine’s readers also got a chance to vote in the Reader’s Choice Awards for their favorite riders online at transworldsnowboarding.com. And their votes are in!

The nominees are:

Men’s Reader’s Choice:
Eiki Helgason
Scott Lago
Travis Rice

Women’s Reader’s Choice:
Jamie Anderson
Desiree Melancon
Marie-France Roy

Congratulations to all the nominees!

Riders’ Poll will be moving to Denver next year. so this year’s farewell to Vegas promises to be quite a night.  Adding to the excitement are two live performances by Volcom Entertainment’s Candi Koded featuring Jamie Lynn and Tweak Bird following the award show.  This year, we are also giving back to one of our favorite charities, Protect Our Winters (POW) by offering a unique opportunity for companies to purchase a stage-side table at the show.  POW believes that while alone we can’t solve climate change, the winter sports community as a whole has a responsibility to save the lifestyle we rely on.  Don’t miss the opportunity to enjoy the show and help the environment too.  For more info on buying a table, please contact your TransWorld sales rep.

Huge thanks to presenting sponsor GORE-TEX® and sponsors New Era, Red Bull, and Namco Games/We Ski & Snowboard for their support.

About TransWorld SNOWboarding
TransWorld SNOWboarding is the world’s number one snowboard magazine with a print audience of 1.4-million. Found online at transworldsnowboarding.com, TransWorld SNOWboarding is based in Oceanside, California and published by TransWorld Media, a division of Bonnier Corporation.

Bonnier Corporation (bonniercorp.com) is one of the largest consumer-publishing groups in America and the leading media company serving passionate, highly engaged audiences through more than 40 special-interest magazines and related multimedia projects and events.

About W. L. GORE & ASSOCIATES
Perhaps best known for its consumer products like GORE-TEX fabric and ELIXIR guitar strings, Gore is a leading manufacturer of thousands of advanced technology products for the electronics, industrial, fabrics and medical markets.  The company is headquartered in Newark, Delaware and employs approximately 7,500 associates in 45 facilities throughout the world. For more information about W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. and GORE products, call 1-800-431-GORE or visit www.gore-tex.com.

GORE, GORE-TEX, Guaranteed To Keep You Dry and designs are trademarks of W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. ©2006 W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc., 295 Blue Ball Rd., Elkton, Maryland, 800-431-GORE, gore-tex.com.

The MGT girls!

What sounds better? Shredding your resort with the same old crew doing the same old moves, or getting out to awesome locations all over the world with a group of girls and incredible professional coaches and learning new tricks! I don’t know about you, but I pick number two. If you agree, check out this guide to girls snowboard camps. Camps run in both the winter and the summer. This guide is for you, girl! So get out there, have some fun, learn new stuff and get inspired! We tagged our top picks with the TWS logo. 

FREERIDE

Women’s Snowboard Camp – Jackson Hole, Wyoming

If there’s any one mountain that will push your progression limits and test your inner daredevil, it’s Jackson Hole. On a mountain where 50-percent of the terrain is considered expert, the Women’s Snowboard Camp, guided by three-time World Extreme Snowboard Champion Julie Zell, will unleash your freeride skills, and teach you to harness the rugged beast of Wyoming. The untamed terrain at J-Hole becomes a playground of possibilities for discovering a new riding style. This four-day camp takes you beyond lift lines and into the steep and deep, where you’ll learn that ‘intimidation’ is just a useless word and ‘off-piste’ is your new favorite saying. Every day finishes with apres-riding activities and a dinner party.
Level: Intermediate to advanced
Date: January 14–17, 2009
Web site: www.jacksonhole.com/info/ski.ac.womenboardcamp.asp

Babes in the Backcountry – Breckenridge, Colorado

Babes in the Backcountry teaches you the A–Z of backcountry skills through multi-day tour classes and avalanche training seminars. Operating on a leaner schedule this winter, the main opportunity is the Sisters In The Steeps, a multi-day seminar at Silverton Mountain in April. You’ll leave with a savvy understanding of avalanche safety and a desire to never return to in-bounds riding again. Sisters In The Steeps, a multi-day seminar at Silverton Mountain, is another top choice.
Level: Strong intermediate to advanced
Dates: Sisters In The Steeps, April 10–12, 2009, Avalanche classes offered through the winter. (Check back in 2010 for a full menu of winter classes.)
Web sites: www.babesinthebackcountry.com

FREESTYLE

MGT—Western Canada

MGT features an all-star coaching cast including Leanne Pelosi, Alexis Waite, Marie-France Roy, Annie Boulanger, Desiree Melancon … shall we continue? This is the premier women’s camp and is offered four times through the winter (and then partners up with High Cascade and South America Snow Session in the summer—see below). It’s so much fun, you’ll learn a ton, and make lots of new friends—what more do you need to know?
Level: Beginner to advanced
Dates & Prices: April 4–5, 2009 Mount Norquay, Banff, A.B. ($299 CAN)
Web site: http://www.mgtsnowboardcamp.com/v2/index.php

High Cascade Snowboard Camp—Timberline, Oregon

HCSC’s private park on Mt. Hood’s glacier is a progressive playground of jibs and jumps for all skill levels. All-girls camps are offered all summer long—you can choose to ride with just girls or mix it up with the boys. Either way you’ll learn from your coach and from top pro riders who come to every Signature Session. Off the hill is packed with entertainment including talent shows, ghost stories during the s’mores party, dodgeball (duck!), and skate clinics. Also, MGT has hooked up with High Cascade for summer session 6!
Level: Beginner to advanced
Dates: All summer, MGT: session 6 (Aug. 8-15)

Web site: http://www.highcascade.com/07/snow/summer/hcscgirl.htm

Droppin’ In Weekend—Loon Mountain, New Hampshire

Looking for a strictly-freestyle camp on the East coast? Loon Mountain’s Droppin’ In Weekend is a two-day clinic for women wanting to learn all aspects of terrain park riding. Ride in the camp’s own private park at the top rated terrain park in the East. Learn to dominate any feature or own the 450-foot long Superpipe with the support of the mountain’s best female freestyle coaches. But it’s not just park progression that makes Droppin’ In so hot. Park building and maintenance is a big part of this weekend clinic, and you might just end up leaving with a few ideas on building your own jump. After riding, take part in an equipment-tuning workshop to keep your gear on point all season long. You also your own helmet from R.E.D., a private park, video review, new friends, and fresh skills!! Get more info at 800-229-LOON.
Level: Intermediate to advanced
Dates: March 7–8 and March 28–29, 2009
Cost: $198 including lift access and lessons
Web site: www.loonmtn.com

RadGalz Classic—Whistler, British Columbia

RadGalz creates and hosts snowboarding events and clinics for women. The Annual RadGalz Classic has developed into a one-day clinic and competition where you’ll learn to push your abilities in a new direction. Wrap up the day with an awards ceremony and a fabulous fashion show, complete with tutus, live music, and much more.
Level: Beginner to advanced
Dates: 2009 Dates TBA
Website: www.radgalz.com

TRAVEL

Our Camp—Les Deux Alpes, France

Snowboarding in the Alps is a necessary mandate in life. Our Camp features six day sessions in the Southern French Alps—an area that enjoys a blend of French and Italian cultures. After pumping the walls in the pipe or sliding boxes at the famous snowpark on the summer glacier, prepare to display your archery skills or take a screaming ride on the alpine slide off-hill. The wine flows like water at Our Camp, and the 30 or so bars at the resort will provide more than a glimpse into European nightlife.
Level: Beginner to advanced
Dates: January 18–25, 2009, April 5–12, 2009, (Day coaching available all winter long at Portes Du Soleil)
Cost: TBA
Web site: www.ourcamp.co.uk

Girlie Snow Camps—Saas Fee or Laax. Switzerland

Run by Camp Director and Roxy girl extraordinaire, Tina Birbaum, this is one of the coolest camps in Europe. Girlie campers ride at two of the most snowboarder-friendly resorts in Europe—Saas Fee or Laax—for six days girls ride in small groups and grind away on learning new freestyle skills. Campers can expect daily video analysis on top of a guaranteed four hours of lessons per day. The Girlie Base Camp deal includes a stay at the Caprilonuge Hotel.
Level: Beginner to advanced
Dates:
•Laax: 840 Euros: January 31–February 7, 2009; February 7–14, February 14– 21, February 21–28, February 28– March 6 (6 nights, 750 Euros), March 8–15
•Saas Fe: (140 Euros/day) March 28– April 11, 2009
•Summer Camps At Les Deux Alps: 840 Euros
June 27–July 4, 2009; July 4–11
Cost: TBA
Web site: www.girliecamps.com

MGT/SASS—Bariloche, Argentina

Watch out for the “More Good Times” rolling your way. MGT and South American Snow Sessions (SASS) have partnered up to offer a two-week camp in Bariloche, Argentina. The opposite season down south means plenty of pow days and a highly-trained coaching staff. Learn to handle cliffs, build backcountry booters, and rip up the park with your fellow ladies. The adventure continues off the hill with daily Spanish lessons for campers—or you can opt to eat your way through the South American culture. Asado, chocolate, arriba!
Level: Intermediate to advanced
Dates: TBA
Cost: TBA

Web site: http://www.mgtsnowboardcamp.com/v2/index.php, www.sasnowsessions.com

Snow Girls—Snow Park, New Zealand

The Snow Girls camp (now in its seventh year) is a two-day, overnight camp based in New Zealand’s top freestyle park. Snow Park has every type of progressive park feature. The Half Pint Park is the choice spot for beginner campers to learn the basics or for anyone looking to develop new skills. Discover intermediate or advanced features with your coach, or roll up to the quarterpipe or the two Superpipes and dig in. Expect to extend your stay by a few weeks to stay and ride—you’ll be itching for more.
Level: Beginner to advanced
Dates: Summer 2009 TBA
Cost: $260—340
Web site: www.snowgirlnz.com

(Did we miss your camp? Please e-mail annie.fast@transworld.net to be considered.)

fun times!

Wrightwood, CA (January 7, 2009) – Mountain High is importing a triple shot of big air flavor when the 11th Annual Cholula Triple Air Show returns to Wrightwood on Saturday, February 7, 2009. The spicy big air contest is Mountain High’s largest event of the season presented by Monster Energy, Powder & Sun Boardshop, Jarritos Soda, and title sponsor Cholula Hot Sauce. These partners bring a hot $25,000 cash purse to the richest “one day triple air contest” in the nation, complete with live DJ and vendor village for the public.

First held in snowboarding’s method-grabbing heyday of 1998, the Cholula Triple Air Show was created as a corner-stone event for Mountain High. The legacy of big-name competitors who have stepped up to the hottest big air event north of the border include Shaun White, Kevin Pearce, Matt Hammer, Keegan Valaika, Hana Beaman, and Laurie Currier.

Registration for the Cholula Triple Air Show will take place from 7:30-9:30am in Big Pines Base Lodge at Mountain High West. Entry is $150 on a first come, first served basis on the day of the event. There are two divisions: men’s open and women’s open. The men’s division will pay through sixteenth place and the women’s division through sixth place. All competitors receive breakfast courtesy of Mountain High and lunch compliments of Wahoo’s Fish Tacos.

The contest starts at 10am on the run Lower Chisolm. The qualifying round will be a best of two runs format on a triple jump lineup with hits ranging from 50-75 feet. The top 16 men and top six women advance to the single run finals. Check out the exclusive webcast from REELcomp at reelcomp.com.

For more information on the Cholula Triple Air Show please visit mthigh.com/events or contact Bryce Maxwell at bmaxwell@mthigh.com or Chuck Allen at callen@mthigh.com.

Mountain High is Southern California’s closest winter resort located just 75 minutes from Los Angeles and Orange County. The area consists of three separate mountains (Mountain High East, West, and North), and offers a wide variety of high-speed lifts and alpine trails, the world class Faultline Terrain Park, an outstanding Winter Sports School, and the region’s largest tubing park. Snowmaking covers more than 80% of the slopes delivering consistent snow conditions from November through April. Mountain High is traditionally the first resort in Southern California to open each season and the only local area with night skiing seven nights-a-week. Get more at mthigh.com <http://mthigh.com/> .

Waterville Valley, N.H.- Waterville Valley Resort’s “Fab Feb” package
includes two nights lodging and 2 days of lift tickets from just $90 per
person February 1 to 12, 2009. Choose to stay a third night and receive a
$50 shopping or dining voucher to use at any of the restaurants or shops in
Waterville Valley’s Town Square. A group ski lesson can be added for just
$18 per person.

Waterville Valley Resort in New Hampshire’s White Mountains is well known
for its ski mountain, which has trails and activities for all skill-levels
and ages. Boarders and hot-doggers, alpine and Nordic enthusiasts, kids and
senior citizens can each find a niche on the slopes and trails. Kids’
Venture Kamps offer “venture zones” designed with small features that build
skiing and snowboarding skills. The Silver Streaks is an over-50 club that
welcomes visitors.

Waterville Valley is just a 2-hour drive from Boston. Visitors to the valley
can park the car once and relax for their stay. The valley is designed to be
pedestrian friendly, plus everything is connected by a free shuttle that
circulates constantly.

For those who like their skiing with a little less altitude, Waterville
Valley’s Nordic Center features 75 km of wide-groomed trails with terrain
for every ability level, groomed daily for both skate and classic skiing
styles. Skiers take off from the Nordic Center in the Valley’s quaint Town
Square, or just step out the door of their vacation rental–the trails are
only steps away from most of the resort’s accommodations.

Every trail offers incredible views of the surrounding White Mountain
National Forest. Warming huts along the trails make it easy to stop for a
rest and a snack, and the Nordic Center at Town Square offers a welcoming
fireplace at the end of the run.

Waterville Valley Resort offers 250 skiable acres with snowmaking ability on
every trail. The ski area peaks at 4,004 feet, with a vertical drop of 2,020
feet, 52 trails and 12 lifts.

Waterville Valley was designed and planned specifically as a self-contained,
four-season resort. In addition to its world-class ski area, Waterville
Valley Resort has award-winning tennis courts, golf, hiking, biking,
lodging, cultural activities and summer theater, an indoor ice rink,
boating, a skate park, and a host of outdoor activities. Dining options
include traditional favorites and elegant dining. For more information, call
1-800-GO-VALLEY or visit www.visitwatervillevalley.com.

Practice Day Photo Gallery at the O’Neill Evolution TTR 6 Star event going down this weekend in Davos, Switzerland.  Tune in to TWSNOW.com for the LIVE webcast going down Jan 9th & 10th.  More photos to come as the event unfolds.

Check out last years 2008 O’Neill Evolution Photo Gallery HERE

THE O’NEILL EVOLUTION, 2009
Run With Gravity

Full potential of ‘newcomers’ revealed in the O’Neill Evolution slopestyle qualification

Davos, Switzerland, 7 January 2009.  There was no holding back today at the O’Neill Evolution 2009 as the 120 riders gave it their all in the slopestyle qualification rounds.

One of the standout performances from the three rounds was from 20 year old Norwegian rider, Ulrik Badertscher who finished first in his round with 148.67 points – thanks to a huge BS12 on his last run.

“I’m pretty stoked to get through,” Ulrik said. “I was really nervous beforehand – I just wanted to get through the qualification rounds. So now it’s ok.”

“I did a few 1260s in training,” he said. “It wasn’t that big a deal. I’m also doing qualifications for the quarterpipe, but slopestyle is more my thing.”

Invited rider, Arthur Longo, who impressed everyone with his huge airs in the quarterpipe last year, was watching the slopestyle qualifications with much interest.

“The Belgian rider, Seppe Smits really stood out - he’s really good and has perfect runs. He’s a newcomer to look out for,” Arthur said. “And also all the Norwegians and Swedish riders of course. Of all of them I really like Andreas Gidlund. I like his style.”

As for his own ride, Arthur Longo is still deciding just what he will go for: “I don’t know what to do at the moment. I hope it’s going be a few 9s and a 10, but we’ll see. I’ll focus a bit more on the quarterpipe. It’s a lot easier for me. Last year I went about 8m. I tried the quarterpipe yesterday and it feels good. It’s clean and also perfect on the left.”

Another young rider to make it through the slopestyle qualifications – and one to keep an eye on in the finals, will be 14 year old Dimi De Jong. The Dutch O’Neill rider made his name here two years ago with a spectacular display in the quarterpipe, and was back this year to show what he can do on the slopestyle.

“I wasn’t too nervous,” he said. “It’s a good course and the second big kicker suits me. I did a FS10 tail on my last run. I just went for it. Now I am looking forward to the quarterpipe.”

As the sun set on the first day of qualifications at the O’Neill Evolution 2009, that’s when the lights went up… literally. The five meter balloon lamps lit up the rest of the evening for the quarterpipe training in preparation for tomorrow’s quarterpipe qualification rounds.

Quarterpipe qualification starts tomorrow (January at 11am.

QUALIFIED RIDERS:
Kevin Backstrom SWE 158.00
Seppe Smits BEL 153.33
Ulrik Badertscher NOR 148.67
Mattias Nyberg SWE 147.33
Elias Elhardt GER 145.67
Gjermund Braaten NOR 142.00
Torgeir Bergrem NOR 138.00
Andreas Gidlund SWE 135.67
Ville Uotila FIN 134.67
Jaakko Ruha FIN 134.66
Dimi De Jong NED 134.34
Sindre Iversen NOR 134.00
Markus Malin FIN 126.34
Tore Holvik NOR 125.00
Maxime Henault CAN 119.33
Jonas Carlson SWE 119.00

RIDERS
The confirmed invited riders are:
Chas Guldemond
Janne Korpi
Seb Toutant
Stefan Gimpl (slopestyle only)
Antti Autti
Risto Mattila
Peetu Piiroinen
Gian Simmen
Eirik Haugo
Frederik Evensen
Henning Marthinsen
Kim-Rune Hansen
Tim Humphries
Manuel Pietropoli (quarterpipe only)
Colin Frei
Iouri Podlatchikov
Arthur Longo

FORMAT
In a break from the norm, The O’Neill Evolution will be using a new heat system – based on that of a surf contest. 4-man heats will start in the round of 32 snowboarders, and from the round of 18, this will be down to 2-man heats to determine the finalists and the winner.
Changing over to this K.O. system will guarantee an exciting contest with a clear undisputed winner.

PROGRAM
Mon 05 Jan         Training
Tue 06 Jan         Training
Wed 07 Jan         Slopestyle Qualification
Thu 08 Jan         QP Qualification
Fri 09 Jan         Slopestyle Finals
Sat 10 Jan         QP Finals

Click here to check out Ride’s Women’s Site and to enter to win a new Tokidoki Snowboard!

PARK CITY MOUNTAIN RESORT AWARDED TOP ENVIRONMENTAL HONORS IN 2008

Park City, Utah (January 8, 2009) – Park City Mountain Resort ends 2008 being recognized by numerous green advocate groups for its environmental initiatives. Most recently, the Resort received an Energy Star Business Certification for its Team Building as well as an “A” ranking from the Ski Area Citizens Coalition (SACC), and the Clif Bar Silver Eagle Award for Excellence in Energy Conservation and Clean Energy. Park City Mountain Resort shares the honor of the 2008 Green Power Leadership Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with its parent company, Powdr Corp.

“Park City Mountain Resort is overjoyed to be recognized with such prestigious awards for our work towards environmental sustainability,” said Brent Giles, director of environmental affairs for Park City Mountain Resort. “Everyone from our team members to our guests has contributed to the success of the resort’s environmental stewardship. The acknowledgement from these green leaders is a great indicator that the environmental work we do is a true step towards becoming more carbon neutral and we hope to continue to lead by example.”

Park City Mountain Resort’s Team Building, located at 1310 Lowell Avenue, was awarded the Energy Star for Business Certification. Energy Star is the mark of superior energy performance and identifies a building as one the most efficient in the nation. Park City Mountain Resort’s Team Building is the only building in Park City that is currently listed under this prestigious designation.

Park City Mountain Resort once again scored an “A” ranking from the Ski Area Citizens Coalition (SACC). The SACC gives grades to western U.S. ski resorts based on their environmental policies and practices. The scorecard was created to allow skiers to choose a resort based on its genuine positive environmental stewardship records. This is the second year in a row that Park City Mountain Resort received an “A” ranking.

Park City Mountain Resort received one of the nation’s top environmental awards, the Silver Eagle Award for Excellence in Energy Conservation and Clean Energy. After Park City Mountain Resort completed the first-ever comprehensive scientific study of global warming’s effect on a resort and the greater Utah snow sports industry, it began an on-going effort to reduce its electricity use, which accounts for 86 percent of its carbon footprint. Through initiatives that include the purchase of more energy-efficient snowmaking equipment, lighting retrofits, and bio-diesel use in its snowcat fleet, the resort reduced its energy consumption by 23 percent.
Following the win of the Silver Eagle Award, Park City Mountain Resort in conjunction with Powdr Corp, furthered its commitment to being a conservation leader with the purchase of renewable energy credits to offset power consumption by 100 percent. The Resort’s purchase of 13.9 million kWh of renewable energy credits (RECs) avoids nearly 19 million pounds of CO2 emissions annually, which is equal to removing 1,853 passenger vehicles from the road or powering 1,100 average American homes for a year.

As a result, Powdr Corp was one of only nine organizations nationwide to receive a Leadership Award in the Green Power Purchasing category by the U.S. EPA. This award recognizes EPA Green Power Partners who distinguish themselves through purchases of green power from a utility green-pricing program, a competitive green marketer, or a renewable energy credit (REC) supplier.

“The annual energy consumption of a ski resort is substantial, and we have a responsibility to reduce the carbon footprint of our resorts to help preserve their pristine settings for generations to come,” said Giles. “While this switch to renewable energy will be invisible to the guest, skiers and riders can enjoy peace of mind knowing that all of Park City Mountain Resort’s electricity is now coming from 100 percent renewable sources.”

Since 2005, Park City Mountain Resort’s environmental initiatives have reduced and offset 30 million pounds of CO2 emissions, reducing its carbon footprint by 97 percent. To learn more about all of Park City Mountain Resort’s environmental initiatives, visit www.saveoursnow.net.

Simon Says, “We’re Doing It At Night”
Pro snowboarder Simon Chamberlain brings his unique competition this Saturday night!

Big Bear Lake, CA - Bear Mountain Resort is proud to present pro snowboarder Simon Chamberlain’s signature event “Simon Says” this Saturday January 10, 2009 in “The Scene.” This unique competition will kick off 5 p.m. under the lights at Bear Mountain. Registration for the event will take place between 3 and 4 p.m. in the Boardroom. Only 80 entries will be taken so if you want to compete get there early and be prepared to kick down the 15 dollar registration fee.

The course will be set Friday night by Bear Mountain’s pro terrain park staff. “Simon will be hand picking the features for this competition Friday night so it’s anyones guess what will be included,” says Bear Mountain’s park development and marketing coordinator, Clayton Shoemaker. “I can guarantee that it will be sick and likely include his signature jib that we constructed last year.”

Simon Says is similar to the childhood game played on playgrounds around the country for decades. Simon will stand at the top of the course and call out tricks, then competitors will have the opportunity to match his requested trick. If the riders fail to pull the trick they will be eliminated from the competition. Prizes for winners will consist of cash and swag from thirtytwo, Nomis and Step Child.

DJ Slip Matt will be spinning tunes in the base area and the Beach Bar will be serving booze for those 21 and over. Food and beverages will also be available for purchase at the Rail View BBQ. So, come out and make a night of it.

Over the summer the resort installed two new lights that give off 6000 watts of power each making for an excellent night event venue. Snowboarders can look forward to many more nighttime events coming to Bear Mountain this year.

Congrats Kevin Heitczman.  Please Email me: nick.hamilton(at)transworld.net for your Prize

Next weeks TAG Photo Contest is “URBAN” post ‘em & Tag Them.

Remember to include a caption with the Rider Name, Location, and Photographer name.

Click here to go to the Original Post

Josh Bahar in deep at Stowe. PHOTO: Brian Nevins

Stowe Resort Deal Fix Up

Apologies to any shredder who had their heart set on ripping Stowe during February 14–16 or February 20–22 with the generous Resort Deal in the February issue of TransWorld. The original deal stated, “valid all winter except December 25–January 1, February 17-19, and March 14-22.” A correction with the qualifying dates is now:

Valid all winter except February 14–22.

Stowe and TransWorld are still delivering the ultimate hook up and while we’re only human and make mistakes, we are positive that trading six days of riding in February for nine days in March isn’t a bad deal. So bust up there and make sure to still present the original TransWorld page at Stowe’s Mansfield Guest Services and enjoy a three-day lift ticket for $99!

For more info call 1-802-253-3000 or visit stowe.com

Photo: Robbie Sell

We all know Robbie Sell from his days in front of the camera, consistently impressing us by pushing the limits of snowboarding. Here, we are introduced to Robbie Sell in a new light, stepping behind the lens and impressing us once again by stepping it up in the world of photography. Check out Robbie’s photo collection here, shot all over the US, anywhere from Mt Baker backcountry to the rails of Ohio.

To see more of Robbie Sell’s Photography check out his web page at www.robbiesell.com

Photo Andy Wright

This is not an introduction, Andreas Wiig doesn’t need one.

click on the highlighted live links as you read.

What are you doing this winter?

It’s kind of all up in the air right now, but I’m definitely trying to ride as much as I can and have a lot of fun. It’s going to be in some more contests this year since I’m doing all the Dew Tour contests. I will film a bunch of webisodes throughout the season, as well. But as far as filming, it’s not decided yet.

What do you need to do to push things—to step it up a notch for yourself?

First of all, I need to stay healthy. I just bruised my ankle a couple of days ago, so I have to chill on the couch for a bit now … I get some time to think about some new things to do on my snowboard now and when I’m back in business, it’s time to see if I can man-up enough. For sure it’s important to ride with people who push you and who you have a good time riding with.

Photo Andy Wright

Do you have some sorta new trick up your sleeve?

I don’t have any new ones yet, but I’ve been thinking about a couple. Just waiting for the pow to see if I can give it a try. For sure want to try some kind of a backside double cork this winter.

So you don’t really have plans already lined up?

As far as filming it’s not lined up at this point. But I almost have the plan ready. Looks like it’s going to be pretty hectic as far as traveling this year because of all the contests. It usually never follows the plan when it comes to traveling, so it’s better not to have one. One thing I really want to do is to get a couple of weeks in Europe this winter.

Who do you like to ride with the most?

I really like riding with Torstein Horgmo. He’s always super stoked on riding whether it’s park or pow. He’s a perfectionist when it comes to style and is always fun to watch. Marius Otterstad is always fun to ride with as well.

Do you use any snowboard gear that doesn’t have your signature on it?

No, that’s totally unacceptable. Ha Ha!

How are you involved in the process of designing your pro model gear?

I usually have the original idea of how I want the final product to be. Throughout the year I have some design meetings with the different brands I ride for. The designers listen to my ideas and thoughts and start to design the product thereafter. It’s really cool to follow the whole process of making my pro model stuff. I never even thought I was going to have any.

Photo: Chris Wellhausen

What’s it gonna take to win the X Games slopestyle this season?

You definitely have to take some risks and not play it safe. And I think it’s important to do something that not everybody else does … Your run has to stand out in some way. But most of all, I think you have to show some confidence in you riding—stomp that shit! This probably sounds like something they would say on Sports Center—Ha ha!

What will it take to get video part of the year next year?

A lot of style and creativity. On top of that, invent some new trick. But it’s almost just as important how the video part is put together. If the part makes you wanna leave the living room immediately and go snowboarding, it’s usually a good part.

Photo Frode Sandbech

What are you anticipating most for this season?

Long powder days and fun park days with my buddies!

Are you more famous in Norway or the USA?

Norway.

Where have you been riding early season?

I’ve been up in Colorado riding Keystone and Breckenridge. It started out really dry, but now it has started dumping.

WINTER DEW TOUR ARRIVES IN VERMONT JAN. 8-11 AT MOUNT SNOW RESORT, HOMETOWN HERO KELLY CLARK TO COMPETE

Flobots at Verizon Wireless Music Stage on Friday

NEW YORK – January 7, 2009 – The Winter Dew Tour kicks off its inaugural season on Thursday, January 8 at Mount Snow Resort in West Dover, Vermont.

The athlete roster reads like the who’s who of the modern freeski and snowboard movement, highlighted by multiple X Games and Olympic medalists including snowboard athletes Shaun White, Hannah Teter, Andreas Wiig, and Gretchen Bleiler. Freeskiing superstars Tanner Hall, Sarah Burke and Simon Dumont will join the snowboarders on the impressive roster of athletes. Hometown hero Kelly Clark, who won a gold medal in the 2002 Olympics, will compete in the snowboard superpipe discipline.

In addition to the competitions, the Winter Dew Tour will feature live musical performances and a daily Festival Village with interactive events, athlete autograph signings and games. Just one of many interactive booths, the Toyota Out of Bounds Mountain rises 30 feet above the crowds, and it will be buzzing with exciting contests and games, including a larger-than-life Plinko game, an FJ Key Challenge, Custom Bandana Shop and an opportunity for fans to take a souvenir Ski Patrol photo. Serving as a backdrop will be an oversized video wall featuring cool action sports footage and live feed from the competitions.

The schedule of events is as follows:

Thursday, Jan. 8
11:30PM – 2:30PM Men’s/Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle Prelims
12:30PM – 2:30PM Men’s Freeski Superpipe Prelims

Friday, Jan. 9
9:30AM – 12:00PM Men’s Freeski Slopestyle Prelims
12:00PM - 3:00PM Men’s/Women’s Snowboard Superpipe Prelims
1:30PM – 3:00PM Men’s Freeski Slopestyle Finals
4:00PM – 6:00PM Concert at Festival Village - Flobots

Saturday, Jan. 10
10:0AM – 12:00PM Men’s/Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle Finals
11:00AM – 12:00PM Women’s Freeski Superpipe Exhibition
1:30PM – 2:30PM Women’s Freeski Slopestyle Exhibition
4:30PM – 6:00PM Men’s Freeski Superpipe Final

Sunday, Jan. 11
4:00 – 6:00PM Men’s/Women’s Snowboard Superpipe Final

Flobots, the band whose top-ten billboard hit “Handlebars” thrust them into the limelight, will headline at the Verizon Wireless music stage on Friday, Jan. 9 and reggae-infused band Dirty Heads will kick off the show. The bands will perform from 4-6 p.m. and all music from the Verizon Wireless music stage is free to the general public.

Similar to the Dew Tour’s summer competition structure, the Winter Dew Tour is based on a cumulative points system as the top snow athletes battle it out for a piece of the $1.5 million prize purse and the chance to take home the Dew Cup at the conclusion of the season in February.

The complete 2008/09 Winter Dew Tour schedule is as follows:

Event                          Date                            Location
Stop 1                          Dec. 18-21, 2008           Breckenridge, Colo.—Breckenridge Ski Resort
Stop 2                          Jan. 8-11, 2009             West Dover, Vt.—Mount Snow Resort
Stop 3                          Feb. 19-22, 2009            Lake Tahoe, Calif.—Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort

Winter Dew Tour

The Winter Dew Tour consists of three major, multi-sport events spanning across the country, with a cumulative points system, and a $1.5 million competitive purse.  Each event features men and women’s snowboard (superpipe and slopestyle), and men’s freeskiing (superpipe and slopestyle).  At season’s end, the overall point’s leaders in the six disciplines are crowned year-end champions and awarded the prestigious Dew Cup. As part of an Alli property, key lifestyle elements compliment the competitions at each Tour event including the Festival village, specialty competitions, and live cutting edge music. The Winter Dew Tour is broadcast live on NBC Sports with additional competition and lifestyle broadcasts on MTV, MTV2 and USA.  The Winter Dew Tour is also distributed on Fuel TV, Universal HD, Rush HD, and internationally on Eurosport, Fox Australia, Extreme Channel and Allarco superchannel.  Winter Dew Tour partners include Mountain Dew (tour title sponsor); Toyota (event title sponsor).  Associate partners include Ball Park, Nike 6.0, PlayStation®, Wendy’s, and Verizon Wireless. More information can be found at www.allisports.com.

It’s the pic with endless punchlines, but really WTF? We went to the trouble of checking our inbox and here’s what the photographer Marty Odom had to say:

“Hello, my name is Marty Odom and I live in Vail, Colorado. I am/was a photographer on the mountain for Sharpshooter imaging. On my day off I pulled up to the lift line to see a naked man hanging from the chair lift. I happen to have my own camera with me and I shot a few pics. It was Jan. 1st and I shot the best photo that I’m going to shoot all year. I then sent it in to the Vail Daily, where it got printed the next day. Today I go into work to find out that I’m “suspended until further notice”, because the man is now suing Vail mountain and my photo makes their lift operations seem bad. The liftie forgot to put the seat down on the chair and somehow the man got stuck in the position that he was in. The chair wasn’t even stopped by the liftie, someone in the lift line had to punch the button. And even though I never mentioned the company I worked for, Vail Resorts pulled my pass and it looks like I’m going to lose my job over a photo. But the photo is worth it.

“The reason for all my ranting is that I hope you guys might enjoy this photo a whole lot. And if there is any kind of contest for “super gaper” or something that maybe I could submit it. And I thought u guys might enjoy the story behind it, the fact that it was enough to lose my job over.”

What a way to start the new year. Thanks to Marty for sending the pic our way. Let the clever comments begin …

With the chaos of the holidays, I forgot to post this little video. We got a nice dump in Socal a few weeks back, all the local mountains got pounded, so we broke out and went to the best, mistiest, crustiest spot in the area, Mount Baldy.  Maybe this little video turd should’ve just been flushed away, but since it brought such an amazing response from the CRUST BLOG, I figured other people who think blogs are lame and outdated should check it out here. At least you have another reason to talk shit about us. Maybe even get a cheap laugh. 

Luantik Clothing Rider Colin McCollough tearing it up at the BYB in Portland 2008

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Photo by Cole Barash

Gatorade Welcomes Ellery Hollingsworth to the Team

CHICAGO, January 5, 2009 — The Gatorade Company, a division of PepsiCo, announced today the addition of 17-year-old snowboarder Ellery Hollingsworth to their elite team roster. This is Hollingsworth’s first beverage sponsorship deal.

As a member of the US Snowboarding Team, Hollingsworth is a hopeful for the 2010 Winter Olympics, and is qualified to compete in the 2008/09 Junior World Championships, Winter X Games and Dew Tour Series.

“I’m really excited about joining the Gatorade team,” said Hollingsworth.  “This is going to be a really busy year with a lot of travel and competitions.  I want to ride as much as I can so I’m stoked to have the support I do from Gatorade because I really see them helping me a lot in maximizing my hydration and nutrition strategies so I can keep raising the bar in terms of my skills.”

A focus on fitness aids Hollingsworth’s success in the pipe, as do her multisport interests including surfing, skating, running and swimming.

In addition to working with action sports athletes like Hollingsworth, skateboarder Chaz Ortiz, and BMX rider Nigel Sylvester, Gatorade also has plans to support professional and amateur action sports events in 2009 and will do more with parks and in films as well.

“We’re excited to take our presence in action sports to the next level,” said Kenny Mitchell, action sports team manager with Gatorade.  “Many riders are using our products already because they know Gatorade is what you reach for when you want to stay hydrated and fueled so you can session longer. We think tapping into this interest is a very authentic move for us as a brand.”

Tobbaganist stunts from the Utah Backcountry

Photos Andy Wright

Check out our full Interview with Mikey HERE

Dialogue Headwear presents ‘This Is Awesome!’

Featuring Bradley Hesson, Yuri Tereshyn, Adam Chuntz, Janelle Leclair, Corey Kowalski, Jake Fine, Ryley Ellement, Diana Sandru, Adam Franks, Victoria Marshall, Jesse Denham Greer, Adam Herd, Alex Morris, Brady Swartz, Matt Bujok and others…

Coming Fall 2009

…and don’t worry, we’re working on jump footage.

D-H.CA/THISISAWESOME

Song: VLSonN - Audrey Horne (www.myspace.com/vlsonn)

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Gold medalist Shaun White catching big air in Japan and skateboard black top in Rwanda. Waterman Laird Hamilton charging waves and surfing colossal barrels in the heart of Indonesia. Travis Rice snowboarding in epic backcountry. It’s all part of the 9th annual X-Dance Film Festival this January in Salt Lake. As the festival continues to grow in popularity and world acclaim, action sports filmmakers and athletes from the around the globe will trek to Salt Lake City to show their latest cinematic gems that fuel the massive actions sports culture.
Running side-by-side with the Sundance Film Festival, the 9th annual X-Dance Festival will be held in Salt Lake City on January 16-20, 2009. The festival headquarters and screening room are located at the Off-Broadway Theater (272 South Main Street). For four days X-Dance will screen 35 of the finest films in adventure and action sports spotlighting Snowboarding, Skiing, Surfing, Mountain Biking, MotoCross, Skateboarding, Rockclimbing, and Kayaking. Engaging Q&A sessions follow each screening giving the audience the chance to meet the filmmakers and icons from their favorite sports.
The world-class festival brings together cutting-edge bands, top DJS, entertainment executives, action sport industry bigwigs to honor the heroes from each sport and the filmmakers who tell their stories. Salt Lake has embraced the festival as its own as X-Dance enters its second year based in downtown SLC.  Scott Beck, president & CEO of the Salt Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau, declares, “On the heels of Salt Lake’s successful hosting of the action sports AST Dew Tour’s largest event ever, the marriage of action sports and Salt Lake will once again be energized by the 2009 X-Dance film festival. It is always great to be part of a successful team. Hosting X-Dance in Salt Lake strengthens the incredible position of Salt Lake as the epicenter of Action Sports.  Having the endorsement of the industry’s leading Film Festival ensures Salt Lake’s place as the epicenter of year-round outdoor recreational opportunities. We are thrilled to have X-Dance back in Salt Lake City for a second year.”
Film Festival director Brian Wimmer adds, “Action Sports, a multi-billion dollar a year industry that grows exponentially each year, has found its MECCA. X-Dance is thrilled to have landed in Salt Lake City, a perfect playground, location and audience with its population of extremely active outdoor youth culture. Mix Sundance with the Action Sports Mecca of Utah and you get the perfect storm of the X-Dance Film Festival. No other event on earth harnesses the creative energy of adrenaline culture and brings it together.”
The 5-day festival will include:

Screenings open to the Public of top action sports films from industry stalwarts like Matchstick, VAS, Teton Gravity Research, Quiksilver, Red Bull, Altnerna Films, Poor Boyz, Oakley, Transworld, and Billygoat Productions, as well as noteworthy work by emerging talent and world premieres. Screenings run Friday, January 16th through Monday, January 19th from noon to 10p.m. at the Off-Broadway Theater (272 South Main St.) located across from the Gallivan Trax stop. Street parking or use the Wells Fargo and Tower lots.  Tickets are $7 per movie ($5 for students) or $40 for a 4-day pass ($25 for students). Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Off-Broadway Box Office. www.theobt.com or call 801-355-4628. The X-Dance film schedule is listed on the website:  www.x-dance.com

Open forums for question and answer sessions after each screening with filmmakers and featured athletes.

Several world premieres like the film “Swift Silent Deep” about the Jackson Hole Airforce by Akita Productions, and “Reasons” by award-winning filmmaker Johnny Decesare of Poor Boyz Productions

X-Dance Awards Ceremony and Closing Party will be held on Tuesday, January 20st at 7p.m.  Industry stars and celebrities join bands and DJs to celebrate the best in action sports filmmaking, while the extraordinary VJ, Brien Pullman, transforms the enormous room into a mesmerizing, wall-to-wall montage of action sports imagery. Located at Elevate: 155 West 200 South; www.hotelelevate.com For more details please go to www.x-dance.com.

Athletes expected to attend the festival: Shaun White, Travis Rice, Scott Schmidt, Jeremy Jones, and Laird Hamilton.

Sponsor Sailor Jerry’s Rum will present a special screening on Monday, January 19th.  The award winning feature film “Hori Smoku” the roots of American tattooing through the life of its most iconoclastic figure, Norman “Sailor Jerry” Collins, the father of modern day tattooing.  Screening will be held at 10p.m. on Monday, January 19th at Off-Broadway Theater (272 South Main St.) located across from the Gallivan Trax stop. Street parking or use the Wells Fargo and Tower lots.

Stevie Bell
Birth date: 12/08/85
Sponsors: Forum, DVS, Matix, Monavie, Special Blend, Park City, Technique, Nixon, Mom, Purl Wax.
Roots: Park City, Utah.
Current Home Mountain: Park City, Utah.
Height: 5’7” (170 cm).
Weight: 160 lbs. (73 kg.).
Stance: Regular, 24 inches (61 cm) wide, front twelve, back negative-twelve.
Board(s): 148.
Favorite riding scenario: Bluebird with friends at Park City.
Ambitions: Shred and make that money.

PHOTO: Andy Wright

Cheryl Maas
Birth date: 9/28/84
Sponsors: Volcom, Nitro, Electric, Vans, Nixon, Celtek.
Roots: On the plastic slopes in the Netherlands.
Current Home Mountain: I’m living by the beach in Biarritz, France, so I don’t really have a home mountain but a wave…yeah! I do go to Mayrhofen, Austria a lot for riding though.
Height: 5’8” (173 cm).
Weight: 150 lbs. (68 kg.).
Stance: Goofy, front 21, back negative-eighteen. As far as stance width I’ve never measured it because for every board it’s different, I just do what feels right to me.
Ideal board length: 153.
Personal/favorite web site: youtube.com
Favorite riding scenario: Having a good session with some friends on a nice jump.
Ambitions: Just trying to get better at everything I do.

fags with big shirts

It was a breezy Saturday morning  in the Valley as the custom TransAM slopestyle course got the final touches from the WV terrain park crew and opened for the traffic jam session at 11am sharp. Instantly the level of riding was through the roof. All 116 kids that entered were straight killing it! The set up consisted of two lines of three to choose from. The first line was the Zumiez couch hip, Waterville butter pad to down box and the Dakine mini hubba stair set featuring a single barrel down rail and a down bar. Line two consisted of the Ride Slime Wall, the Oakley up box with custom shark pool and last but certainly not least was the High Cascade jump with the loveable marshmallow jib barrel perched a top.

 The traffic jam went on for about an hour and a half. The judges kept a watchful eye for standout riders as they ripped the course to pieces. Only forty recieved the coveted TransAM t-shirts and moved onto the finals.

The finals a.k.a The Ultimate Jam gave riders 10 minuites to show their skills on each feature. The Zumiez couch hip was up first and the couch was nose and tail pressed multiple times. The WV butter pad to down box was next featuring some of the best switch trickery Waterville has seen this season. The Dakine mini hubba set gave riders two rails to choose from, which both were annihilated in fine fashion. The Ride Slime wall took a beating from the finalists and showcased their overall riding skills with the amount of options available. The Oakley upbox saw  270’s on and 360’s off over the shark infested pool. The highlight of the finals was definitely the HCSC jump with the marshmallow barrel on top. There was 7’s spun, cork 3’s, rodeo’s and a plethora of stylish grabs.  Overall the TransAM course saw some amazing spinning, flipping and spinning flipping action over the course of the day.

The awards ceremony followed with pizza pies, M&M cookies, Red Bull and some H2O. Custom Dakine TransAM board packs were awarded full of goodness from Oakley, Zumiez, Ride and HCSC and Transworld Snowboarding. High Cascade’s own Adam Kisiel entertained the crowd. In the end there could only be a top three for both the men and women. Best trick was awarded to Ben Ross for a 1-footed indy huck over the HCSC marshmallow.
The winners are and will forever be known as:

Men
1. Ian Keay- TransAM Trophy and Ride Snowboard
2. Ben Ross
3. Nick Doucette
 
Women
1. Emma Graham- TransAM Trophy and Ride Snowboard
2. Mary Rand
3. Kristen Hollum 

EMERGEN-C TO HOOK UP ONE LUCKY WINNER WITH BURTON SNOWBOARDING ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME
Enter To Win Prizes from Emergen-C® and Burton, Including a VIP Trip to The Burton US Open in Stratton, Vermont.

FOOTHILL RANCH, CA (January 2, 2009) – Alacer Corp., maker of the fizzy vitamin drink mix Emergen-C®, has announced year two of its partnership with Burton as the Official Health and Energy Drink Mix Sponsor of the 2009 Burton Super Demo Tour and Burton U.S. Open. This winter’s tour serves up mountains of free samples inside Emergen-C’s Get Shred Ready Igloo, tons of gear giveaways and the chance to win the snowboarding adventure of a lifetime—a trip to the Burton U.S. Open.

The Burton Super Demo Tour kicks off today at Copper Mountain, CO, followed by nine more snowy stops across the U.S. At each stop, guests will get to refuel on the natural health and energy boost* of Emergen-C in between taking runs on the latest Burton gear. Emergen-C’s Get Shred Ready Igloo will feature drink-mixing stations, free samples of the latest flavors, games and giveaways galore!

While hanging inside the Get Shred Ready Igloo, Emergen-C fans can enter to win the Emergen-C “Quest for the Ultimate Ride” Sweepstakes. One lucky winner and a friend will embark on an epic odyssey to the tour’s grand finale, the Burton U.S. Open, March 19 - 22 in Stratton, Vermont. Getting to the U.S. Open will be cake…scoring the Burton gear for two, $1,000 cash, and year’s supply of Emergen-C will be the adventure. A helicopter flight, GPS, personal Sherpa, plus VIP event and after-party access will all be part of the mission. Fame will follow as the winner’s exploits are set to broadcast live on www.go211.com.

Those who can’t get to the mountain are able to enter online at www.emergenc.com. Better yet, entrants are automatically eligible for weekly Emergen-C and Burton gear giveaways through March 30.

“It’s only natural that two brands with passionate, active fans come together to have fun on the mountain, and we’re thrilled to partner with Burton again this year,” said Monica Sikorski, Special Event & Promotions Manager for Alacer Corp. “We’re looking forward to offering big prizes, sampling fresh new flavors and getting riders ready to hit the hill all winter long.”

For pros and amateurs alike, Emergen-C helps riders charge long after the lifts close and stay healthier* so they never miss a snow day. Packed with natural flavors and essential vitamins and minerals, Emergen-C’s caffeine-free, zero-crash boost* proves that sometimes the healthiest choice packs the biggest punch.

“It’s great to once again have Emergen-C as a partner for 2009 Burton Super Demo Tour and Burton U.S. Open,” said Bryan Johnston, VP of Alliance Marketing and Global Media for Burton. “Emergen-C has become a great way for our riders and staff to stay healthy each and every day throughout the snowboard season as they circle the globe filming and competing.”

Visit Emergen-C’s Get Shred Ready Igloo at the following locations:

Jan. 2-4, 2009 Copper Mountain Resort - Copper, Colorado
Jan. 9-11, 2009 Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort - Truckee, California
Jan. 17-19, 2009 Bear Mountain Resort - Big Bear, California
Jan. 23-25, 2009 Keystone Mountain Resort - Keystone, Colorado
Jan. 30-Feb. 1, 2009 The Summit at Snoqualmie - Snoqualmie Pass, Washington
Feb. 6-8, 2009 Park City Mountain Resort - Park City, Utah
Feb. 20-22, 2009 Spirit Mountain - Duluth, Minnesota
Feb. 27-Mar. 1, 2009 Mountain Creek Resort - Vernon, New Jersey
Mar. 6-8, 2009 Stowe Mountain Resort - Stowe, Vermont.
Mar. 14-16, 2009 Waterville Valley Resort - Waterville Valley, New Hampshire
Mar. 16-22, 2009 Stratton Mountain Resort - Stratton, Vermont

emergenc.com
burton.com/demotour

This week’s winner is Irish Armada with this tail wheelie shot.

Congrats IrishArmada, email liam.gallagher@transworld.net.

Press Release, January 1st, 2009 (South Lake Tahoe, CA)