Fitted caps fools!

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Kelly Clark & Peetu Piiroinen win the glory and the cash!

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This video is about getting real in Alaska. Check out some hammers, check out some scenic, this 2 minute edit has it all. Hope you enjoy and check out GETREAL.transworld.net for daily updates.

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Janna finally puts down her winning finals run. Hallelujah!

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Kelly was up against a stacked field of Slopestyle riders but was able to bump herself up to World No.1 with a 21st place finish today in the Roxy Chicken Jam Slopestyle after finishing first in yesterday's pipe event.

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2ND ANNUAL COAST BODY WASH ULTIMATE BOARDER ANNOUNCES FINAL SCHEDULE, FAMILY FRIENDLY ELEMENTS, AND CONCERT LINEUP … REBELUTION. SNOW/ SURF/SKATE TRIATHLON, APRIL 4TH – 11TH, 2009 Ultimate Boarder is gearing up for this year’s snow, surf, and skate solo and team triathlon style competition.  Over 90 athletes are confirmed to compete April 4th to April 11th [...]

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Hot off the press, this just in... Cory Gallon hangs up on this gap rail and defys death! Click here to watch!

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It's hot and heavy in Big Bear right now. Peep Chris Bradshaw and the Bear locals grip it and rip it!

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Click here for the full gallery from the sunny transitions at Mammoth.

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Kelly Clark pulled ahead of the rest of the pack to claim first place at the 6Star Roxy Chicken Jam Halfpipe competition.

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This past February we sent a crew of riders over to Japan. This trip was cursed with bad weather, sickness and injuries from day one. We still got some really cool footage when the snow got good and Japan has so many other cool sites to see and things to do. This is a really really fast and condensed version of the full length Japan segment that will be in our next film, 'Shine On'.

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Gretchen Bleiler, Kelly Clark, Ellery Hollingsworth and more to Compete for $20,000 in Prize Money.
Pretty Lights to Play the Belly Up on April 4 for the Snow Angels Girls’ Night Out

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Get a walk through with Scotty Lago at the Frends house in Southern California. Take a look into the house where Kevin Pearce, Scotty Lago, the Mitrani's and Photog Cole Barash call home.

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“I’m driving like a maniac, driving straight to hell and back, another room another case to pack…We are the Road Crew.” – Motorhead

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Who will take Freddy's title?

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Grand Targhee Resort becomes first North American organization with a Climate Registered™ GHG emissions inventory.


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Straight Outta Compton, crazy mutha trucker who No Boards! Hahaha, OMG, check out this 6minute NOBOARD video that will make you freak out. 360s, pillows, gap jumps and overhead pow slashes!

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Žalohar.

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Go north and get weird.

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Learn about exercise, how to lose weight and how to get fit and healthy.

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3 Days with DC Pro riders Devun and Iikka in St Moritz, Switzerland for some early season powder treats

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One of the sickest Park set ups of the year for the big Austrian Snowboarding Skateboarding event

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This is the third opportunity of its kind from Nikita, offering a couple of lucky ladies the chance to shine among some of our team riders, in our Spring/Summer 2010 photoshoot that will take place in Miami this spring.

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With current leader Jamie Anderson sidelined with an injury, will another rider be able to claim her spot at this weekend's Roxy Chicken Jam?

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Pat Moore fundraiser at Waterville Valley. Retro fun!

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“I jumped in the plane with no idea what to expect from the snow condition in Japan this year, where i was going exactly and whom with.. all i knew was that it was dumping more then ever in Europe and that i was truly looking forward to eating veggie tempura!!

The japanese confusion begun as soon as i put my foot on the ground, I found my friend Matthieu Georges and as advised by the information counter, we jumped in the bus to the other terminal as soon as we found the right bus stop (that would be after running 5 times back and forth through the whole bus terminal). Arriving at the other terminal the information counter sends us back to the first terminal. Once there again and the in checking counter, the very shy, very cute, very kind, very quiet, very Japanese hostess tells us that snowboard bags are forbidden in the plane, and that we had to go to the other airport on the other side of tokyo about an hour away, and catch a bigger plane to Sapporo.

Once in Sapporo’s airport i met my english riding mates for this trip, Scott Mc Morris, Colum Mytton, Josh Wolf and Whiteline’s Editor Ed Blomfield.

We arrived in grand heraffu at night, there wasn’t much snow but we were staying in a really cool place with an amazing view on a beautiful Volcano as we woke up the next morning. Niseko is a volcano its self, the mountain is opened by day until 4pm and by night from 5pm to 8.30pm. most of the slopes are very well lit and it’s really cool to go night shredding there! the lifts don’t go all the way up the top as they do in europe and you ll hear all kinds of noises as soon as  you’ll sit on a chairlift. Of course the chair lift person cleans up the chair with a brush, even when it’s already dry and clean. At the gondola they’ll put a condom on the nose of your board and they’ll carry it out for you! After a day foolling around and searching for shootable spots it started snowing, i mean it started DUMPING and we would never see the the sky again as it kept dumping snow flakes of the size of 2euros coins through the whole trip.

We had an amazing time shredding the lightest pow in the world through majestic trees.
We’ve also had an incredible deep pow night shred! it felt like being part of a video game!

It was well lit even on most off slopes runs, but my brain could analyze only one image at a time, it really felt surreal!

We found some sick mushrooms to hit on an other waist deep pow day.. They all had sweet flat landings.. I remember riding one where i made hole just as tall as me and got almost covered by my own sluff! This is how deep the snow was!

I hadn’t gotten a chance to taste any veggie tempura in Niseko yet when we packed our board bags and took an 8 hour train ride through the country to the south island.. of course i m a girl and i had overpacked.. which did not make any of the 6 train changes easier for me.. we arrived in the Nagano area at night and we would not see the sunshine there either, unfortunately the rain had replaced the snow.

Once there we met Andy and Sarah from Snow Season Japan who made it so sweet and easy for us.. driving us everywhere and showing some cool spots to shoot!  Off piste is pretty much illegal in japan and they chose a good way to catch rebells to this  rule. We hear that they’ll chase any beacon signal on the mountain.. even if you are on slopes, they assume you were about to brake the rule.. After a a good shredding day I got to experience the japanese naked bath called the Onsen. I was on a trip with guys and the bath separate genders.. So i went alone not really knowing what to expect or how it worked..

I must have looked a bit confused too because 2 older ladies came to me as i was holding to my towel and ripped it off of me.. So there i was entering a steamed room full of hot and tighny japanese girls, all naked of course.. It was funny to be in the middle there, so much taller.. kids would stare at me and older ones would show me around.. there was about 5 or 6 different kinds of hot tubs.. one was outside, overlooking the slopes on which everyone was skiing..

I still hadn’t found any veggie tempura when we took off for a night in Tokyo.

And of course we spent it singing karaoke we were staying in a capsule hotel and i was stoked to find my funky bunk bed at the end of that long night.. The english guys left early in the morning and Matt and I spent the day shopping and walking around town. I had a lot of fun on that trip. That powder was so amazing and the guys were really fun to hang out with.

Thanks to Matt and Ed who let me tag along..

Thanks to Ben Thorpe from www.japanskiexperience.com and Jessica Geldart from the local tourist board in Niseko.

And thanks to Andy and Sarah from www.snowseasonjapan.com for all there help in Hakuba and Myoko, they’ll hook you up with japanese language course to get closer to the culture if you want to go there. www.japanskiexperience.com.”

For more from Anne-Flore visit her blog at www.annefloremarxer.com.

Josh Dirksen getting deep in Japan.PHOTO: Ashley Barker

Early in March Ashley Barker and the Salomon team made a last minute trip to Japan.  Along for the journey were Josh Dirksen, Bode Merrill, Java, Nobu (our guide and friend) Chris Grenier, LNP, and Louif Paradis. Check out some photos of the pow, the food, and all good times while traveling…….

Photos by Ashley Barker

On April 3rd and 4th, Mont Saint-Sauveur will welcome some of the world’s top riders for the 8th annual RIDE Shakedown, the most important snowboarding event in the country. New key features this year will include a new women’s category sponsored by Oakley, the launch of a $35,000 purse, Canada’s largest, and the creation of the spectacular, ground-breaking AMP Energy rail. A quick reminder that this year’s competition has been renamed in honour of the event’s new title sponsor, RIDE Snowboards.

And here’s a run down of the After-partys slated….

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO ABOUT THE RIDE SHAKEDOWN.

Get the Flash Player to see this player. This is a video of Luke Ryder Vande Woude snowboarding at age 20 months. He is riding a Burton Chopper 101 with Burton Bindings and Boots.

For daily Get Real updates check out our mini site- GET REAL HERE!

check out some photos of the gear. Here

The Swiss Gäng wins the Ästhetiker Jam, Wängl Tängl 2009!

March 20th, Mayrhofen, Tirol. The past week has been sensational in the Ziller valley. The last day of the event started off with mixed weather. After spring like conditions earlier in the week, new snow falls, cold temperatures and mixed weather awaited the riders and spectators. Nevertheless the riding level was high and the fun level even higher. The entire week held a colorful mix of contests, skate sessions, art exhibitions and raging parties. Acts like Millencollin and Masta Ace rolled into the valley and performed to their max, much for the joy of all spectators.

The Aesthetiker put on a unique event that brought hundreds of riders from all over the world together. An event that is seen nowhere else in this format. The main event not only took place in the specially designed Vans Penken Park but also in the Waengl Eventhall in Mayrhofen where a massive mini ramp was set up. An international line up of pro skaters guaranteed action on the highest and most creative level. At the tag team challenge where two skaters ride simultaneously in the ramp the two UK skaters Andi Scott and Josh Young took home first price. What Andi and Josh presented was mind blowing. A very creative format that pleased the audience and skaters alike.

The snowboard format named Gäng jam consisted of four riders and guaranteed non stop action up on the mountain. Rather than single heats, the four riders followed each other over the obstacles. Especially the “Jack N Cheese” Gäng from Switzerland with team members Iouri Podlachikov, Lukas Blaser, Markus Keller as well as Jack Shackelton from England who joined the team after the draft showed unmatched skills and tricks which eventually brought them to the victory. A lot of frontside tens and double backflips went down. The park held never seen features such as the Red Bull Endsection which got used in the most creative ways.
Stefan Gimpl teamleader of the “Ä-Team” along with Chris Kroell, Rudi Kroell and Christian Scheidreiter showed a great performance and proved that also second place didn’t come for free. The team “Pirates Significuntz” consisting of Tyler Chorlton who was riding with Erik Haugo, Danny Larsen and Christian Hettegger ended up on third place. Tyler Chorlton earned special mention for his backside 180 into the Taco feature with a cab five out.

Reini Rieser who consciously showed up without any brand sponsor dropped an incredible switch backside 900 over the gap and earned the highly coveted title “Most Impressive Rider” which came with a Suzuki DR125SM motorbike.

The 2008 “Transworld Rider of the Year” and Aesthetiker team member Wolle Nyvelt prepared is hand shaped Pow-Surfers especially for this event and had them designed by artist Phekt and Permanent Unit. Pow-Surfer are boards with a special shape that allow you to ride powder snow without bindings. The boards were not just displayed at the event hall but also painted live by the artists.

The Eventhall was the epicenter of the Waengl Taengl where there was skate shows and contests, live art sessions and also hammering parties along with a live concert of the Swedish Rock band Millencolin during the Vans Music Night as well as Masta Ace and Edo G, masters of the hip-hop culture who performed with Austrian musicians Waxolutionists. This highlight culminated the entire week in an unforgettable night.

Check more info out at aesthetiker.com

SPRING FORWARD INTO DEEP SNOW, EVENTS, NIGHTLIFE AND DEALS
AT SOUTH LAKE TAHOE “Corn” Snow, Sunny Skies, Competitions, Clinics and Concerts Highlight Springtime Activities

March 19, 2009 (South Lake Tahoe, Calif./Nev.) – The first week of March delivered 8 feet of snow to South Lake Tahoe, providing ideal spring riding conditions for the remainder of the season at the area’s three resorts: Heavenly, Sierra-at-Tahoe and Kirkwood. South Shore’s famous corduroy in the morning and soft “corn” snow in the afternoon combined with Tahoe’s renowned nightlife and entertainment support the area’s excellent shred rating. “It’s time to party,” said Carol Chaplin, Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority executive director. “To celebrate the nice weather and the end of the ski season, area resorts are hosting a lively event line up.”

Sierra-at-Tahoe Resort is finishing the ’08 – ‘09 season strong with a calendar full of fun, sun and savings. Spring Fiesta includes Ride Green Day, a day of eco-focused activities, April 1;  April 4 – 5; wine tastings with El Dorado County vintners and College Weeks with DJs and lift ticket deals. The Spring Fiesta celebration wraps up with the 2nd Annual Salsa Showdown with taco eating and homemade salsa contests, April 11. Details: www.sierraattahoe.com or call 530-659-7453

Spring lodging specials abound through March with South Shore’s “Kids Are Free” promotion, with savings exceeding $250 per child at South Lake Tahoe lodging properties, recreational outlets and restaurants. For a complete list of participating hotels, motels and vacation rental properties, as well as restaurants and activities, visit www.BlueLakeTahoe.com. Offers vary, check individual links for details.

Harrah’s Lake Tahoe will be hosting Rock Band Nights – an interactive music video game – from 8 – 11 p.m. on March 27, April 3, 10 and 17. Bands can register at http://www.harrahs.com/rockband or onsite. The winner will have the opportunity to participate in the Atlantic City regional competition, May 7.

The MontBleu Theatre showroom features Atmosphere, April 21. Details: www.montbleuresort.com.    At the Horizon Casino, Carnival Cabaret is a fanciful flourish of female impersonators back by popular demand through April with nightly performances, Wednesday through Monday at 8 p.m. Details: www.horizoncasino.com.

With warmer weather approaching, vintage sternwheeler boats offer a relaxing day on North America’s largest alpine lake. The 500 passenger Tahoe Queen, departs from Run Marina in the heart of South Lake Tahoe. The ‘Queen’ is popular for a sunset cruise and buffet or weekend dinner/dance sightseeing cruises. The M.S. Dixie II paddle wheeler, voted “Best Boat Cruise” at Tahoe for more than 10 years, departs from Zephyr Cove Marina, and hosts scenic dinner, dinner/dance, and sightseeing cruises. Details: www.zephyrcove.com or 775-589-4906.

Reflecting the destinations national appeal and residents’ passion for the environment, the popular South Lake Tahoe Earth Day Festival is, Saturday, April 25, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. at MontBleu Resort Casino and Spa. Families can learn about ways to counteract global climate change through recycling/composting, alternative energy, water conservation, sustainability and reducing ecological footprints. Live music, educational booths, conservation activities, culture, food and A Kid’s Zone will include storytelling, face painting, hands-on activities, bouncy house and an eco-friendly costume parade.   For information about lodging packages, headliner entertainment, spring activities and events, visit www.BlueLakeTahoe.com. The Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority is on Twitter: http://twitter.com/SouthShoreTahoe, for real time updates on events, promotions, conditions and what’s happening in South Lake Tahoe.

WHISTLER BLACKCOMB LAUNCHES SPRING OPERATIONS AND DEALS
With 102cm/40” of new snow in last week, slopes are anything but spring-like

WHISTLER, BC, March 19, 2009 – Spring is a season of transitions at Whistler Blackcomb. From powder to parties during the TELUS World Ski & Snowboard Festival April 17-26; and from boards to bikes when the Whistler Mountain Bike Park opens May 16; spring is the season for adventure hedonists.

A frontal system has been pounding the West Coast for the last week, resulting in 102cm/40” of fresh powder snow in the last seven days and another 45cm forecasted through to Monday. With another storm stacking up behind the current cycle, Whistler Blackcomb is set to enter the spring season snowy and strong.

“Spring just might be the best time of year in Whistler,” says skier Mike Douglas, Whistler Blackcomb Pro Team. “You can ski powder up top, then après at the GLC at the end of the day in your T-shirt.  The Nintendo Terrain Parks soften up and this year the Highest Level Park will be going until the end.  Just as the snow scene starts winding down, the Whistler Mountain Bike Park kicks into action.  What more could you want?”

Important Operational Dates

Whistler Mountain’s last day of winter operations -  April 26
Blackcomb Mountain’s last day of winter operations -  May 18
Skiing and snowboarding  on Whistler  Mountain - May 19 to June  14 (snowpack permitting)
Spring skiing hours of  operation 10am to 4pm from April 27 to June 14 (snowpack permitting)
Glacier skiing and  riding on Blackcomb Mountain will begin June  20
Sightseeing
Whistler Mountain  sightseeing begins - May 16, 10am to 5pm
PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola  closed for scheduled maintenance - April 27 to June 5

The TELUS World Ski and Snowboard Festival returns to the slopes of Whistler Blackcomb April 17-26. Going into its 14th year as the most significant spring event in the snowsports calendar, this action packed festival will feature a host of new programming merging art with action – on and off the snow.

Deals and Packages
Get here with WestJet and enjoy 15 per cent off seats to Vancouver
Book a lodging package with receive an additional 15 per cent off all WestJet flights to Vancouver. Valid for travel until May 31, 2009. The discounted fares are only available when booked in conjunction with a minimum of three nights accommodation.
These flights are only available by phone. Call 1.888.403.4727 to book your flight today.

TELUS World Ski & Snowboard Festival April 17 - 26, 2009
Two Nights Accommodation - Two Day Lift Ticket
From $82 CAD per person per night - $69 USD per person per night
Valid April 17 - 26, 2009
Terms and conditions apply – go to website for full details.
http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/twssf/index.htm

Third Night Free
Three night stays receive a third night free. Rates starting at just $199* a night.
Terms and conditions apply – go to website for full details.
http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/deals_packages/deals/3nightfree/index.htm

Detailed spring operation information, including specific lift access information and mountain amenities including food and beverage and rental or retail options will be available and updated weekly at whistlerblackcomb.com/whatsopen. Daily operation information will also be available on the snowphone 604-932-4211 and on the Today on the Mountain report.

It’s time to come out and shred the gnar for a good cause. Eesa’s New England Rep Buck Rowlee’s daughter Molly has been diagnosed with Lymphoma. So we’re pulling out all the stops in Molly’s courageous fight against cancer! Join us on Thursday March 26th at Bolton Valley Vermont for an evening of shredding, rail jamming and schwag giving. All benefits go directly to the Rowlee’s enormous expenses.

If you can’t make it but still want to donate please send a check made out to Blaine Rowlee ATTN: Little Miss Molly Fund: And mail to: Eesa Little Miss Molly Fund PO Box 323 Waterbury, VT 05676

VANS AND PROTECT OUR WINTERS TEAM-UP ON ECO-FRIENDLY SNOWBOARD BOOTS
Vans x POW Men’s and Women’s Boots to Hit Shops this Fall

Cypress, CA (March 23, 2009) – Climate change is a major threat to our planet and to the future of snowboarding.  In an effort to promote awareness of the issue, Vans has partnered with Protect Our Winters (POW), an organization dedicated to helping reverse the global warming crisis threatening winter sports, on a special snowboard boot project for the 2009-10 snow season.
The Veil

Partnering with POW, Vans re-constructed it’s top of the line men’s Cirro and women’s Veil snowboard boots with eco-friendly materials including 100% recycled PET textile, 50% recycled PET synthetic and non-toxic water-based solvents.  The boots also feature Vans’ custom designed BOA™ focus system, offering riders unprecedented tech and performance in an exceptional, eco-friendly package.

The Cirro

“We’re proud to be such an integral part of this project with Vans - they’ve really taken it to the next level by looking internally and taking the necessary steps to fight climate change by changing their design and manufacturing processes,” said POW’s Founder Jeremy Jones.  “It’s exciting and we hope it influences the rest of the industry”.

Available in early fall 2009, the Vans x POW snowboard boots will be sold at board shops worldwide.

A portion of proceeds from the collaboration will go to POW, helping to fund programs and educate the consumer toward achieving one goal we all share – protecting our winters.

About Protect Our Winters:
Protect Our Winters (POW) is a tax exempt, non-profit organization dedicated to reversing the global warming crisis by uniting the winter sports community and focusing collective efforts towards a common goal. POW redirects corporate and individual contributions towards community-based renewable energy projects and educational initiatives that have a direct impact on the issue, while also working closely with industry partners to explore more responsible ways to do business.  For more information on Protect Our Winters please visit www.protectourwinters.org.

About Vans:
Vans is the original action sports footwear company and continues to be deeply rooted in board sports.  Vans supports snowboarding through a comprehensive line of snowboard boots and outerwear, grassroots events around the globe and through sponsorship of many of the world’s top professional snowboarders such as Andreas Wiig and Hana Beaman.  For more information on Vans Snowboard boots and outerwear please visit www.vanssnow.com.

Learn how to get sponsored and stay sponsored.

Video by Justin Gunson

Academy Snowboards’ Camp at Boreal on April 4-5

Academy Snowboard Co. will be hosting  their 3rd Annual snowboard camp at Boreal Resort in Tahoe, California on April 4-5 for only $179. This 2 day camp will be coached exclusively by  Academy Pro riders  Jonas Michilot, Chad Tarbell, Ryan Tarbell, Melissa Evans, Nick Poohachoff  and other Academy riders. All skill levels are welcome as campers will be split into beginner ,intermediate and advanced classes so each shredder gets his proper schooling.

The $179 registration fee covers (2) free lift tickets, lunch for both days,  private sessioning and instructions by the Academy Shred team, tips on board maintenance, over $100 worth of goodies from 686,Neff, Vans Boots, Von Zipper, Da Kine, Flux and Inno Racks and Skullcandy for each camper, meet some new friends, and a guaranteed great time.

Any questions contact Boreal at 530-426-3666 ext. 187 or camps@academysnowboards.com. Registration forms are available at www.rideboreal.com under  “terrain parks” . You must register by March 26th
so get on it and first 50 campers to register get a FREE pair of Skull Candy headphones.

Beautifull 50+ ft kicker with great acess and potiental


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couple park clips at Telluride Ski Resort

The Bluebird Show Episode #2 Mike Parillo from willie mcmillon on Vimeo.&server=www.vimeo.com&fullscreen=1&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=">
The Bluebird Show Episode #2 Mike Parillo from willie mcmillon on Vimeo.&server=www.vimeo.com&fullscreen=1&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=" />Mike Parillo

The man, The Myth, The Legend, The Artist

Video by  Justin Gunson

Photos Nick Hamilton

SSB Productions introduces “the mile” dropping fall 09, an east coast flick about the lyndonville/ burke area in vermont

(Check back for complete results)

1. Chas Guldemond
2. Sebastian Toutant
3. Scotty Lago

Get the Flash Player to see this player. some estonian guys rippin’ it!

Luke Mitrani, Danny Kass, and Peetu Piiroinen. PHOTO: Aaron Blatt

STRATTON, VT (March 21, 2009) – Epic weather and an impeccable halfpipe greeted 15,000 fans and many of the world’s top snowboarders at the US Open Snowboarding Championships held at Stratton Mountain Resort.  No strangers to the top spot on the US Open halfpipe podium, Danny Kass took home his record-setting fifth US Open halfpipe title and Torah Bright earned her third US Open halfpipe title. Bright earned a bonus $3,000 and the Amp Energy Best Trick award for her stylish switch backside 720 while Luke Mitrani claimed his second Amp Energy Best Trick award with a crowd-pleasing switch double back flip.

The women dropped in first, and Kelly Clark took the top spot early on in the competition with a frontside air, backside 540 mute grab, frontside 720 indy, Cab 720 ending with a frontside 540 earning an impressive 93 points. It wasn’t until the third and final runs that Kelly lost her hold on first place. Torah Bright’s final run stole the show when she dropped in switch, starting off with Cab 720 indy, followed by a crippler, backside 360 indy, switch backside 720 ending with a backside 540. Kelly had one more chance to top Torah’s amazing 96 points, but she fell on her last run.

Torah’s run earned her a coveted spot in the US Open history books, tying Kelly for the most US Open women’s halfpipe titles. “I feel great,” said Torah. “I didn’t realize that I tied with Kelly for the most wins. It feels really good, especially because the US Open is such a special event.”

In the men’s finals, Luke Mitrani was the star of the first runs with his signature switch double back flip. Last year’s Burton Global Open Series champion Peetu Piiroinen’s second run earned him first place for a little while and included a frontside 720, Cab 1080, alley-oop backside rodeo, frontside alley-oop, a frontside 540 ending with a backside 720. But it was the third run when the podium order changed after snowboarding superstar Danny Kass took the first place title with a winning run that included a frontside 1080, Cab 1080, frontside 900, backside 720, ending with a switch alley-oop 540.

Danny had this to say about his record-breaking fifth US Open halfpipe title, “I feel amazing, I am beyond stoked that this is my fifth win,” said Danny Kass. “It feels great to come out again and put together some runs. I was feeling it today for sure.”

As if the action in the US Open halfpipe wasn’t enough, Santigold, whose album ‘Santogold’ landed at number six on Rolling Stone’s top albums of 2008, took to the stage for a free concert following the awards ceremony.

After today’s halfpipe finals, riders only have one more chance at tomorrow’s slopestyle finals to earn points towards the $100,000 BGOS title. Currently, Chas Guldemond (USA) and Charles Reid (CAN) are a mere 500 points apart for snowboarding’s biggest single payout. On the women’s side, Jamie Anderson (USA) still has a healthy 5000 point lead ahead of Silvia Mittermueller for the BGOS title.

Peetu Piirionen and Shaun White were neck and neck in the Swatch TTR World Tour Champion title race, but with Peetu placing second today in halfpipe he has clinched the 2008/2009 TTR World Champion title. The TTR World Tour award ceremony will happen tomorrow following slopestyle finals where Peetu will be presented with the TTR World Tour Champion trophy and a total of $110,000 will be paid out to the TTR Top 5.

The 27th Annual US Open wraps up tomorrow with the junior jam halfpipe competition, followed by men’s and women’s slopestyle finals, after which three major titles will be awarded: the $100,000 Burton Global Open Series men’s and women’s title, the Volvo Most Valuable Rider Award and the Men’s Swatch TTR World Tour Champion award.

Video by Justin Gunson

Click Here for the Complete US Open Coverage Page

It was possibly the warmest US Open in the 27 year history of the event and by the time the event was over, at 4:00 pm, the formerly pristine pipe was a hacked up, burned down, slushfest, but that didn’t stop competitors from sending it with results until the bitter end.

The Scotty Lago trifecta that we dreamed up last night after his QP win was not to be, as the 3rd place qualifier served up the usual perfect practice runs followed by three choked runs. Can’t really blame him though, the pipe was giving everyone trouble. Kevin Pearce, today’s first place qualifier, also wasn’t able to put a clean run together … and after falling on his final run, he was pissed—never seen Kev so pissed. Louie Vito should be pissed, he got pretty robbed in his last run which placed him in 7th (?!), but it was definitely podium worthy. We’re giving the TransWorld Trick Of The Day to Luke Mitrani—for his switch double backflip on the last hit of his run. Spectacular!

After holding on to first place through the first two rounds, Kelly Clark came in hot on her final run in an attempt to regain first place and match Kass’ four-time halfpipe champion title, and it looked like she had it, until, reminiscent of the Olympics, she gave it her hardest—which is so damn exciting—and bailed in the flatbottom goop. Torah’s run was technical, but it was very calculated and not quite as energetic as we expect from her, but after two incomplete runs, she did put it together.

With his second place finish, Peetu Piiroinen now joins the ranks of Kevin Pearce, Shaun White, and Mathieu Crepel as the official TTR World Tour champion.

Check back for complete coverage.

Men’s Final results:

1. Danny Kass

2. Peetu Piiroinen

3. Luke Mitrani

Women’s Final results:

1. Torah Bright

2. Kelly Clark

3. Ellery Hollingsworth

1. Kevin Pearce

2. Peetu Piiroinen

3. Scotty Lago

4. Steve Fisher

5. Elijah Teter

6. Luke Mitrani

7. Justin Lamoureaux

8. Markus Malin

9. Louie Vito

10. Danny Kass

11. Charles Reid

12. Jeremy Thompson

13. Antti Autti

14. Matt Ladley

15. Stale Sandbech

16. Zach Black

Today after laying low through the week, Shaun White took some runs through the pipe and made the difficult decision to pull out of the final stop of the open. He recently injured his ankle training in the pipe. The injury doesn’t sound too bad since he is still able to shred.

Shaun’s departure leaves the door open for both the TTR World Tour title (and the $50,000 first place purse) and the Open series title ($100,000 first place purse) of which he was in serious contention. Thanks in part to his first place finishes in both the pipe and slopes at the Asian Open, Chas Guldemond is the current leader of the Open series and looks to be in place to possibly win it. He has a decent lead over second place contender Charles Reid and third place Mason Aguirre.

As for the TTR World Tour title, Peetu Piiroinen only needs to finish 8th in either today’s pipe finals or tomorrow’s slopestyle to become the TTR World Champ.

Stay tuned for more or check live updates on twitter.com/twsnow

STRATTON, VT (March 20, 2009) – The 27th Annual US Open Snowboarding Championships final events kicked off this evening at Stratton Mountain Resort with the men’s and women’s quarterpipe finals under clear skies in front of hundreds of spectators at the Sunbowl base area.  Kjersti Oestgaard Buaas and Scotty Lago earned the first titles of this year’s US Open, taking home top honors and $10,000 in cash for their overall impression on the judges after tonight’s quarterpipe jam. In addition, Buaas took home another $3,000 after boosting 16’ and Luke Mitrani launched 25’ and won $3,000, each compliments of Amp Energy for the highest air in the quarterpipe competition.

Kjersti impressed the judges with her big backside airs, air to fakies and going for broke with different grabs. Buaas had this to say about her big win, “It hasn’t really sunk in yet, I never ride quarterpipe, I didn’t know what to expect. I tried to take things from the halfpipe and use them in the quarterpipe, and it really paid off.”

Scotty Lago wowed the crowds by pulling out every trick in the book and scored points with his clean style and lofty airs. Lago spun frontside and backside, throwing down tricks like a frontside 720 truckdriver and a corked back 540. “I really wanted to do well,” said Lago. “The jam format was awesome. I have been coming to the US Open for 13 years and this is the first time that I have been on the podium, I’m so excited.”

Daniel Ek of Norway took 2nd for the men and Sebastien Toutant (CAN) placed 3rd, taking home $5,000 and $2,500 respectively. For the ladies, Lisa Wiik (NOR) placed second and took home $5,000 and Elena Hight (USA) won $2,500 for third.

After an insane night of riding, the quarterpipe crowds were treated to a free RJD2 show, whose songs have been featured in no less than five snowboard videos.

Tomorrow, all eyes will be on the halfpipe where top riders like Shaun White (USA), Torah Bright (AUS), Kelly Clark (USA), Peetu Piiroinen (FIN), Kevin Pearce (USA) and Danny Kass (USA) will compete for the prestigious US Open halfpipe title, $20,000 in cash and valuable BGOS and SWATCH TTR points. A free Santigold concert in the Sun Bowl area of Stratton Mountain Resort will follow tomorrow’s halfpipe awards ceremony.

Sebastien Toutant, Scotty Lago, and Daniel Ek. PHOTO: Jake Stengel

Click Here For the complete US Open Coverage Page

Beau peearson

Get the Flash Player to see this player. Hey Transworld, I really like all of your video’s. I am a frequent snowboarder and It’s great to see what you can be in some of these videos, just seeing what you can try and stuff that is way out there. Anyway I had some spare time and thought of making an intro for Transworld so here it is. Edited in Adobe Aftereffects and Sony Vegas.

It was an an hour and a half jam filled with 60 mph run ins on a 30 foot-high, 70-foot wide monster QP. There were more miracles than a faith healing session at a Southern church. Riders were rising up from 20-foot air to flats. Truly, truly a miracle. Amen.

Amp Highest Air:
Kjersti Buaas—15 foot air
Luke Mitrani—24.5 foot air

Men’s Quarterpipe Results:
1. Scotty Lago (New Hampshire)
2. Daniel Ek (NOR)
3. Sebastien Toutant (CAN)

Women’s Quarterpipe Results:
1. Kjersti Buaas (NOR)
2. Lisa Wiik (NOR)
3. Elena Height (USA)

[check back soon for complete coverage]

Scotty Lago getting high during this afternoon’s practice session.

Photos Hamilton & Muzzey

Click here for the Full US Open Coverage Page

1. Ulrik Badertscher (NOR), 84.00
2. Petja Piiroinen (FIN), 80.17
3. Sage Kotsenberg (USA), 77.17
4. Zak Stone CAN), 77.00
5. Mark McMorris (CAN), 76.33
6. Eric Beauchemin (USA), 74.5
7. Jack Kyle (USA), 73.17
8. Davis Johnson (USA), 72.17
9. Hunter Wood (USA), 69.50
10. Christian Haller (USA), 69.17
11. Jeremy Thompson (USA), 68.83
12. Ryan Stassel (USA), 68.67
13. Spencer Link (USA), 68.17
14. Greg Bretz (USA), 67.83

Get the Flash Player to see this player. filmed in winnipeg mb, icey as hell, ruined some boards, good times…

lynndon novak
chris johnson
scott macdonald

Halfpipe Women’s Qualifications – Day Three of the US Open

STRATTON, VT (March 19, 2009) Over 50 women took to the halfpipe today for qualifications amid variable weather conditions at Stratton Mountain Resort on the third day of the US Open in Vermont. Only five lucky ladies would earn spots in Saturday’s semi-final competition where they would face riders like Olympic Gold Medalist, Kelly Clark, X-Games Gold Medalist Torah Bright, and TTR World Champion Jamie Anderson.

Canadian Open halfpipe winner Palmer Taylor was boosting, Kendall Brown threw down some solid runs, Cilka Sardar and Elizabeth Beerman all looked solid, earning their places in Saturday’s semis, but it was Norwegian Linn Haug that took the top spot with her first run that started off with a big frontside stalefish, followed by a clean method, followed by a frontside 540, into a McTwist, finishing with a nosegrab.

Result
Halfpipe Qualifications Women
1 Linn Haug                   NOR     BURTON
2 Elizabeth Beerman      USA     DC
3 Cilka Sadar                 SLO      —
4 Kendall Brown            NZL      ROXY
5 Palmer Taylor             CAN     BURTON

The US Open action continues tomorrow with men’s and women’s slopestyle qualifiers, the invitational quarterpipe competition and concert featuring RJD2. The US Open is the last stop on the Burton Global Open Series and offers riders the chance to earn points towards a male and female championship title, each worth $100,000, currently the largest single payout in competitive snowboarding.

The 2009 US Open halfpipe, slopestyle and quarterpipe action can be seen on NBC, Sunday, March 29 from 1:00-2:30 p.m. EST. If you can’t make it to Stratton, watch all of the semi-finals and finals live on March 21 and 22 on Go211.com, where webcasts and highlights of the competitions will also be available for on-demand viewing once the event concludes.

Burton would like to thank Stratton Mountain Resort, Volvo, SoBe, Go211.com, Paul Mitchell, Virgin America, GORE-TEX®, Corona, Emergen-C, Shiseido, R.E.D., ANON, Analog and Gravis for their support of the US Open. For more information on the US Open, head to www.opensnowboarding.com

Countdown to Shred

Seattle, WA – March 19, 2009 – It just occurred to us…we’re only 4 months out from the 2009 Gromfest Finals.  That means it’s time for our monthly installment of “Countdown to Shred,” where you the readers get to find out something new and exciting coming to the Great Northwest Gromfest Finals this year.  From events to prizes to guests we’ll start unveiling it all here over the next few months.

This month’s installment…EVENING EVENTS

As many readers know, the Gromfest Crew makes sure that you are so packed with things to do during the finals that you’ll get no sleep.  Well of course that’s not our intention it just seems to happen.  This year will be no different.  Every time competitors get off the hill or out of the skate park we’ll be whisking them off to yet another activity.

Similar to last year, Gromfest will host a BBQ in the Park one evening that will not only provide dinner for all who attend, but be the venue for the 2009 SKATE Awards.  Bust out the soccer balls and frisbees cause once again this evening activity will take place in Rebagliati Park.

The Gromfest Movie Premiere is back again and thanks to Millenium Place Youth Center, it will once again offer two showings.  Since we packed both showings last year we couldn’t cut back this summer, especially since we’re going even bigger with the movies this July.  While we’re not ready to announce just what movies will be premiered in 2009, we will tell you that it will be a mix of old and new, meaning think of who we had last year and then add some additional big potential new movies.  Jones Soda, Vitamin Water and newcomer Red Bull will be offered for free again at this event as well as popcorn courtesy of the Youth Center.  Combine a skate ramp, pool, a raffle and guest pros and you’ve got a Movie Premiere that will definitely top last summer’s.

Biggest change this year will be the Underground Skate Jam.  Because of the 2010 Olympics, the old underground park was destroyed so that the parking garage can have full use of their spots.  While this means no more Underground Skate Jam, fear not, we’re moving outside and creating the “Late Night Shred” event.  Held in Whistler Skate Park, Gromfest and Millenium Place Teen Center are teaming up to create the next best thing.  Under the lights, skaters will have the opportunity to shred with competitors, campers and locals alike while music will be provided by a local DJ and a raffle will be provided by Gromfest.  The highest ollie competition, longest manual and best trick events will be back and Gromfest is creating the new “International Kickflop Championships.”  Basic premise: if you can kickflip you can’t be in the competition, this event is for new skaters only.

Things are coming together for 2009 and this looks to be the best Gromfest Finals yet.  If you aren’t already planning on being a part you may want to get in touch…you don’t want to miss this.

Coming next month: PRIZES

Until then click HERE for more info.

About Gromfest:
Gromfest started in 2006 as an amateur skate and snow competition that gives kids 18 & under the opportunity to be in the spotlight and show off their skills.  No crazy rules, no crazy requirements, just crazy riding.  In addition, Gromfest donates proceeds to non-profit, alternative sports programs that benefit kids.  By doing this, Gromfest is assuring bright futures.

Back to The Boneyard Fast Approaching
It all happens on Tuesday March 24th

The jump is almost done, the hip is being pushed and the bus top is getting cut off tomorrow. Who will show from Waterville’s past? Bridges, Hulst, Moore, Kovall, Garrity, Bettera, Gormley, Baker, Wormstead, Muzzy and the list gets more infamous. We’ll see on Tuesday. Here’s some pictures of what’s shaping up. For more info on the event click HERE.

Lars Oesterle snappin on over the hip. Photo: Mic Dragaschnig

The winner Gäng of the losers round is untouchable

March 19th 2009, Mayrhofen, Tirol. Their name says it all: the ‘Untouchables’ Reini Rieser, Benny Wetscher and Thomas Tramnitz showed tricks in the Vans Penken Park that Mayrhofen in Tirol has not seen for a long time! This crew snagged the last spot in tomorrow’s final showdown by ousting the other two crews with spins and style.

Stefan Gimpl. Photo: Alex Papis

Even though the tough weather conditions were very variable, the sun still shined for some of the competition. Benny Wetscher showed a super stylish frontside 1080 and further more the Gäng delivered a crazy session over the hip in the Red Bull end section getting huge air time.

Photo: Christian Boehm

At yesterday’s Carharrt presents ‘Rugged’ party in the Tristenbach Alm in Ginzling, hell was on fire! The festivity was insane, especially the burning Carhartt logos in the back yard that were illuminating everyone’s spirit.

Kevin Wenzke snappin a lofty one outta the mini. Photo: Chritian Boehm

Some of that hell will lead over to today’s Vans Music Stage in the Wängl Eventhall in Mayrhofen. Skate Punk is on! Millencolin with Gentleman’s Pistols and Jettblack supporting will be heard all over the Ziller valley.

Tomorrow’s snowboard finals taking place from 12:00 to 14:00 hours, the riders will have their last chance to give their best performance.

Further info’s on www.aesthetiker.com

Watch Part one HERE
Watch Part two HERE

Stacie Anderson spinning her way to victory.

March 15th, 2009

Billabong hit Sierra-at-Tahoe resort this past weekend for the 6th leg of the Flaunt It all-girls snowboard series competition. Girls from all over the globe (Norway, New Zealand, Colorado, New Mexico, Hawaii, Maine, Canada, Florida…these ladies had it covered!) came out to sunny Sierra to compete in a slopestyle and rail jam to win cash, tons of prizes and a trip to the Finals taking place in Quebec at the end of the March.

Conditions were ideal with tons of coverage from the 8+ feet of snow Sierra-at-Tahoe received in the past few weeks. The park crew had the Bashful park all groomed and ready for the girls to slay it while Billabong’s Jamie Anderson stopped by to hang out with the competitors and take her turn on the mic. The morning started with the slopestyle jam with Stacie Anderson taking the win by her solid switch backside 3’s, and Canada’s Natalie Gough taking a close second throwing down stylie backside 3’s. Young up-and-comer Tasha Griffin threw down the best trick of the day with a super smooth 270 on 270 off the C box. After a burrito fiesta lunch, the girls headed back to the lower Bashful park for an afternoon rail session that had local Becky Bruce taking the win.

The Billabong Flaunt It series finals take place at Mt. Tremblant on March 27th-28th with over $8500 cash up for grabs. If you’ve got it, Flaunt It!

SLOPESTYLE RESULTS:
1st: Stacie Anderson
2nd: Natalie Gough
3rd: Femke Henriques
4th: Becky Bruce
5th: Tammy Verner

RAIL JAM RESULTS:
1st: Becky Bruce
2nd: Paige Rainear
3rd: Stacie Anderson

Best Trick:
Tasha Griffin

Grom Award:
Nora Anderson

For more information and registration visit www.billabong.com/flauntit or contact:
Amy Sorensen: amy@billabong-usa.com

Some new goodies and always the lowdown on the sled scene from Canada. Check it out here: http://www.cheetahfactoryracing.com/

Caught Up with Mercedes Nicoll
Words By: Jess Roy
Photos By: Rami Hanafi

Our friendly neighbor to the North contributes a lot to our everyday lives: a better appreciation for hockey, Molson, and the lovely Mercedes Nicoll. The Whistler native, who moonlights as a California girl, keeps herself busy following the snow, and travelling on the international contest circuit. We got a chance to check in with Canada’s sweetheart (she’s one of those spicy cinnamon ones) to see what she’s been up to lately.

You don’t like to tell people that you’re an Olympian, so I try to take every chance I get to do it for you. How is the ‘ultimate’ contest different than others?
Well, it’s the hardest contest to qualify for. I didn’t realize how much the contest actually meant to me until I fell during my run in Torino. The craziest part is getting to see all the other events and athletes, and just being there for the opening ceremonies. You don’t really grasp what a big deal it is until you get there, and actually experience being at the Olympics. I’d say that the two biggest contests are the Olympics and the X-games, but the Olympics is more about having a huge amount of pride to represent your country.

What’s your daily training schedule/regimen?
I don’t have a strict routine. I like to get a work out in every day whether it’s going for a jog or to the gym, or lifting weights. I just try to ride as much as possible.

The road to the Olympics is a long one. Can you describe the process of what it takes to get there? When does it start?
We started this year in January at the World Championships in Korea.  There are five contests where you either have to place within the top five twice, or your next best three results get tallied up against the boarder-crossers and the racers. The overall best results get to go. There are eighteen spots total for all of the disciplines. A total of ten out of the eighteen have to be one gender, like ten guys and eight girls or vice versa.

That sounds tough, how are you doing so far?
So far, this season I have a 6th place from the World Cup at Stoneham in Quebec. The rest of the contests are all next season: starting with the Grand Prix at Copper, World cup at Stoneham in 2010 and Boreal 2010.

What will be the best thing about having the Olympic games in your hometown, and can I come?
I know the food will be better! And I get to have my family there with me. Yes, you can come.

Great. I’ll bring my “I heart Mercedes” sign.
Do you feel a certain pressure to perform because of it?
Yeah I’ve been having a really tough season, but it’s because I’ve put so much pressure on myself. I need to try to focus more on the contests individually, and use them as steps toward the bigger goal of the Olympics. Sometimes it’s easy to be overwhelmed by such a huge goal. It’s the most pressure I’ve ever felt, but I’m trying to work on relaxing to relieve some of the tension.

Is there anything you’re trying to do to focus more?
I definitely have to listen to music when I’m riding. I tried to see what would happen if I didn’t, and it totally screwed me up.

You’ve been known for some interesting music choices during your contest runs. What is your favorite pick right now? I know you love Pink….
There are two new good songs!! [very excited] I love the both the new Pink and Lily Allen albums. ‘Bad Influence’ by Pink is my favorite right now.

What goes into selecting the perfect song?
They have to be upbeat or else I can’t listen to them. That’s pretty much it.

Didn’t you get to meet her in Mammoth?
No, but I saw her out twice! I was too nervous to make a move and approach her, and didn’t want to bother her. It was still sweet though.

Let’s talk about the two seemingly opposite extremes: your life in Mammoth vs. Whistler.
Well, it’s sunny in Mammoth. It will dump 3 feet, and then be sunny right after. Whistler is a fog town, and you’re super lucky to get a bluebird week. I have great friends in both places. My friends in Whistler are more from high school, and my family is there. In Mammoth I just have a good crew of people from all aspects of snowboarding. I never want to leave when I’m there!

Your tour on the contest circuit keeps you busier than Britney. How do you balance a ‘normal’ life?
I try to get home to see my family as much as I can. I have to follow the snow, so I don’t make it back as much as I’d like to. We do get to take some sweet trips together though. Last summer we took a ‘family vacation’ to Europe for a reunion. That was the best. Most of my friends don’t see me during the winter, but I’m really good at iChat! So, that’s how I try to stay in touch. And, just throwing it out there, I’m single and ready to mingle.

Favorite contest?
Fiesta de la Pipa, definitely. It’s on May 5th in Mammoth. It’s just the most chill and all about fun. No stress. Just ride, and have a good time with friends.

What’s usually your last thought before dropping in for a run?
I tell myself I can do it. I’ve done it before. I can do it this time.

Of all the places you have to go for ‘work’, where has the best/worst food?
Japan has the best. Korea, and the Olympics last year were the worst.

Really? Even in Italy?
Yeah, it was the Olympic village food, cafeteria style.

Most people don’t know that you’re a water baby. Any plans to pick up surfing when you’re done shredding?
Oh I don’t know about that. I suck at surfing so I’d definitely love to learn to get better! I do love, love, love the water though, so I’m sure there is a beach in my future.

Shoutouts?
Mammoth Mountain, Flow, IS Design, Ogio, POW, Powder Room, Mum and Papa.. and all my friends xoxo.

Pre-qualifier session 1 top finished Greg Bretz. PHOTO: Jake Stangel
STRATTON, VT (March 18, 2009) The second day of the 27th annual US Open saw a field of 121 men vying for 40 spots in Friday’s slopestyle qualification round. Of those 40, only ten will move on to Sunday’s semi-finals where they will face invited riders like Chas Guldemond, Shaun White, Tim Humpreys, Charles Reid, Risto Mattila and Sebastien Toutant.

It was another warm day at Stratton Mountain as the first session of men’s pre-qualifiers dropped into Snowpark Technology’s slopestyle course that featured a gap to down, flat box, up rails, and four kickers. Riders like Sage Kotsenburg, Drew Brighton, and Spencer Link were looking solid but Greg Bretz was untouchable. Both of his qualifying runs scored well over his next closest competitor, his second run scored a whopping 82 points, he started off with a frontside boardslide on the box, followed by a boardslide switch-up on the box, into a Cab 540 mute on the first kicker, followed by a big and clean backside 720 nosegrab, followed by a frontside 720 tailgrab, finishing with a backside 900 mute.

Slopestyle Pre-Qualifications Men Session I
1 Greg Bretz                 USA     FORUM
2 Spencer Link              USA     DC SHOE CO USA
3 Ryan Hryckiewicz        USA     SKYLER THOMAS
4 Jeremy Thompson      USA     FLOW
5 Sage Kotsenburg       USA     QUIKSILVER
6 Zak Stone                 CAN     K2
7 Eric Beauchemin         USA     DC SHOE CO USA
8 Drew Brighton            USA     DC
9 Ulrik Badertscher        NOR     NIKE ACG
10 Jacob Aaronson       USA     DSM INC.
11 Zeppelin Zeerip         USA     GNU
12 Josh Sherman          USA     O MATIC
13 Broc Waring                        USA     NIKE6.0
14 Carson Pippin           USA     —
15 Sean Ryan               USA     FORUM
16 Danny Garrity           USA     GNU
17 Davis Johnson         USA     SALOMON
18 Bryan Daino                        USA     SIMS
19 Joacim Nyhaugen     NOR     BATALEON

Although the skies darkened and the rain began to fall in the afternoon, the second session of men were undeterred and took to the course for prequals. Christian Haller, Ryan Stassel and Jake Knigge were holding it down, but Petja Piiroinen, younger brother of Peetu, killed it with a clean run that started off with a 50/50 on the downrail, followed by a 50/50 front 180 out, into a Cab 900 mute on the first kicker followed by an awesome backside 720 melon, into a big frontside 720 tailgrab, finishing with a backside 900.

Slopestyle Pre-Qualifications Men Session II
1 Petja Piiroinen            FIN       BILLABONG
2 Jake Knigge               USA     GNU
3 Christian Haller           SUI       BURTON
4 Ryan Stassel              USA     BURTON
5 Mark Hoyt                 USA     LIB
6 Mark McMorris            CAN     O´NEILL
7 Silas Hatch                USA     BURTON
8 John Murphy              USA     ANALOG
9 Michael Goldschmidt USA     MARY JANE
10 Jeremy Cloutier         CAN     ROSSIGNOL
11 Jack Kyle                USA    —
12 Josh Warnick            USA     BILLABONG
13 Wes Walsh               USA     OAKLEY
14 Scott James                        AUS     DC
15 Joe Mango               USA     RIDE
16 Paul Brichta              USA     BURTON
17 Skyler Thomas         USA    —
18 Merrick Joyce           USA     K2
19 Hunter Wood            USA     NIKE6.0
20 Hans Mindnich          USA     BURTON
21 Derek Livingston       CAN     ICARUS SKATE &

The US Open action continues tomorrow with women’s halfpipe qualifiers. The US Open is the last stop on the Burton Global Open Series and offers riders the chance to earn points towards a male and female championship title, each worth $100,000, currently the largest single payout in competitive snowboarding.

The 2009 US Open halfpipe, slopestyle and quarterpipe action can be seen on NBC, Sunday, March 29 from 1:00-2:30 p.m. EST. If you can’t make it to Stratton, watch all of the semi-finals and finals live on March 21 and 22 on Go211.com, where webcasts and highlights of the competitions will also be available for on-demand viewing once the event concludes.

Burton would like to thank Stratton Mountain Resort, Volvo, SoBe, Go211.com, Paul Mitchell, Virgin America, GORE-TEX®, Corona, Emergen-C, Shiseido, R.E.D., ANON, Analog and Gravis for their support of the US Open. For more information on the US Open, head to www.opensnowboarding.com

BURLINGTON, VT (March 16, 2009) – RJD2 and Santigold will each play a free concert at the Sun Bowl area of Stratton Mountain Resort, Vermont during this week’s US Open Snowboarding Championships, which has showcased the world’s most progressive riding longer than any other snowboarding competition in the world.

The RJD2 show will follow the US Open quarterpipe finals on Friday, March 20 when riders like Kelly Clark (USA), Peter Line (USA), Antti Autti (FIN) and Cheryl Maas (NED) plan to compete. Santigold will play a live show on Saturday, March 21 following the US Open halfpipe finals, where many of the world’s best snowboarders like Shaun White (USA), Kelly Clark (USA), Torah Bright (AUS) and Kevin Pearce (USA) and Gretchen Bleiler (USA) will battle for US Open titles.

Come watch some of the world’s best snowboarding and music for free this weekend at the US Open Snowboarding Championships at Stratton Mountain Resort, Vermont. And for the sake of the environment and a pleasant parking experience, we strongly encourage you to carpool to the US Open. If you have at least four people in your car when you park at Stratton during the US Open finals, you will be entered into the US Open carpool raffle, where three lucky winners will go home with Burton’s 2010 eco-friendly GMP products.

Concert details are below:

FREE RJD2 Concert
Friday, March 20 at approximately 8:00 p.m.
Sun Bowl base area at Stratton Mountain Resort, Vermont
Get there early to watch US Open quarterpipe finals at 7:00 p.m.
For more information on RJD2, head to: http://www.rjd2site.com/

FREE Santigold Concert
Saturday, March 21 at approximately 4:30 p.m.
Sun Bowl base area at Stratton Mountain Resort, Vermont
Get there early to watch the US Open halfpipe finals at 2:00 p.m.
For more information on Santigold, head to: http://www.myspace.com/santigold

CLIF BAR Adds To Winter Fun With First iPhone App

Providing Ski Resort Snow Conditions and Eco-Efforts

BERKELEY, Calif., March 18, 2009 - CLIF® BAR is introducing the first iPhone
application to combine ski resort snow conditions with environmental steps
the resorts are taking to combat global warming. The unique, portable and
playful CLIF BAR Save Our Snow (SOS) iPhone App can be downloaded free from
your iPhone or iTouch App Store (search “Save Our Snow”) or from
www.clifbar.com/sosiphone.

Scientists predict that global warming will lead to more drought and shorter
ski seasons due to unseasonably warm weather. As conditions worsen,
snowsport participation in the Rocky Mountain West may become entirely
unviable by the year 2050, according to recent climate trends research by
Colorado College in its annual State of the Rockies Report Card.

“Global warming threatens skiing, snowboarding and other winter sports more
than any outdoor activity,” said Ricardo Balazs, sports marketing experience
manager at Clif Bar & Company, maker of CLIF BAR, the leading
organic-certified energy bar. “As skiers and riders ourselves, we want to
help others who share our passion get a glimpse of what individual resorts
are doing to help Save Our Snow.”

The CLIF BAR SOS iPhone App enables you to find snow conditions at any of
the more than 500 ski resorts in North America. You can learn current
powder, temperature and wind conditions, the percentage of lifts open, a
three-day weather forecast and the resort’s phone number. For extra fun, you
can blow into your iPhone microphone and cause your screen to “ice over.”
You can use your fingers to brush away the ice or just watch it melt away.
If it’s snowing at the resort you choose to view, “snowflakes” fall across
your iPhone screen.

Icons on each resort’s screen page also allow you to see what ski resorts
are doing to combat climate change in the areas of renewable energy,
transportation, waste reduction, and education and outreach. In addition,
you’ll learn if a resort has received a CLIF BAR Golden Eagle Award, which
annually honors National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) ski resorts for their
overall environmental achievements.

“We hope our new CLIF BAR SOS app helps winter last longer for you and the
planet,” said Balazs. “It’s the only app that gives you environmental info
when you choose a place to go play in the snow. It’ll be available on iTunes
indefinitely, so you can use it now to extend the current ski season, this
summer to dream about snow and again next winter when you head back out to
the slopes.”

CLIF BAR has for the past three years helped raise the awareness of winter
athletes and enthusiasts about global warming’s impact on the ski industry.
From mounting veggie-fueled mobile tours with top skiers like Alison Gannett
and riders like Jeremy Jones to providing carbon offsets for chairlift
energy use, the CLIF BAR SOS campaign has informed thousands of winter
resort-goers about the need to quickly address global warming if they want
to continue to enjoy outdoor winter activities.

The CLIF BAR SOS iPhone app was designed by Raven Zachary in conjunction
with Cobra Creative and Darknoon. Weather reports and snow data are provided
by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and
snowcountry.com. Environmental information is courtesy of the NSAA.

About Clif Bar & Company

Clif Bar & Company is a leading maker of all-natural and organic foods and
drinks, including the organic certified CLIF® BAR energy bar, delivering
Nutrition for Sustained Energy®, and LUNA®, The Whole Nutrition Bar for
Women®. Committed to sustainability, Clif Bar & Company works diligently to
reduce its footprint on the planet from the field to the final product.

January 2009: Les Ettes is very pleased to introduce a new fragrance, FLORE-ETTE to their non-alcoholic range
of perfumes. The fragrance contains tiare flowers from Tahiti and a nuance of orange blossom,
chosen by Anne-Flore for the memories it conjures of traveling and her childhood.
In her own words, Anne-Flore says “For me, FLORE-ETTE is the fragrance of happiness. Tiare
flowers allow my mind to travel back in time. I keep wonderful memories of my trips in the
Tahitian Islands and I love keeping a glimpse of their magic on me all year round throughout the
cold winters. The monoi (monoi is made from macerating tiare flowers) reminds me of surfing a
couple of summers ago and all the magical things I discovered in Tahiti. I got to admit that I love
the result!”

As for the name, Anne-Flore’s mother used to call her “Florette” when she was a little girl, lending
itself perfectly to the name of the latest Les Ettes fragrance FLORE-ETTE.
FLORE-ETTE comes in a small, reusable shatter-resistant 35ml bottle designed by Anne-Flore
Marxer and Danish designer Emil Kozak. FLORE-ETTE is made in France and costs 25 EUR in
boardshops.
More photos and information on www.lesettes.com

Cranarchy at Cranmore
Our 4th annual BBQ and Jam in the Darkside.

NORTH CONWAY, NH – Skiers and riders are invited to Cranmore to come party and shred your face off with the Darkside crew.  This year will be the 4th annual FREE BBQ and Jam Session in the Darkside Terrain Park at Cranmore. This event is to thank the loyal riders that support the Darkside all season long. Cranmore will feature live entertainment from local band Audio Kickstand playing up in the Darkside Park.  As always, the park crew will be building new features just for the Jam.

Cranarchy happens on Sunday, March 29th, starting at noon.

For more information on terrain park events, please visit www.terrainparks.cranmore.com, myspace.com/cranmoredarkside, cranmoremountain on facebook, or call toll-free 800-SUN.N.SKI.

Academy Snowboard Co. Announces 08 Scholarship Winner

Academy Snowboard Co. is stoked to announce the recipient for their Foundation scholarship for snowboarders.   Michael Baumker, 22,  who attends the University of Utah, was the recipient for the Merit Scholarship which includes $500.00 towards books/tuition, (5) Academy snowboards , $150.00 worth of Academy softgoods and a free subscription to Transworld Snowboarding Magazine.

“We had a lot of solid applicants and it was tough narrowing it down to just one,”  noted Jeff Baughn, marketing director for Academy Snowboards.  “The applicants had to really work for the scholarship which not only included the normal scholarship criteria, but also required 2 minutes of riding footage, video essays, and industry references. We wanted to make sure that the kids took this serious and we are stoked to help fellow shredders that will hopefully someday give back to our industry after they graduate.  We know it’s not a lot of money right now, but as we grow we will be able to give more to the kids which this year we are now going to be able to give out (4) Regional scholarships. Plus 1% of all of our sales go back to the scholarship program so when you buy an Academy, you are supporting fellow riders trying to stay in school.”

Check the website www.academysnowboards.com under the “Projects” section to check the winners bios and video footage and more info on next year’s scholarship. Also, please note that scholarship applications are only available through specialty snow/skate shops.  If you have any other scholarship question please contact scholarship@academysnowboards.com.  Applications for the  09’ Scholarships are due by April 24, 2009.

Check this link for Mike’s video that won him the scholarship:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEyOML9FucQ

First place halfpipe qualifiers finisher Stale Sandbech. PHOTO: Jake Stangel

STRATTON, VT (March 17, 2009) The first day of the Burton US Open 2009 Snowboarding Championships kicked off this morning amid balmy temps and bluebird skies at Vermont’s Stratton Mountain Resort. A field of 120 men, whom would be whittled to a mere 10 by the end of the day, was registered and raring to go as they took to the 22’ Planet Snow superpipe.

Session 1, heats one and two dropped alternately in a best of two run pre-qualification round. Christopher Waker and Norway’s Stale Sandbech were looking strong from the start but it was Trevor Jacob, spinning to win and placing first in his heat by starting off with a frontside 1080, followed by a Cab 7, into a frontside inverted 5, followed by backside 5, finishing with a front 7.
Zack Black landed the top spot in the second heat with a run that started off with a huge frontside 9 followed by a backside 7, followed by a ridiculous switch backside inverted 7, finishing with a backside air.

Halfpipe Pre-Qualifications Men Session I
Heat 1
1 Trevor Jacob              USA     FORUM
2 Stale Sandbech          NOR     OAKLEY
3 Jeremy Thompson      USA     FLOW
4 Hunter Wood             USA     NIKE6.0
5 Benjamin Farrow        USA     OKEMO
6 Anthony Donofrio       ITA       BURTON
7 Sage Kotsenburg       USA     QUIKSILVER
8 Spencer Shaw            USA     UNDER ARMOR
9 Scotty Pike               USA     SMITH
10 Josh Warnick            USA     BILLABONG

Halfpipe Pre-Qualifications Men Session I
Heat 2
1 Zack Black                USA     —
2 Christopher Waker      USA     BURTON
3 Brennen Swanson       USA     RIDE
4 Daniel Longo              CAN     —
5 Paul Brichta               USA     BURTON
6 Nick Fuca                  USA     RIDE
7 Tanner Barrett             USA     BUNGER
8 Blake Eddington         USA     SESSIONS
9 Kyle Mack                 USA     BURTON
10 Nicholas Sibayan      USA     BILLABONG

The pipe crew performed a quick maintenance, salting and slipping the pipe which was rapidly eroding in the relentless spring sun, and then it was time for the second session of men to drop. Riders like Ben Watts and Nate Farrell were going huge, but Park City’s Drew Brighton finished first with a run that started with a lofty frontside air, followed by a backside 900, followed by back-to-back 7’s, finishing with an alley-oop backside rodeo. Canadian rider Harrison Gray finished first in his heat with a run consisting of a Michalchuk into a frontside 900, followed by a stylish method air, followed by a frontside 720, finishing with a Cab 720.

Halfpipe Pre-Qualifications Men Session II
Heat 1
1 Drew Brighton            USA     DC
2 Nate Farrell                USA     GNU
3 Ben Watts                 USA     BURTON
4 Petja Piiroinen            FIN       BILLABONG
5 Bryan Daino              USA     SIMS
6 Joseph Mensch          USA     FLOW
7 Nils Mindnich              USA     BURTON
8 Austin Schweyher       USA     SMS
9 Theodore James (TJ) USA     BURTON
10 Carter Smalley          USA     BURTON

Halfpipe Pre-Qualifications Men Session II
Heat 2
1 Harrison Gray            CAN     BURTON
2 Skyler Thomas            USA     NITRO
3 Derek Livingston         CAN     ICARUS SKATE &
4 Connor Leach             USA     OAKLEY
5 Tyler Troy                  USA     TEAM SUMMIT
6 Tim Humphreys          USA     FLOW
7 Tyler Emond              USA     —
8 Dylan Bidez               USA     FLOW
9 Anthony Wolf                        CAN     ICARUS SKATE &
10 Taylor Gold              USA     BURTON

40 men from pre-qualifications advanced on to the afternoon’s qualification round, fighting for one of only ten spots in Saturday’s semifinals, where they will face halfpipe greats like Shaun White, Scotty Lago, Steve Fisher and Kevin Pearce. Top finishers Zack Black and Harrison Gray looked strong in their runs, but Stale Sandbech edged them both out of the top spot with a run that started off with a frontside 540, followed by a backside air, into a frontside 720, followed by a Cab 1080, into a frontside air, backside 900, finishing with an alley-oop backside rodeo.

Halfpipe Qualifications Men
1 Stale Sandbech          NOR     OAKLEY
2 Zack Black                USA    —
3 Harrison Gray             CAN     BURTON
4 Jeremy Thompson      USA     FLOW
5 Tyler Emond               USA    —
6 Nate Farrell                USA     GNU
7 Trevor Jacob              USA     FORUM
8 Derek Livingston         CAN     ICARUS SKATE &
9 Christopher Waker      USA     BURTON
10 Tim Humphreys         USA     FLOW

The US Open action continues tomorrow with men’s slopestyle prequals. The US Open is the last stop on the Burton Global Open Series and offers riders the chance to earn points towards a male and female championship title, each worth $100,000, currently the largest single payout in competitive snowboarding.

The 2009 US Open halfpipe, slopestyle and quarterpipe action can be seen on NBC, Sunday, March 29 from 1:00-2:30 p.m. EST. If you can’t make it to Stratton, watch all of the semi-finals and finals live on March 21 and 22 on Go211.com, where webcasts and highlights of the competitions will also be available for on-demand viewing once the event concludes.

Burton would like to thank Stratton Mountain Resort, Volvo, SoBe, Go211.com, Paul Mitchell, Virgin America, GORE-TEX®, Corona, Emergen-C, Shiseido, R.E.D., ANON, Analog and Gravis for their support of the US Open. For more information on the US Open, head to www.opensnowboarding.com <http://www.opensnowboarding.com/>

Photo Credit: Jake Stangel

The man, the myth, the legend

Video by Justin Gunson

Check out the TransAM site here

Just for school

LEE CANYON


Read more

VANS TEAMS UP WITH 7 FOR ALL MANKIND ON PERFORMANCE DENIM SNOW PANT
Vans x 7 For All Mankind Pant to Hit Shops this Fall

Cypress, CA (March 17, 2009) – Vans and premium denim brand 7 For All Mankind are excited to announce a special collaboration for the 2009/10 snow season that offers an innovative new design for style-minded riders.

Utilizing 7 For All Mankind’s original and top selling silhouette, the Bootcut in New York Dark, Vans constructed a limited edition outerwear pant that blends Vansguard, a waterproof, breathable coating with true, quality denim.  The result is a stylish yet technical snow pant that protects riders from water-based elements and wind, while also allowing perspiration to be released from the body and quickly evaporate.

Available in early fall 2009, the Vans x 7 For All Mankind outerwear pant will be sold worldwide at select board shops.

The Vans x 7 For All Mankind collaboration is part of an extensive outerwear collection for both men and women that fuses Vans’ SoCal mountain styling with the most advanced technology to create versatile pieces that easily take you from the harshest mountain conditions to the town streets that night.  Vans made its name in snowboarding with boots that fit the needs of the full spectrum of boarders, from beginner to expert, park terror to backcountry agent.  For 2009/10, Jamie Lynn returns to the Vans fold with his signature freestyle boot, joining the latest editions from Hana Beaman and Andreas Wiig.

CLIF BAR Adds to Winter Fun with First iPhone App

Providing Ski Resort Snow Conditions and Eco-Efforts

BERKELEY, Calif., March 18, 2009 - CLIF® BAR is introducing the first iPhone application to combine ski resort snow conditions with environmental steps the resorts are taking to combat global warming. The unique, portable and playful CLIF BAR Save Our Snow (SOS) iPhone App can be downloaded free from your iPhone or iTouch App Store (search “Save Our Snow”) or from www.clifbar.com/sosiphone.

Scientists predict that global warming will lead to more drought and shorter ski seasons due to unseasonably warm weather. As conditions worsen, snowsport participation in the Rocky Mountain West may become entirely unviable by the year 2050, according to recent climate trends research by Colorado College in its annual State of the Rockies Report Card.

“Global warming threatens skiing, snowboarding and other winter sports more than any outdoor activity,” said Ricardo Balazs, sports marketing experience manager at Clif Bar & Company, maker of CLIF BAR, the leading organic-certified energy bar. “As skiers and riders ourselves, we want to help others who share our passion get a glimpse of what individual resorts are doing to help Save Our Snow.”

The CLIF BAR SOS iPhone App enables you to find snow conditions at any of the more than 500 ski resorts in North America. You can learn current powder, temperature and wind conditions, the percentage of lifts open, a three-day weather forecast and the resort’s phone number. For extra fun, you can blow into your iPhone microphone and cause your screen to “ice over.” You can use your fingers to brush away the ice or just watch it melt away. If it’s snowing at the resort you choose to view, “snowflakes” fall across your iPhone screen.

Icons on each resort’s screen page also allow you to see what ski resorts are doing to combat climate change in the areas of renewable energy, transportation, waste reduction, and education and outreach. In addition, you’ll learn if a resort has received a CLIF BAR Golden Eagle Award, which annually honors National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) ski resorts for their overall environmental achievements.

“We hope our new CLIF BAR SOS app helps winter last longer for you and the planet,” said Balazs. “It’s the only app that gives you environmental info when you choose a place to go play in the snow. It’ll be available on iTunes indefinitely, so you can use it now to extend the current ski season, this summer to dream about snow and again next winter when you head back out to the slopes.”

CLIF BAR has for the past three years helped raise the awareness of winter athletes and enthusiasts about global warming’s impact on the ski industry. From mounting veggie-fueled mobile tours with top skiers like Alison Gannett and riders like Jeremy Jones to providing carbon offsets for chairlift energy use, the CLIF BAR SOS campaign has informed thousands of winter resort-goers about the need to quickly address global warming if they want to continue to enjoy outdoor winter activities.

The CLIF BAR SOS iPhone app was designed by Raven Zachary in conjunction with Cobra Creative and Darknoon. Weather reports and snow data are provided by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and snowcountry.com. Environmental information is courtesy of the NSAA.

About Clif Bar & Company

Clif Bar & Company is a leading maker of all-natural and organic foods and drinks, including the organic certified CLIF® BAR energy bar, delivering Nutrition for Sustained Energy®, and LUNA®, The Whole Nutrition Bar for Women®. Committed to sustainability, Clif Bar & Company works diligently to reduce its footprint on the planet from the field to the final product.

Some sick shots entered the past few weeks for PARK (check the gallery below with some of the highlights). Next weeks TAG Photo Contest is “Spring Break,” so let’s see your best Springin’ shots. Post ‘em & Tag Them.

This weeks winner is:

SILHOUETTE AT COPPER

Casey Lorenzen captures Kaulin Walder at Copper.

Shooting backlit action can be tough.  Here is a good example of recognizing an interesting scene and shooting an interestng photo using all the elements available espeically the surrounding cool clouds in the background.  The action is well composed into the shot, it’s a pretty basic but timeless.

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

Honorable Mention goes to this shot:

Cameron throwing down a truckdriver on the hip at Mt. Bachelor.

Photo: Tyler Orton

Looks cold!  Fresh snow on the trees feels like deep winter.  Nice sun burst effect too.  Good photo

Next weeks TAG Photo Contest is “Spring Break” 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.

The Open is just that—it’s not closed. The Burton Open series is open to every whoha with the skills to enter the online lottery and get themselves to the top of the course. One-hundred lottery slots are open to men for both halfpipe and slopestyle and 50 each for the women. The process of advancing through the Open series is grueling as young Stale Sandbech, today’s first place halfpipe qualifiers finisher can attest.

Earlier this winter, Stale blasted his way through the European Open in exactly this same manner finishing first in both the halfpipe and slopestyle qualifiers and finally finishing with a respectable 7th place in Slopestyle overall.

Coming up through the Open class is not for the weak-legged—it’s a solid 7 days straight of competition— a  real endurancefest starting with yesterday’s pipe practice and ending with the Slopestyle finals on Sunday … if everything goes as planned.

From that field of 100 men in the Open Halfpipe class, here are the 10 that will meet up with the 32 invited riders in the semifinals on Saturday:

Tomorrow (Wednesday) kicks off with more halfpipe practice and the slopestyle prequalifiers. And Thursday, the women have their chance to qualify for the pipe finals.

Check the complete schedule below:

Wednesday, March 18th
• Men’s Slopestyle Pre-qualifiers: 8:30am-4:30pm
• Men’s and Women’s Halfpipe practice: 10am-2pm
• Rider Meeting: 5pm-5:30pm

Thursday, March 19th
• Women’s Halfpipe Qualifiers: 8:30-11am
• Men’s and Women’s Halfpipe practice: 11:30am-2:30pm
• Junior Jam Halfpipe practice: 2:30pm – 3:30pm
• Men’s and Women’s Slopestyle practice: 9am-1pm
• Rider Meeting: 3:30pm-4pm

Friday, March 20th
• Men’s and Women’s Slopestyle Qualifiers: 8:30am-2:30pm
• Men’s and Women’s Halfpipe practice: 9am-1pm
• Junior Jam Halfpipe practice: 1pm-3:30pm
• Rider Meeting: 3:30pm-4pm
• Men’s and Women’s Quarterpipe Practice: 1:30pm-3:30pm
• Men’s and Women’s Quarterpipe Semi Finals: 5:15pm-6pm
• Men’s and Women’s Quarterpipe Finals: 6:15pm-7:45pm
• Quarterpipe Awards: 7:50pm
• Concert in the Sun Bowl: 8:00pm

Saturday, March 21th
• Men’s and Women’s Halfpipe Semi Finals: 8:30am-1:15pm
• Men’s and Women’s Halfpipe Finals: 2pm-3:45pm
• Men’s and Women’s Slopestyle practice: 9am-1pm
• Halfpipe Awards and Autograph Signing (in Sponsor Village): 4pm
• Concert in the Sun Bowl 4:30pm
• Rider Meeting: 5pm-5:30pm

Sunday, March 22nd
• Men’s and Women’s Slopestyle Semi Finals: 8:30am-1:15pm
• Men’s and Women’s Slopestyle Finals: 2pm-4pm
• Girl’s Junior Jam Finals: 8:30am-10:30am
• Boy’s Junior Jam Qualifiers: 10:30am-1:45pm
• Boy’s Junior Jam Finals: 2pm-3pm
• Junior Jam Awards (in Sponsor Village): 3:15pm
• Slopestyle Awards, Volvo Most Valuable Rider Awards, BGOS Champions Awards, and Men’s TTR World Champion Award: 4:15pm-4:45pm

Chas Guldemond. Photo: Andy Wright

We know, you were probably expecting nude babes and shred town gossip, that’ll surface after these events though. It’s time to forget the agro chase for early morning pow and bitter cold, spring is about sleeping in until the landings soften up and enjoying extra après time in the glistening sun. And by now your local hill should have enough snow stocked up to slide on through spring, hopefully with a handful of features to boot. If that’s not the case wherever you are, you can keep the snowboarding dream alive with this compilation of spring events near you. Unravel that winter mummy getup, replace it with sunscreen and shred till your feet are sogged, dogg.

Grenade Games at Whistler, April 20-26
Wrapping up the tail end of the Telus Festival (April 17-26) in Whistler, the Grenade Games go international. With a greener locale and events from poker runs to dual slalom mogul races, it’s gonna be a blowout so dust off that passport and check the event schedule here.

Matt Forsch competing in finals at the Northstar stop of the TransAm. Photo: Terren Gomez

Everyone has heard the stories behind Roswell Park, the theories behind how crop circles just appear overnight, the continuous front page coverage in the newspaper in grocery check out lines of how the nation is run by aliens. Below is a gathering of facts, ramblings, and outright lies of what happened at Northstar. None of which fully explain the abduction of one companies iconic Orange Couch, how riders no taller than your knees seemed to float through the air with such ease, or how it can snow 6 ft. and then be so sunny and warm for one of the best TransWorld SNOWboarding TransAm stops anyone can identify or unidentify.

Can you explain how a group of pint size terrors, many of which made the ultimate final, were sending it so big? They were calling themselves the Gnar Star Crew and one of its members named Rocket was pointing it past the Dakine Down Bar holding all of his speed and floating what seemed like twenty feet over top of the High Cascade Snowboard Camp Marshmallow. Another member of the crew Toby Miller, who I know I saw kill the hip in the Bear TransAm last season, some how just magically appeared to teach the Northstar Pole Jam a thing or two about ripping. It is only fitting that at a resort named after a star so many things can’t be explained. One of which is the park that appeared over night, many saw the lights that night, but were unavailable for comment on how the awesomely creative park materialized in the morning. I asked Northstar Park Manager Chris Castaneda for comment and he raved, “ they are everywhere, and more are coming.” I know for a fact he and his crew have more info and are partly responsible for this phenomena. Nick Geisen was not afraid as he parted ways between the Dakine Paper Shreds to slay the Dakine down rail. Becky Bruce didn’t hesitate to showcase her talents on the glowing green Ride Snowboards Slimewall. Made from snow, the slime wall could be hit from both sides and over the top. Even Brekke was maniacally dancing across the Oakley drainage pipe that had water and the Oakley sharks spilling out the end for the riders to gap over. Another explained they heard a huge bang in the night and saw a strange orange glow hover over Northstar then disappear in the distance. Later reports were that the Zumiez couch was abducted and replaced by a fallen timber. The huge Zumiez Log Jib had riders spinning, stalling, and hand planting their way over it. Some might have thought it was a roadblock put there by a strange force, but that didn’t stop Tanya Oleskowicz from cutting through it with a plethora of tricks.

Eighty four riders pushed their way through the crowd witnessing the out of this world spectacle to ride in the Traffic Jam, an everyone at once sensation for an hour long. Forty riders were picked to ride in the Ultimate Jam, which showcased the highflying skills of riders like Jade McJannett and Chris Geisen in a 10-minute jam of each line of the TransAm Park. Proof of what happened that day was in the hands of all the riders in the end giveaway and awards party, a celebration of new friendship and mysterious visitors. Zumiez gave away two gigantic gift bags and gift cards poured out of the sky onto the crowd gathered there. Winners walked away liked space invaders dressed in White and Gold Custom Dakine TransAm backpacks and Custom TransAm Oakley goggles. High Cascade Snowboard Camp gave away so much fun stuff that riders could be seen floating out of the room with joy. Top finishers received TransWorld TransAm Trophies, Dakine backpacks and board bags, and Shiny New Ride Snowboards.
The only thing that can be explained is that the resort that they call Northstar has got a powerful force unlike any other and will be a park powerhouse for light years to come thanks to those flying far above it.
***Check out the Photo Gallery below***
Men
1st Nick Geisen
2nd Even Brekke
3rd Chris Geisen

Women
1st Becky Bruce
2nd Tanya Oleskowicz
3rd Jade McJannett

Best Trick
Chris Orlady

Best Pint Size Ripper
Toby Miller

Also check out Highcascade.com

An anonymous reader sent us this pic, he said, “Just thought you guys might get a kick outta this … I was about to eat at Ricos taco shop today in Encinitas and just before i got out of my car I noticed Shaun standing out of his car getting talked to by two cops!”

We were just going to hit delete cause we’re not TMZ, but then we figured, why not have a one day caption contest. Comments go below.

VANS TEAMS UP WITH 7 FOR ALL MANKIND ON PERFORMANCE DENIM SNOW PANT
Vans x 7 For All Mankind Pant to Hit Shops this Fall

Cypress, CA (March 17, 2009) – Vans and premium denim brand 7 For All Mankind are excited to announce a special collaboration for the 2009/10 snow season that offers an innovative new design for style-minded riders.

Utilizing 7 For All Mankind’s original and top selling silhouette, the Bootcut in New York Dark, Vans constructed a limited edition outerwear pant that blends Vansguard, a waterproof, breathable coating with true, quality denim.  The result is a stylish yet technical snow pant that protects riders from water-based elements and wind, while also allowing perspiration to be released from the body and quickly evaporate.

Available in early fall 2009, the Vans x 7 For All Mankind outerwear pant will be sold worldwide at select board shops.

The Vans x 7 For All Mankind collaboration is part of an extensive outerwear collection for both men and women that fuses Vans’ SoCal mountain styling with the most advanced technology to create versatile pieces that easily take you from the harshest mountain conditions to the town streets that night.  Vans made its name in snowboarding with boots that fit the needs of the full spectrum of boarders, from beginner to expert, park terror to backcountry agent.  For 2009/10, Jamie Lynn returns to the Vans fold with his signature freestyle boot, joining the latest editions from Hana Beaman and Andreas Wiig.

About Vans:
Vans is the original action sports footwear company and continues to be deeply rooted in board sports.  Vans supports snowboarding through a comprehensive line of snowboard boots and outerwear and through sponsorship of many of the world’s top professional snowboarders such as Andreas Wiig and Hana Beaman.  For more information on Vans outerwear and boots please visit:
www.vanssnow.com

About Seven For All Mankind LLC:
Seven For All Mankind LLC launched the premium denim craze in 2000.  The Los Angeles based brand quickly earned critical acclaim and an immediate following for its innovative use of fits, fabrics and finishes.  The company continues to grow and evolve as a true denim lifestyle brand, expanding its product line to include women’s, men’s, kids, sportswear, handbag and footwear collections.  Seven For All Mankind is currently sold at its owned retail stores, www.7forallmankind.com, luxury department stores and high end specialty boutiques in over 80 countries throughout the world.  On August 31st 2007, Seven For All Mankind was acquired by VF Corporation (NYSE: VFC).  As a result of this acquisition, Seven For All Mankind is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of VF Corporation.  For more information about VF, please visit their website: www.vfc.com.  For more information about Seven For All Mankind, please visit:�www.7forallmankind.com.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

The Boreal Mountain March Blow-Out Season Pass Sale is just around the corner. For 10 days only, you can purchase next year’s season pass for up to 40% off beginning March 20th through the 29th. Plus, the timing of the recent storms could not be better because you will get to enjoy the great snow conditions for the rest of this season when you purchase your 2009/2010 pass. Don’t miss out on the best season pass deal in the area. Order online at www.RideBoreal.com.

Adult Anytime Pass (13-59) $229
Senior Anytime (60-69) $129
Child Anytime (5-12) $69
Super Senior Anytime (70+) $35
Night Season Pass (13+) $129

Quiksilver Showdown Over the City is just around the corner
One of Canada’s largest pro snowboarding events set for March 27-28, 2009

March 13,  2009, Grouse Mountain, North Vancouver, B.C. – The Quiksilver Showdown Over the City attracts top snowboarders both locally and from around the world to Vancouver’s backyard playground. The event is included on the SWATCH TTR World Snowboard Tour, the largest international snowboard contest body. With the event being a Men’s Only format and $20,000 cash on the line, the rider list and skill level will be off the charts.

“The Quiksilver Showdown Over the City continues to grow each year and offers excitement for all ages to witness the progression of the local and Canadian snowboard talent,” says Jeff Silcock, Events Manager at Grouse Mountain.  “This is the All Star game of Canadian snowboarding.”

The prize money totals $20K for all competitions included in the two-day event.  The weekend will kick off with qualifiers on Friday that will see up to 100 riders competing for the 8 qualifier spots. These 8 riders will then be invited to compete in the Friday Night Jib Session along with more than 30 invited pros. They will all be competing for a $3K winner takes all prize. Saturday will be the main event where invited riders and the qualified riders will be competing for $17K in total in the Jump + Jib Session. With $10K for first place on the line, which will be decided in a 8-person head to head finals, riders will be taking snowboarding to the next level. Last year’s winner, Kevin Griffin will have his hands full to redeem the title, and hot on his tail will be last year’s runner ups, Matt Belzile (Grouse Mountain Team rider), Charles Reid (currently ranked #8 on the TTR circuit), and teen phenom Seb Toutant  (ranked # 13 on the TTR circuit). This year’s course design will consist of one massive step down jump that will lead into a newly designed jib section, allowing both the jibbers and jumpers equal opportunity to show off their skills.

Other weekend festivities include an outdoor BBQ and beer garden next to the course, sponsor booths, demos, and amazing spring riding conditions. The Quiksilver Park at Grouse Mountain is a popular playground for both locals and top pros, and will be the scene for mesmerizing action throughout the event.

“We are excited to stage a contest of this caliber in our own backyard,” says Shawna Olsten, National Marketing Manager. “It’s a great opportunity for Canadian rider’s to showcase their talents in an event now garnishing international prestige, and you sure can’t beat that view.”

Photo and filming opportunities include: qualifier, jib session, vendor village, rider practice, jib/jump/open sessions, award presentation and after-parties. Rider biographies will be sent out in the next few weeks.
Accredited media please contact William Mbaho, Public Relations and Communications manager at Grouse Mountain, to secure a weekend pass which enables attendance at all events, venues and parties.

Visit www.showdownoverthecity.ca and check out last year’s short video on the home page for a taste of what’s in store.

For more information and to confirm attendance please contact:

For daily Get Real updates check out our mini site- GET REAL HERE!

unknown rider super good great style

ROME COMMUNIQUE:

CAVAN’S FUGNAR UPDATE: THE ROME TEAM HITS KAMLOOOPS

“15 minutes”……There were a lot of bets rolling around the van as to just how long Lazz would last once Marius arrived before he got his ass kicked by the Norwegian Hellstorm. I had figured about three hours would be the breaking point, I think Rob had chosen about five to six.  The French Canadians had said he’d make it till the next day in Revelstoke, and I believe our BC rep Derek said something like “Oh don’t worry he’ll be fine, they’ll get along great.” Well, we were all wrong because it took Marius a grand total of 15 minutes of sitting on the van before he jumped over a seat and kicked Lazz’s ass. They seem to be getting along fine now so perhaps Marius was just asserting his dominance over the young lad, but either way it was funny, and the Hyena (what we’ve taken to calling Lazz) has been a little more mellow with Marius around.

I’m getting ahead of myself, though. We awoke early on Day 3 in Vancouver, packed the van, and set out on the five hour drive to Kamloops, BC.  After about a half an hour, the entire team was asleep in the van and I was left to pilot the hurling beast through the rolling hills and sketchy mountain passes of the Canadian Highway. We arrived in Kamloops and hooked up with Coach and Tye from the local shop Oronge.  They showed us some cool street spots, we assessed the snow and drop in situations, built some run-ins and landings, left them good to go for the following day, and then made the 45-minute drive up to Sun Peak, a local resort that was hosting us for the night.

Sun Peaks was rad.  We may not have had a chance to ride the resort, but we more than made up for it by riding with the locals at a backyard party. A local shred house heard we may be coming and planned a big party in their backyard for us. They built a super fun snake run, had a cool box set up, built a big bonfire, were hurling fireworks around the place like it was the 4th of July, had about a billion beers, and invited what seemed like the entire local shred scene. Will, Yan, Justin, and Lazz rode with all of the crew.  Everyone sessioned all of the obstacles together and had a blast, but the crowd favorite and workhorse award by far went to Max who rode the place until the very end.  Even when the party was in full mode, he was the only person riding by himself and was trying to teach himself a new trick—something that a bunch of the kids were super stoked to see. One thing that was pretty cool that we kept hearing about was that another team had advertised they were coming a couple weeks back, and when they arrived it was only regional ams, so the locals were a little skeptical to say the least when they heard we were coming. So when Max, Yan, Will and the guys showed up at the party, everyone was super stoked to see the team. The fireworks and bonfire were a real added bonus. I mean, who doesn’t like fire?  And Lazz made several new friends there, including two twins.

“The Bell”—After the party, everyone spilled into the local bar, where a rowdy group of mountain locals, shredders, and loose tourists were on a tear. One of the funniest things I’ve seen go down in a bar transpired there, I hope I do the story justice, so here goes.  At this locals’ spot they have a bell hanging from the ceiling and basically they have a house rule that if anyone hits the bell they have to buy a round for waiting for a drink (basically anyone touching the bar).  It’s a locals’ game designed to weed the tourists out and drink off them for the night. One of the kids from the party had told me about it, and Max and I were determined to catch Yan with it. We lined him up later in the night and as we were talking about it, all the locals in earshot ran to the bar to be there when Yan hit the bell. Well, Yan either didn’t understand us or just didn’t care and walked away, but Lazz who had managed to sneak his way in looked right at the bartender and tapped the bell. Instantly the place went insane—people were screaming, patting him on the back, and he had no idea what he had just done.  The poor kid turned white as a ghost when he realized he had to pay for probably 60 shots.  Meanwhile Max, Will, Derek, and myself slipped the bartender the money and told him to be unmerciful on Lazz, so in front of the entire bar the bartender berated Lazz about needing to pay for the drinks and he wasn’t getting out of the bar alive until he made good.  It was all time. Finally we told him the bill was paid, and the whole place went crazy again laughing. Lazz was the most popular person in that place, hands down…..especially with those twins.

The next morning we played Van Jenga with packing the beast, and then said our good-byes to Sun Peaks and headed to a down ledge with a big drop we had set up the day before. It was good to get a good session going on a big feature, and Will and Lazz walked away with some really cool stuff. I have to admit not to sound like a nerd or anything but it was pretty epic to get to shoot a street feature with Rob Mathis, someone whose photos have inspired me for years (in case you don’t know he’s a long time photographer who has shot photos for  movies like  “The Resistance” and “True Life”). Needless to say we are so stoked to have him along on this trip.

Just as we were finishing up shooting the ledge, Marius got dropped off by a cab straight off an around-the-world flight that had him snowboarding in Iran. We loaded up and headed to Revelstoke, crammed in the van listening to Marius’ stories of Iran.  It was interesting to hear how nice he says the people were there, how good the snowboarding was, and how the US perception of Iran may not be entirely true.  Definitely food for thought. The guys also crowded around a computer and watched “Mind Field” the new Alien Workshop video for like the tenth time.

Check back in a day or so for the next update as we return to our home away from home from last season; Revelstoke. We’re looking forward to seeing our friend Karl from Society, hanging at the Regent, seeing our friends at “Stokers”, although we hear it has a new name now.  And we look forward to hanging with all of the other friends who are with crews that have posted up in Revy this year.

SWATCH TTR TOUR CHAMPION TO BE CROWNED IN DAYS

Photo by: Rick Levinson

Vermont, USA - March 16th, 2009:  The time has come to crown the men’s Swatch TTR Tour Champion at the prestigious 6Star Burton U.S. Open.  After a highly charged season, Shaun White (USA) and Peetu Piiroinen (FIN) have emerged as the two Title contenders, but only one can walk away victorious.  Saturday’s Halfpipe finals, which offer up the first of two batches of 1000 Swatch TTR points, will set the stage for the ultimate Slopestyle showdown.  On Sunday, March 22nd, 2009, ten months of competition, dedication and hard work will culminate when a victor is crowned and the Tour defining contest decides the TTR Top 5.

Riders will descend upon freestyle snowboarding’s holy ground where they will chase Halfpipe and Slopestyle glory in search of the final 2000 crucial ranking points.  Now in its 27th year, the Burton US Open will give riders a chance to etch their name into Swatch TTR history and earn part of the $200,000 USD TTR prize money.

Piiroinen has been defending the World No.1 position since the 6Star Billabong Air & Style in Austria and Shaun White will need to perform strongly in both formats in order to knock him off and claim his second Swatch TTR Title.  Both riders have what it takes in Halfpipe and Slopestyle contests, ensuring this year’s finale is too close to call.

The leading TTR ranked riders are fighting to secure a position in the coveted Swatch TTR Top 5, which brings with it huge cash prizes and invites to major events next season.  World No.2, Chas Guldemond (USA) has had a dream-like tour and will be fighting to defend his position at the US Open. He is going into the race with confidence from his first Halfpipe win at the recent 5Star Asian Open. Last year’s Tour Champion, Vermont native, Kevin Pearce (USA), comes into the contest with the hometown advantage and has the ability to improve on his World No.4 ranking, espacially after winning one of the biggest Halfpipe contests of the season, the 6Star Burton European Open.  Further down the ranks in World No.8, sits Kevin’s FREND, Mason Aguirre (USA), who recently has been charging up the ranking.  The American contingent will be locked in a battle for the TTR Top 5 with World No.3 Risto Mattila (FIN) and World No.6 Antti Autti (FIN). Both these riders have won competitions with their technical smooth style and are hungry for a Finnish finish on the podium.

The women’s race is also hurtling toward a climatic end. With such a significant amount of ranking points available at the Burton US Open means the gaps between contenders will close further. It is the ladies’ last chance to move up the ranks before the Women’s Tour Champion is crowned at the 6Star Roxy Chicken Jam US. Current World No.1, Jamie Anderson (USA) has a good leeway and remains in her spot on the rankings; however, after the US Open it will be possible for a number of riders to take her down. World No.2, Silvia Mittermueller (GER), World No.4, Sarka Pancochova (CZE) and World No.5, Lisa Wiik (NOR) are going head to head for the World No.2 ranking in the Halfpipe – all of them viable threats.  In what is a truly international race, World No.7, Sina Candrian (SUI), World No.9, Spencer O’Brien (CAN) and World No.12, Cheryl Maas (NED) are all vying to earn points in both formats in an attempt to make a play for the Swatch TTR Tour Champion Title one week later in Mammoth, California.  Kelly Clark has won her last two major Halfpipe events and will be going for the hat-trick in front of the home crowd.  A win here will bolster her position in the TTR Top 10 so expect to see some serious amplitude.

Log on to www.ttrworldtour.com and read the news, watch videos and get the low down before the Tour draws to a close this weekend.  Live coverage begins March 20th on www.go211.com  so tune in and brace yourself for a showdown packed finale.

Photo: Christian Pondella, Red Bull Photofiles

RED BULL SNOW WARZ HEATS UP MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN
CAL POLY TAKES FIRST PLACE IN PREMIER COLLEGIATE SNOWBOARDING EVENT

MAMMOTH, CA – March 15, 2009 – On Saturday, March 14th the battle cry was sounded on Mammoth Mountain as Red Bull Snow Warz, the premiere collegiate snowboarding contest, took to the slopes to find the best college team on the snow.  The intense competition lasted for hours, with a gloomy, freezing morning quickly giving way to warm sun and beautiful blue skies.  The event brought together more than 275 students from 52 colleges and universities nationwide to face off in a unique jam-session format on a one-of-a-kind, progressive slopestyle course.  Riders received points based on style, magnitude, and overall difficulty of tricks performed and were judged by snowboarding pro Zach Leach, skiing pro Omar Otte and 17 year-old snowboarding phenomenon Forest Bailey.  The day was full of big air, sick tricks and harsh crashes, and when the snow settled, it was California Polytechnic State University in first place, claiming bragging rights as “the best in the west.”  Each member of the winning team will receive a season pass to their local snow resort.

Photo: Christian Pondella, Red Bull Photofiles

Red Bull Snow Warz was held at Chair 4 in South Park at Mammoth Mountain.  Teams of four to six skiers and snowboarders showed off their best tricks both for the judges and the other teams, who crowded around to get a peek at their competition.  Some teams brought a playful side to the competition, dressing up as a skeleton, a blow-up doll, 1960s-era hippies and “studious” students (complete with corduroy blazers, shirts and ties, and even a coffee mug in-hand).  Behind Cal Poly, UCLA took second, with the University of Colorado at Boulder coming in third.  Awards were also given to Brandon Cocard from the University of Nevada, Reno for Best Snowboarder and to Matt Cerrina from Cal Poly for Best Skier.

For determining the winner, the top four scores from each team were taken into account, with the top two teams from each heat advancing to the finals. Strategy came into play when the teams were asked to select their top two riders to represent them in the final.

Photo: Christian Pondella, Red Bull Photofiles

The event was followed by an after party at The Canyon Lodge, where the teams anxiously gathered to wait for winners to be announced. Those that might have been disappointed by the results were quickly assuaged by the following party that last late into the night featuring beats by famed Los Angeles DJ Valida.

This is the fourth year of Red Bull Snow Warz, and the first time the event was held at scenic Mammoth Mountain thanks to the support of Oren Tanzer, director of youth action sports marketing.  In 2008, 48 teams from more than 30 schools went to “war” at Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort, with a total of 233 students competing.  The University of Nevada-Reno completely dominated the event, taking home top honors as two teams from the school battled it out for first and second place.  The winning team took home a prize package of snow gear from Capita Snowboards and received an all-expense paid trip to a Red Bull event of their choice.

For more info about the event go to www.redbullsnowwarz.com.

KILLINGTON, VT - Olympic champion Kelly Clark (West Dover, Vt.) continued her dominance of the sport with a huge win over Gretchen Bleiler (Aspen, Colo.) in the final stop of the U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix presented by Sprint at Killington. Michael Goldschmidt (Truckee, Calif.) put down a strong second run to knock off first run leader Elijah Teter (South Lake Tahoe, Calif), who finished third.

With huge crowds lining the pipe and bluebird skies for her win on Saturday, Clark distinguished herself as back-to-back-to-back winner of the overall Grand Prix title, which she says is helping build her momentum for 2010.

“Anytime that you do well in events in a row or even back-to-back years it’s a great feeling, so I am looking forward to carrying this momentum into next season,” Clark said.

Truly a woman who progresses the direction of the sport, Clark landed a run of frontside air, backside five, frontside five, backside air, frontside seven, cab seven, to wow the Vermont home crowd.

“My family is up here and I always love doing well in Vermont. It was really nice that the weather changed. It got a bit softer today and I was able to just let it go a little more,” Clark said. “It’s pretty hard to be progressive in an icy halfpipe, but when it’s slushy like this you get to see a lot of good riding.”

Best Day for Bleiler
For Bleiler, the day was marked down as a success thanks to what she said was some of her best riding this season.

“I am really stoked on my first run today. I felt like I was really letting it go and going bigger than I have all season. I’m psyched on my riding,” Bleiler said. “This pipe was awesome today. Overall it was a successful day.”

Rounding out the women’s podium was 14 year old Madeline Schaffrick (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) who marked her first time in the Grand Prix top three with a straight air, back five, front five, air to fakie, switchback five, cab three.

“I am so pumped I can’t even stand it. I don’t even know how to put it right now, I don’t think it’s hit me yet,” Schaffrick said of being on the podium with Olympic medalists Clark and Bleiler.

Goldschmidt Brings it for the Home Crowd
For Goldschmidt, whose air to fakie, cab 10, front nine, backside nine, frontside seven thrust him to his first Grand Prix win, he couldn’t think of a better place to win than his home state of Vermont.

“I’m just so excited. I would rather win here in Vermont than anywhere else. It just feels great,” Goldschmidt said. “This win makes me feel really good. I’ve known that I could put together a run that could get me up there, and it feels great to have it come together and win it.”

Rookie Ladley landed a backside air, front nine, back nine, front 10, cab seven to finish second, but had extra reason to be happy about his place.

“I’m really stoked that Dylan [Bidez; Minturn, Colo.] has to pack my bag because I beat him, so between that and being on the podium, I am really excited,” Ladley joked. “Second place is really cool and I am very happy about it.”

With third place, Teter marked the first podium of his season and said he is looking forward to keeping the momentum as he moves into competition at the Burton US Open.

With a successful close to the 2009 Grand Prix series, the only thing missing on Saturday at Killington was the presence of U.S. Snowboarding’s Louie Vito (Sandy, Utah) and Steve Fisher (Breckenridge, Colo.) who were tied going into the weekend for the lead in the Grand Prix overall standings. Both spent the day in La Molina, Spain, where Vito finished second and Fisher third in a World Cup. Because neither could compete, the tie remains intact and they now share the national title.

The Grand Prix action continues Sunday at Killington Resort with the Paul Mitchell Progression Session.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
2009 U.S. SNOWBOARDING GRAND PRIX - PRESENTED BY SPRINT
Killington Resort, VT - March 14, 2009
Halfpipe

Men
1. Michael Goldschmidt, Truckee, Calif, 43.40
2. Matt Ladley, Steamboat Springs, Colo, 42.10
3. Elijah Teter, South Lake Tahoe, Calif, 40.50
4. Ross Baker, Reno, Nv, 37.00
5. Tyler Troy, Weston, Conn, 32.10

Women
1. Kelly Clark, West Dover, Vt, 45.70
2. Gretchen Bleiler, Aspen, Colo, 35.50
3. Madeline Schaffrick, Steamboat Springs, Colo, 32.10
4. Lizzy Beerman, Stratton, Vt, 29.30
5. Kaitlyn Farrington, Sun Valley, Idaho, 27.60

Complete results/startlists available at www.Live-Timing.com

About Killington Resort
The largest ski and snowboard resort in eastern North America, Killington debuted $8.4 million in improvements for its 50th Birthday Season, including the new Skye Peak Express and “The Stash.” Killington Resort features diverse terrain, an expansive lift network, the most extensive snowmaking system in the world and numerous off-mountain activities, including après, dining, shopping and lodging options. www.Killington.com .

Seattle, WA (March 16, 2009) – Morrow Snowboards’ first ever FameWar Video Contest generated hundreds of entries from all over the world, but when the votes were counted, a clear winner emerged from just slightly north. Adraon Buck, from Nelson, BC, Canada emerged victorious with his entry “Kootenays”, showcasing his solid shredding skills.

For his efforts Adraon wins $1,000 cash and will appear in an upcoming Morrow print ad.

Best New Original Trick was won by Jeremy Cameron with his “Gutterball”, a one-footed, nose grab rail slide. He wins $500 and a chance to appear in a Morrow Print ad.

“The New Original Trick category was conceived as a way to push the progression of snowboarding,” said Morrow’s marketing manager, Mark McGuane. “We asked riders to create (and name) new tricks to show us the future of shredding, or just have fun with original stunts. We leave it to viewers to decide which type the winner is! ”

Check out the winning videos, and learn more about Morrows snowboarding gear at www.morrowsnowboards.com. And start imagining new original tricks for FameWar 2!

About Morrow: A heritage brand founded in 1989, Morrow Snowboards is devoted to the riders who snowboard out of pure love for the experience. Morrow knows you can still produce high quality snowboard equipment without charging ridiculous prices for it, and the company’s mission is to get real snowboarders the gear they need without breaking the bank to do it. Morrow’s products are available in more than 40 countries.

To see Morrow’s line of snowboards, boots and bindings, go to www.morrowsnowboards.com.

Alaska in mid winter? Yep we went and checked it out. Scotty Lago, Eero Niemela, Pat McCarthy with Joe Carlino filming for the new TransWorld Movie Get Real out in Sept 09. I knew the Mountains were going to be big, and the Chugach Range did not disappoint. Our luck was all over the place, we got snow, then sun but with it wind (a lot of wind). We did get to fly 6 out of 8 days up there so here’s a sneak peak from our trip, look out for the full story and online videos next year in TransWorld. Don’t miss an issue subscribe Here

check out some of the Gear used for an AK Heli trip Here

more info on H20 Heli Guides go to their website here

Back to School/Planet

Me snowboarding for the contest Endeavor’s Next Top Rider

Get the Flash Player to see this player. The riders from Prior Snowboards in the Whitler park B.C Enjoy!!

Late spring is the best time to ride soft spring snow, so the team ventured into the Utah backcountry and got down on jumps of all shapes and sizes!www.roxy.com

Insane line up, congrats to these 5 fine Photographers. The show will be great see you there! More info coming soon right here on TWSNOW.com

Scott Pommier (www.scottpommier.com)
Scott Pommier is a Vancouver-based photographer. He has shot features and covers for nearly every major skateboarding magazine in the world. He has worked as photo editor and senior photographer for SBC Skateboard and as Transworld Skateboarding’s field editor. For the past couple of years Scott has divided his time between skateboarding and motorcycles. In 2008 he shot both a catalog and an award-winning ad campaign for harley-davidson and is working on a book project to be completed next year.

Ian Ruhter (www.ianruhter.com)
Once upon a pro rider who was “hella new-school”, Ian Ruhter enjoyed his notoriety early, was “washed up by 25”, bought his first camera from Tahoe shred photographer Aaron Sedway, then saw his first shot published in Transworld in 1997. The South Lake Tahoe-based photographer moved to LA to push his craft and he now shoots for Vans, Forum, and Transworld Snowboarding.

Christian Pondella (www.christianpondella.com)
From his home base in the eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains, outdoors enthusiast Christian Pondella plays hard and shoots action sports from bike to paragliding to skiing, often from the perspective of the athlete. The head photographer Red Bull USA, and a senior photographer for Powder magazine, his work has also been published in Outside, Men’s Journal, Sports Illustrated, ESPN Magazine, Maxim, FHM, and GQ Magazine.

Daniel Blom (www.danielblom.com)
Daniel Blom, 27 year old photographer based in Stockholm, Sweden has been shooting snowboarding on a professional level since 2002. His work has been published in 30+ publications worldwide and his commercial client list includes Quiksilver, Volcom, Roxy and Nikita to name a few. Today Blom is senior photographer at Snowboardermag USA and Methodmag Europe.

Jordan Manley (www.jordanmanely.com)
Jordan Manley is a Vancouver-Whistler based photographer. He fuses his passion for skiing and adventure with building creative imagery. At 24 he has been shooting skiing professionally for 3 years, affording him the opportunity to ski around the world. He has taken part in 4 photography contests recently, including Whistler Blackcomb’s Deep Winter Challenge, and was crowned winner of each.

Tahoe Legends of Snowboarding
“Vintage Snowboard Halfpipe”

Donner Ski Ranch, Norden, CA - Saturday, March 14, 2009

Event Schedule:
Registration:                    8:30 AM – 10:30 AM
(In the lodge, back room main floor)
Legends/Early Pros Halfpipe            11:00 AM – 12:30 PM
(Halfpipe -2 runs – best score)
Public contest - Jam                12:30 PM – 1:00 PM
Vintage Clothing Costume Contest        1:00 PM
Riverbottom Nightmare    (Band #1)        1:15 PM – 2:00 PM
Surprise Band                    2:15 PM – 2:45 PM
DB                             2:45 PM
Awards (contest and legends)            3:00 PM
Chunks of Metal                    3:30 PM

Halfpipe Classes:
Legends/Early Pro: must have competed in one of the following:
a.    1983 – 89 World Championships
b.    1983 – 89 US Open
c.    1985 – Sierra Snowboarding Championships, Soda Springs, CA
d.    1986 – Subaru Snowboarding Championships, Donner Ski Ranch
e.    1987 – 89 California State Snowboarding Series or Ragen’ at the Ranch Snowboard Series.
f.    Any OP PRO snowboarding events or the US Open, 1989 or earlier.
g.     You were invited because you’re a legend. Approved by race committee: Don Bostick, Mike Chantry and Tom Collins.
Entry Fee: $20.00 towards the purse
Public: you started snowboarding in 1990 or later, you’re not a legend but you’re important and you’re rad! Prize will be awarded to top riders, all ages invited!

Snowboards: pre 1993 or earlier! Must be approved by Mike Chantry.
We are not so concerned about bindings.

=

Count on the US Open Snowboarding Championships to Feature Olympic Athletes, Free Santigold & RJD2 Concerts and More

BURLINGTON, VT (March 11, 2009) – There are countless reasons why the US Open is one of the most exciting competitions in snowboarding. Here are just a few.

0 is the amount of dollars it costs to watch the best snowboarding in the world at the US Open, taking place at Stratton Mountain Resort, Vermont on March 16-22, 2009.

1 is the number of snowboard competitions that have featured the most progressive riding for longer than any other event in the world – The US Open Snowboarding Championships.

2 is the number of brand new Volvo XC-60s that USO sponsor Volvo Cars North America will award to the overall top male and female riders at the US Open. It is also the 50^th anniversary of the three-point seat belt, which Volvo invented and shared with every car manufacturer at no cost, saving more lives than any other vehicle safety invention.

3 is the number of Olympic gold medalists competing at the US Open: Shaun White, Kelly Clark and Hannah Teter.

4 is the number of people you need in your car when you park at Stratton during the US Open finals in order to be entered into the US Open carpool raffle. If your raffle number is chosen, you will be the lucky winner of Burton’s 2010 eco-friendly GMP products.

5 is the number of snowboard movies that have featured music by RJD2, who will be performing a free outdoor concert at the US Open on Friday, March 20 after the quarterpipe competition.

10 is the number of years that Chill, the non-profit learn-to-ride program that serves thousands of underserved youth around the world, has brought a group to the US Open. Chill selects outstanding members from each of its North American locations to attend the Open, giving many of the kids their first chance to fly in an airplane, see a major snowboarding competition and meet professional athletes.

10 is the number of years Santigold has been snowboarding. Her album ‘Santogold’ landed at number six on Rolling Stone’s top albums of 2008. Santigold will play a live, free show after the US Open halfpipe finals on Saturday, March 21.

80% of the world’s top 10 ranked professional video game teams used SteelSeries’ gaming gear to achieve digital domination in 2008.

185 football fields covered by a foot of snow are what it takes Stratton Mountain Resort to build the venues for the US Open.

1,000 is how many milligrams of vitamin C you’ll find in each immune-boosting, naturally energizing packet of Emergen-C^®, which is a generous sponsor of the US Open.

1872 is the year the oldest cosmetic company, Shiseido Cosmetics, was founded in Japan.  They will be distributing 20,000 free sun samples at the Burton US Open this year.

1975 is the year Nature Valley created the granola bar category.

2005 is the year that Corona Extra, a sponsor of the US Open, became the first imported brand in U.S. history to surpass the 100 million case threshold.

6,000 is the number of AMP stickers that will be applied to gear in the AMP tent at the US Open. AMP will also give away 50,000 samples at the US Open – 367 times the population of Stratton, Vermont.

$50,000 is the amount of money the Men’s Swatch TTR World Tour Champion will receive at the US Open.

$100,000 is the amount of money the male and female 2009 Burton Global Open Series Champions will take home after the US Open – currently the largest single payout in competitive snowboarding.

1,536,829 is the total number of views that the 2008 US Open received on GO211.com, which will webcast the 2009 US Open quarterpipe, halfpipe and slopestyle semi-finals and finals live.

3,000,000 is the number of trees that Paul Mitchell helps plant across the globe per year by supporting American Forests® and its Global ReLeaf® program.

289,950,000 is the number of people over the age of two that NBC reaches in the U.S. NBC will air the US Open on Sunday, March 29 from 1:00-2:30 p.m. EST.

Burton would like to thank GO211.com, Stratton Mountain Resort, SWATCH TTR, Volvo, Amp Energy,  Paul Mitchell, Nature Valley, Shiseido, Emergen-C, SteelSeries, Corona, R.E.D., ANON, Analog and Gravis for their support of the US Open. For more information on the US Open, head to www.opensnowboarding.com

SECOND ANNUAL ROXY MASCOT CHALLENGE TO BE HELD AT
THE FIFTH ANNUAL ROXY CHICKEN JAM

Contest Open To All, $6,000 Prize Purse Up For Grabs

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. – (March 12, 2009) – For the second year in a row,
the iconic mascot of the Roxy Chicken Jam, the snowboarding chicken, is
challenging all willing and spirited mascots to a superpipe competition.
The contest will be held during this year’s Fifth Annual Roxy Chicken Jam
presented by ROCKSTAR Energy Drink at Mammoth Mountain on Saturday, March 28
following the women’s superpipe final.

Open to guys and girls of all ages, species and fur types – including
college and high school mascots, professionals and the typical flying
squirrels and bears – the Mascot Superpipe Competition offers a $6,000 prize
purse, with 1st place taking home $3,000, 2nd taking $2,000 and 3rd taking
$1,000.  The mascot contest will be judged by official Roxy Chicken Jam
contest judges with similar criteria to any other pipe contest, awarding
additional points for those who choose to wear a bulky mascot head…the
bigger the head the more points!

Registration for the mascot competition will take place in the conference
center at the main lodge between 8:00 am – noon on Saturday, March 28th.
Contestants must be dressed in mascot attire from head to toe, so think
creatively!

The Roxy Chicken Jam, in its fifth year, is a six-star Swatch TTR World Tour
Event and will crown the 2008/2009 Women’s TTR World Champion the with the
World Champion. The all-women snowboard event will bring together the top
pro women snowboarders from around the world to compete in slopestyle and
superpipe events for a combined purse prize worth $50,000.  In addition to
awarding titles for each division, the unique event will feature a festival
atmosphere with live performances by Santigold and Cold War Kids, hair by
Paul Mitchell, touch ups by Covergirl, Roxy demo boards and skis, and other
giveaways and goodies.

The 2009 Roxy Chicken Jam is presented by ROCKSTAR Energy Drink.  Additional
partners include Paul Mitchell, Covergirl, JBL, Zumiez, Ford Models, FuelTV,
Nylon Magazine, Mammoth Mountain, and Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour.  For
more information on the Roxy Chicken Jam and festival visit
http://snow.roxy.com/2009/chicken_jam/

About Roxy:
Roxy is a brand of Quiksilver, Inc. (NYSE:ZQK), the world’s leading outdoor
sports lifestyle company, which designs, produces and distributes a
diversified mix of branded apparel, wintersports equipment, footwear,
accessories and related products.  The Company’s apparel and footwear brands
represent a casual lifestyle for young-minded people that connect with its
boardriding culture and heritage.

The reputation of Quiksilver’s brands is based on different outdoor sports.
The Company’s Quiksilver, Roxy, DC and Hawk brands are synonymous with the
heritage and culture of surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding, and its
beach and water oriented swimwear brands include Raisins, Radio Fiji and
Leilani. The Company continues to make snowboarding equipment under its DC,
Roxy, Lib Technologies, Gnu and Bent Metal labels.

The Company’s products are sold in over 90 countries in a wide range of
distribution, including surf shops, skate shops, snow shops, its proprietary
Boardriders Club shops and other company-owned retail stores, other
specialty stores and select department stores.  Quiksilver’s corporate and
Americas’ headquarters are in Huntington Beach, California, while its
European headquarters are in St. Jean de Luz, France, and its Asia/Pacific
headquarters are in Torquay, Australia.

Nick Dirks was been getting around a lot lately. He circumnavigated the globe in about 30 days. Started in SLC, flew to Vegas for a debaucherous warm up at SIA. He doesn’t remember much of that leg of the trip, but knows that’s where he caught a flight to Munich, Germany. Once there he indulged in tubed meats, big mugs of beer and even ended up at a brothel. Accidently, he claims. He bought a hoodie and some “pointy-ass Euro” shoes at the airport and high-tailed it to Lebanon.

You’ll learn more about this stop on the world-tour next winter, when the feature comes out in the mag. And believe you me, his time in Lebanon will be worth reading about. Ever heard of Hezbollah? Nick met ‘em.

Serious shit. And lots of shredding.

After the middle east it was on to South Korea for two days. He didn’t have much to say about Korea. He got sick from some sketchy food and it sounds like he blacked out most of the experience.

He came to in Japan while riding dick-deep pow with all his homies.

Some kinda life.

But for all the highs, there are always lows.

Here’s the best and worst of world travel according to Nick.

Best Meal: Armenian dinner of raw meat our last night in Lebanon.

Worst meal: Country fried pork with raw egg, which led to food poisoning.

Best pow: Hokkaido.

Worst hangover: Germany, the night of the fly bar. Jarad’s first dick flick.

Best in-flight entertainment: On my flight home from Tokyo, I purchased a hand held Donkey Kong game.

Worst slam: In Germany, at the rail jam, they thought it might be a good idea to put vegetable oil on the rails.

Best find: Ultra Man action figurines at a thrift store on the way to Tokyo.

Worst purchase: These pointy euro shoes I got at the Munich airport.

Best Line: “You want to fek?” A cab driver describing a “club” to us in Munich.

Worst night’s sleep: The first night in Japan. When a fever and food poisoning started to kick in while trying to sleep on a hard wood floor.

Best Photo: Kazu as a street fighter on the ferry to Hokkaido.

Best style: Kazu “jizo”, he busted a backie in Hokkaido with none of his own gear.

Worst style: Rodney Mullen look alike in Tokyo. Peep cheesdicksclick.blogspot.com.

Worst encounter with the locals: Uh… Meeting Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Best encounter with the locals: At Faraya resort in Lebanon. Johnny and his boys showed us around and supplied Almazas on the house.

Worst Part of the Trip : Getting food poisoning and puking from the rear for about five days.

Best Realization: That foreign food is much better.

Worst realization: That the trip was over and I was headed back to Salt Lake City.

Best…..Month of my life!

Never mind the crisis! Stop whining - go riding!

Everyone is talking about the financial crisis and that events are being cancelled all over Europe. Well the Asthetiker crew is defying this, so get ready for the most pimpin´ event of the year! From 14th until the 20th of March get yourself to the Wängl Tängl and get set to party like you never have before!

At the Wängl Tängle royalty like Millencolin and Master Ace will be out and about. From the stage they can admire the biggest Skateboard-ramp ever seen in Austria. Inside International riders such as Micky Iglesias, Andy Scott, Sam Partaix, Richie Loeffler, Juergen Horrvarth, Alex Giraud, Danny Wainwright, Dave Marteleur, Kevin Wenzke, Oliver Gordon and Chris Pfanner are going to show their most stylish moves. These guys are meeting up at the tag-team contest, teams of 2 skaters each, who will compete in a jam session.

The names on the snowboarding list are just as famous, with riders like Markus Keller, Iouri Podladtchikov, Kalle Ohlson, Stefan Gimpl, Wolle Nyvelt, Andreas Gidlund, Beckna, Ingemar Backmann, Peter Ström, Danny Larsen, Tyler Chorlton, Arthur Longo, Niki Korpela, Tonton Holland, just to name a few.
The competition format is even fancier this year: A gäng jam with a qualification dräft! All clear? O.k. one more time – slowly. In the qualification which is open for everyone, the 15 best riders will be chosen and distributed to the 15 pro teams, just like you would of seen it in the NBA or NHL. That makes 15 teams of 4 riders each, who will compete at the main event.
The Vans Penken Park is spruced up for the Wängl Tängl, to challenge the riders to the max. The Red Bull end section is a highlight, where the riders can truly show off. The best team crowned the winner of the Wängl Tängl and the well known Special-Äwards are exceptional this year. The most impressive rider will get a stylish Suzuki DR 125SM motorbike.

To step up the weekly program a notch, a special music line-up is planned for every evening. Starting on Saturday March 14th with Shakewll Sound and the FM4 Club, followed by the Poetry Slam and Mieze Medusa on Sunday. On Monday Ronny Trettmann, Sodom&Gomorrah and Hotsteppa will spread their Ragga vibe! Vice is taking the lead at the Äskimo Party at the Whitelounge on the Ahorn Mountain, high up above Mayrhofen. Danny Breaks, DJ Buzz and Preddy are throwing down at the infamous Tristenbachalm in Ginzling. After the Skateboard Final, on Thursday, the “Vans OTW Music Stage“ is calling for some Punk Rock! Straight from the Swedish highlands, with supporting acts Gentlemen´s Pistol and Jettblack, Millencolin is representing!
Another highlight is the meeting of the two heavyweights of Hip Hop, Masta Ace and Edo G accompanied by the Austrian Waxolutionist Live band, who are invited by ‘die Ästhetiker…’ to play a special concert at the Wängl Tängl!

For the first time the Wolle Nyvelt’s Pow-Surfers can be purchased. These are painted on-site by the contributing artists and receive, besides their uniqueness, a not to be underrated artistic value. Art is a relevant aspect of life for ‘die Ästhetiker…’ for that reason Danny Wainwright, the Permanent Unit, Chrisi Tee, Phekt and Fat Cat are working together in sessions. The Pow-Surfers of
‘Transworld Snowboarding Rider of the Year 2008’ Wolle Nyvelt are the canvasses for the artworks. These are specially shaped boards designed to be ridden in the deep snow without bindings.

The Party Ticket for the whole week is sensational: 60.- Euro for Party Entry every day during the whole week! And not to forget the special week packages: Prices from 399,- Euro per person per week. Included are 7 nights accommodation with breakfast, liftpass and free party entry for the whole week, entry to the 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 can book online at www.aesthetiker.com

Glover Scores Double Honors at 2^nd Annual Video Wars

at Mountain High

Wrightwood, CA (March 11, 2009) – The Second Annual Video Wars invaded Mountain High last week with Peter Para taking home top honors for Best Photo, while Mikey Radziwon and Matt Ybarra tied for Best Rider. Craig Glover scored double honors with “Simple Failures,” winning Best Video and Viewer’s Choice, as voted by an animated crowd of videographers, riders, photographers, friends, and family at the Second Annual Video Wars After Party. All winners took home 2009/10 Mountain High Season Passes and a case of Monster Energy drink.

The entire collection of video submissions was screened before a live audience at the Video Wars After Party in the Bullwheel Bar & Grill. Highlights included comedic parody “Mamma Schmeeia” by Couch Boys Productions, “Steezy Styles” by Patrick Dougherty, and “Send It” by Anthony Fire. Check out highlights of the videos on the Mountain High website at www.mthigh.com/events/VideoWars09Results.html.

Video Wars is a contest unique to Mountain High that was designed to showcase the creative talents of aspiring videographers, riders, and the crews behind the scenes. New this season, the category of Best Rider was added to recognize the hard work of the athletes who provide the content that video dreams are made of.

Second Annual Video Wars at Mountain High

Best Video: Craig Glover, “Simple Failures”
Best Photo: Peter Para
Best Rider: Mikey Radziwon/ Matt Ybarra
Viewer’s Choice: Craig Glover, “Simple Failures”

Mikey Radziwon and  Matt Ybarra

Simple Failures Crew

Peter Para

Craig Glover

Photos by: Mountain High

Australia

Sun, Surf, And Summer Shredding

Words and photos by Sean Radich

Mason Aguirre at Perisher Blue.Photo: Adam Moran

The oldest, driest, flattest, lowest elevation, and most sparsely populated land on Earth is hardly what comes to mind when you consider summer snowboarding destinations. However, in the southeast corner of Australia you’ll find a series of alpine mountain ranges with a potential snow coverage area larger than the Swiss Alps, and five major resorts providing a snowboarding adventure unlike anywhere else on the planet.
With the support of homegrown surf heavyweights, like Quiksilver, Billabong, and Rip Curl, snowboarding has progressed along the same lines as it has in the rest of the world. With riders like Torah Bright, Robbie Walker, Ryan Tiene, Clint Allan, Nick Gregory, and the irrepressible Dingo establishing an Aussie presence on the international scene, local resorts have been quick to provide outstanding freestyle facilities to make up for the lack of European or North American vertical and steeps.

Where To Ride
The Great Dividing Range, like the Rockies in North America, forms an ancient 2,200-mile-long geographical spine up the east coast of Australia, and where these mountains are highest in between Sydney and Melbourne, you’ll find five resorts across two states. It’s easiest to access all the resorts by renting a car, but you can also catch buses direct from the airports and downtown straight to the mountains. The snow season starts in June and extends until the start of October, with mid-July to the end of August providing true winter conditions.

Mt. Buller—Easy Access
With Mt. Buller only three hours north from downtown Melbourne by car, and the famous waves of Bells Beach and Torquay just over an hour further southwest of the city, the “Triple S” one-day pursuit of a surf, skate, and snowboard is a viable reality … as long as you pack your 4/3 wetsuit for those Antarctic winter ocean swells!
On weekends Buller can sometimes feel more like a suburb of Melbourne packed with weekend warriors, but this means that when day turns to night, some of the best partying can be found in the alpine village high atop Mt. Buller. You’re guaranteed to find a solid core of local rippers destroying Buller’s three parks and halfpipe. And if you manage to score Buller after a huge dump, hike over the back of the Summit ridge for some seriously Euro-steep chutes and cliff drops, or find your way down the hidden tree runs between stubby snow gums and towering alpine ash.
Distance from Melbourne: 160 miles (260 km)
Ticket cost: $94 (U.S. $82) for a peak-season day ticket
Best for: Day trips from Melbourne and weekend partying
Web site: mtbuller.com.au

Cheyne Southwell, Falls Creek.

Falls Creek—Jumps And Rails Galore
Victoria’s largest resort is also home to arguably Australia’s best terrain park and only true “ski-in, ski-out” village. What Falls lacks in vertical and steeps, it makes up for in laid-back attitude and a solid shred scene. Outback, behind the village, a high-speed quad chair accesses a three-by-three pack of jumps ranging from fifteen to 60 feet, as well as a huge array of rails and boxes, and a couple of chairs away there’s a beginner park to keep the gapers (called “punters” by the locals) away.
When the weather rolls in, head for the chairs either side of the village for a few runs along the roads, down the stairs, and through the yards of Falls’ lodges and hotels. You’ll be able to find drops, stalls, picnic tables, narrow powder runs between buildings, creek gaps, rails, and quarterpipes. Just hit up a local and they’ll be happy to show you the hidden gems of Falls’ village.
Distance from Melbourne: 240 miles (390 km)
Ticket cost: $94 (U.S. $82)
Best for: Terrain park progression and village runs
Web site: fallscreek.com.au

Will Kendall, Mt. Hotham.

Mt. Hotham—Local Freeride Scene
Hotham has long reeled in the salty old surfers from around Australia’s 21,000 miles of coastline who are attracted by the steep valleys and powdery tree runs that make the resort famous. The runs are short by Northern Hemisphere standards, but there are all types of chutes, cliffs, rocks, and slashes available inbounds, and some seriously awesome terrain accessible by a short walk or drive along the mountaintop Great Alpine Road. Hotham also provides a couple of intermediate terrain parks, but for the core local crew, it’s all about natural hits and hidden jibs.
Distance from Melbourne: 250 miles (400 km)
Ticket cost: $94 (U.S. $82)
Best for: Pow days, tree runs, and backcountry
Web site: hotham.com.au

Perisher Blue us Australia’s answer to Mammoth.

Perisher Blue—Park And Pipe
Australia’s largest resort is also the busiest and the only one to provide a legitimate, albeit a little short, world-class Superpipe. As you take laps of the pipe and competition slopestyle park on Perisher’s Front Valley, you’ll marvel at the sea of skiers and boarders around you, but with 49 lifts spread across what was once four interlinked separate resorts and 3,000-plus acres of terrain, the lift lines are amazingly mellow.
Perisher is where a young Torah Bright learned to ride the U-tube. Perisher has four terrain parks for all levels of rider with your standard quad expert jump lines of up to 60 feet in size and a huge Mammoth-sized wallride, but also an assortment of unusual hips and features matched to the undulating terrain of the sprawling resort. For steeper lines, some natural drops (and to also escape the punter Front Valley crowds), head to Mt. Blue Cow and the Guthega parts of the resort.
Distance from Sydney: 310 miles (500 km)
Ticket cost: $98 (U.S. $86)
Best for: Halfpipe and variety of park features
Web site: perisherblue.com.au

Thredbo—Leg Burner
A stone’s throw from Australia’s highest peak, and one of the global Seven Summits of highest continental peaks to climb (but at only a paltry 7,310 feet in height!) Thredbo is the highest resort in the country. And with the village located way down in the valley, Thredbo also has the country’s largest vertical, and the longest run on the Supertrail. So not only do you get the longest, and arguably best, freeriding runs in the country, but you also get easy backcountry access to Australia’s highest peaks. On a pow day riders like Ryan Tiene would be nowhere else but carving deep roosters on Thredbo’s fringes, or dropping the multitude of cliffs and natural drops littered across the resort.
But don’t think Thredbo rests on its freeriding laurels—Charles Beckinsale has taken the skills he has learned from grooming Squaw Valley to fashion four of the most progressive and perfectly crafted terrain parks you can find.
Distance from Sydney: 310 miles (500 km)
Cost: $97 (U.S. $85)
Best for: Freeriding, backcountry, and terrain parks
Web site: thredbo.com.au

Wombat casualty.

Eating:
In every town and suburb across the land you will find the “local pub,” usually named a “hotel,” but actually very rarely offering rooms to rent. The “local” is a focal point for the town and provides more than just hearty dinners and refreshingly cold beer, it’s also where you can lay a bet on the “nags” (race horses), watch the “footy,” and maybe catch a live band or a touring DJ. Here are some varying examples of what you can find beyond the pubs.

Uncle Pat’s
Some of the best pizzas around and filling Italian fare, and probably the best value restaurant at any of the actual snow resorts; on a weekend at Mt. Buller you have to get in early to secure a spot in one of the prize booths.
Village Square, Mt. Buller. (03) 5777-6494

Mt. Beauty Bakery
Every town has at least one unique little bakery, but this is one of the best in North East Victoria, serving a huge range of fresh baked cakes and buns, homemade toasted paninis, hot savory snacks, as well as good espresso coffee, local wines, and cold bottles of beer. On the way up to Falls Creek stop in for a meat pie or sausage roll made with locally grown beef.
Kiewa Cres and Hollands Street, Mt. Beauty. (03) 5754-4870

Wrap-A-Go-Go
Located right in the middle of Jindy, this might be the best mexican-asian restaurant combo this side of the Pacific. During the big events you’ll be hard pressed not to run into every visiting and local pro-snowboarder grabbing a quick bite before a night on the town.
2 Snowy River Avenue, Jindabyne. (02) 6457-1887

Jindabyne Bowling and Sports Club
The Jindy Bowls Club is not just for oldies, but is in fact a great place to grab the classic Aussie pub meal, a “parma with chips” (chicken parmigiana with fries), complete with all-you-can-eat salad bar. After dinner, wander into the spacious “Sports Bar” for a few games of pool.
Bay Street, Jindabyne. (02) 6456-2133

Keep your eyes peeled.

Nightlife:
Aussies are famed for their love of beer, and their capacity to party. By day, the pubs in each town and alpine village are quiet lunch venues, but once the tables are cleared away they can turn into raging dancehalls.

The Kooroora Hotel
One of the great attractions of Mt. Buller, the “Hoo Har,” as its nickname suggests, attracts all the visiting party boys and girls from Melbourne. The Kooroora is Dingo’s favorite venue to party the night away, and if the heaving dance floor gets too much for you, head out the back for a game of pool or intimate chat by the log fire.
Village Square, Mt Buller. (03) 5777-6712

The Man
Falls Creek’s top venue is not much more than a tri-level, dive-bar-esque local pub. But with ten-dollar pitchers on Monday nights, a great rock ’n’ roll stage and sunken dance floor, The Man is the primo party venue in town.
20 Slalom Street, Falls Creek. (03) 5758-3362

Banjo’s
Another all-time snow town party venue, Banjo’s attracts all the steezy locals and pretty tourists on Wednesdays and Saturdays. If you want something a little quieter, head to the cocktail bar downstairs before you attempt to barge your way to one of the two crowded bars upstairs.
1 Kosciuszko Road, Jindabyne. (02) 6456-2372

Hotel and liquor in close range.

Lake Jindabyne Hotel
A Jindy institution, The “LJ” is a great all-round venue. Tuesdays and Thursdays it has cheap chicken schnitzel dinners in the bistro, and it’s one of the places where you can actually cook your own steak on the indoor grills. Once the tables are cleared away in the bistro, it’s a great place to catch a live band or big name DJ.
21 Kosciuszko Road, Jindabyne. (02) 6456-2203

Zenbu
The closest thing you’ll find to a legitimate nightclub in the snow towns, Zenbu attracts all the late-night partiers who want to kick-on after Banjo’s closes.
Old Town Centre, Jindabyne.

Sleeping:
There’s a huge array of on-mountain accommodation available across Australia and you should be able to find a deal, but for a cheaper option, stay down the hill in the rural valley towns.

Silverski
If you want to splash out and stay at one of the more unique on-mountain venues, Silverski is a great option. Right in the heart of Falls Creek’s snowbound village all the pro-riders and industry-types stay here during Stylewars and dine and party in the intimate Japanese restaurant downstairs. Double/twin rooms start at $150 (U.S. $130).
1 Sitzmark Street, Falls Creek. (03) 5758-3375. silverskilodge.com.a

Mt. Beauty.

Mt. Beauty Holiday Centre
An example of an Aussie “caravan park” (similar to a trailer or RV park)—you can find at least one of these in every tourist town in the country. At the base of Falls Creek and half an hour by car or by thumb (hitchhiking), the Mt. Beauty Holiday Centre is one of the best, complete with Kiewa River frontage, barbecues, a communal hot tub, and TV/lounge room. Another option is to rent one of the motel-style cabins for five people starting from $100 a night. You can also find caravan parks in Harrietville and Bright at the base of Mt. Hotham, and Jindabyne—all with cabins to rent.
Kiewa Valley Highway, Tawonga South. (03) 5754-4396, holidaycentre.com.au

Snowy Mountain Backpackers
You may have to put up with a random snoring cross-country ski-hippie in your room, but then again, maybe you’ll luck out with some Scandinavian backpackers. The Jindy hostel has nice, clean rooms at an affordable price and all the shared-kitchen, bathroom, lounge, and Internet facilities you expect from a quality backpackers. Low season dorm rooms are a bargain sleep, starting from $35 a night.
Hostelling International backpackers are also located in Mt. Buller and Thredbo’s alpine villages.
7-8 Gippsland Street, Jindabyne. 1-800-333-468

The Station Resort
The bigger individual cabins sleep several, and the huge food hall serves breakfast and dinner to all. The Station is usually where all the Burton and visiting pro-riders stay during the Australian Open. In conjunction with Perisher Blue, The Station offers five nights accommodation and a five-day pass for U.S. $470. The Station is a short drive out of town, but if the pool tables or band on stage in the on-site pub isn’t lively enough for you, catch the “Brain Bus” into Jindy.
8228 Snowy River Way, Jindabyne. 1-300-369-909, stationresort.com.au

few shots early and mid season

Jeremy Jones has an awesome blog we’ve been reading all winter. We’ve followed him on the Big Mountain Pro Tour, some Wasatch “walkabouts”, and most recently an epic day on Donner Pass. Link on over to his blog to read all about his day on the pass this week. He says, ” I rode lines I have not touched in ten years.  The knee to waist deep conditions made for one of my best days ever at Donner.” And he’s got photos to prove it. Bring the powder! jeremyjones.net

The Bluebird Show Kyle Clancy Episode from willie mcmillon on Vimeo.&server=www.vimeo.com&fullscreen=1&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=">
The Bluebird Show Kyle Clancy Episode from willie mcmillon on Vimeo.&server=www.vimeo.com&fullscreen=1&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=" />Kyle Clancy

Get the Flash Player to see this player. Steamboat Snowboarder Suzanne Akin combined skill with style to win the ahlivv Bind’n'Ride. Suzanne will take home a Nikita outerwear set and an ahlivv.com gift certificate…and mad street cred, right?

Wild Mountain Riders

Eli Weiner snagging first place at the Keystone stop. Photo: Jeff Potto

The final two TransWorld TransAm contests are rolling up like a lunch time burrito at T-bell, in other words—fast.  With one contest left before the final at Bear Mountain on March 21st it’s time to strap on that board and make ‘er dance into the finals. Head to Northstar this Saturday for shred features galore and a shot at TransWorld glory. In case you’ve missed out on the fun, follow what’s gone down at the last four stops here:

http://transam.transworld.net/

Even better, register below for the Northstar and Bear Mountain TransAms below:

http://www.highcascade.com/07/snow/transam/welcome.html

FUGNAR: A ROAD TRIP ACROSS THE GREAT WHITE NORTH

When all else fails, just keep on givin’r. Or maybe, when all else fails, just keep on givin’ the gas pedal a push in search of shred. As Rome sets out to create this year’s video installment from Kids On Shred Productions, the approach is much different from the prior two years. In place of filming a part video like Any Means or No Correct Way, the idea came up this year to film a travel shred documentary across the Canada. Just get the riders together and take a road trip looking for good times with old friends and new.

And so was born the concept behind FuGnar, A Road Trip Across the Great White North. Pile the Rome team into a 15-person van in Vancouver, point it east towards Montreal, “turn down the suck”, and hit as many spots in between. Hook up with locals. See what fun goes down, on snow and off snow. Document the whole thing as long as someone is awake and can press “record”. The filming of FuGnar kicked off last week. Cavan flew out to Oregon and bought a used 15-passenger van. He met up with Johnny Lazz outside Seattle, crossed the border into British Columbia and met up with Max Legend and Will Lavigne. They invaded the Rome rep’s house for floor space and hooked up with some Vancouver locals and shop kids for the first stop at Seymour. Givin’r to the east out of Vancouver, the FuGnar van will take the Rome crew on a shred trip across pretty much the full width of Canada.

Meeting up with locals at all stops along the way, the van will hit up various spots in the Rockies, the plains, Ontario and the Mecca of the urban snowsliding world—Quebec. From there, the van will veer south, across the border into Vermont, and onto the infamous World Quarterpipe Championships at Timber Ridge in southern Vermont for a snowboard hootenanny with East Coast vagrants, Rome riders and their friends. Along the 3,000 miles of road, pretty much the entire Rome team will ride the van for some portion of the trip. Bjorn, LNP, Marius, Marie, Eiki, Will, Max, Yan, Foy, Lazz and a bunch of the am kids will roll through Canada meeting up with shop kids and locals in Kamloops, Revy, Golden, Banff, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.

Stay tuned to www.romesnowboards.com for FuGnar Updates from the road as the Rome team makes their way across the Great White North. Maybe you can cross paths with them somewhere along the way. And make sure you find your way to Timber Ridge and the World Quarters on March 23rd 2009 to hang with the riders and experience the final leg of the trip first hand.

having some fun goofing around

theres a skatepark you can hit up if you can climb the fence with your board and not get caught theres great bowls rails everything you want and tons of snow in the winter theres at leas three stair sets that u can hitin the winter ask any local boarders and there will be an unlimited plethera of spots to hit up dont spend too much time here though get down to east dearborn detroit and then head up north for some amazing pow MICHIGAN ALL THE WAY


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Mikey Radziwon popping off the roof at Mt. High.Photo: Bryce Maxwell

A few weeks ago on an otherwise normal weekday at Mountain High, Justin Montoya (Terrain Park Manager), inspired by a symphony of snow removal, commandeered a skid steer and created an impromptu bomb drop off the south wall of the West Base Lodge. Mikey Radziwon, Cory Whetstone, Anthony Fire, and a guy only known as Mizl, cleared a launch pad atop the roof and began scoping out the newly-created landing. After only 2 practice attempts, the 4 riders began throwing down. Anthony elected to throw down a clean Frontside Nosebone with Whetstone following up with a very classic and very stylish method. Mikey decided a Front 270 Melon would be a nice variation while Mizl, took it way back to the days of Palmer with a One Footed Bomb Drop to seal the stylish deal. The session ended as quickly as it began, and just like that, the snow was cleared, the crowd dispersed, and everyone walked away with a fun story to tell.

***Check out the Photo Gallery***

Check out mthigh.com for snow conditions and upcoming events

Transworld Snowboarding › Create New Post — Transworld | 10.10.5.40

Air Hole Ninja Masks releases the panda mask in white

The best way to ride and breathe. Outer shell fabric is sublimated weather resistant ninja polyester. Inner shell made from ultra soft moisture wicking face protecting polyester.

CHECK OUT airhole.ca to see this mask and the entire air hole ninja masks line.

To get more on the B.O.D. and the rest of the Endeavor lineup check out endeavorsnowboards.com

Waterville Valley, NH, March 9, 2009- Waterville Valley is known in the east coast snowboarding world as one of the leaders in terrain park progression. This dates back to the early 1990’s when the Boneyard was the premiere terrain park around. The double barrel rail, bus top, Quonset hut, hip and infamous jump line were ahead of their time. Riders like Pat Moore, Chas Guldemond, Danny Garrity and Scotty Lago honed their skills in the Boneyard, ultimately making them some of the best riders in the world.

Pat Moore and Waterville Valley will host the first ever Back to the Boneyard that will take place on Tuesday March 24, 2009. Back to the Boneyard will be held not just for competition sake, but also to raise dollars for kids in the Waterville Academy Snowboard program. The day boasts to be a creative and fun contest but also a reunion of sorts to relive Waterville’s storied past.

Back to the Boneyard will feature a resurrection of some of the Boneyard’s most infamous elements. Teams of three riders will have to accomplish trickery from a predetermined checklist on each of the three features. We invite all east coast snowboarders young and old to come check out the action.

For more info click here.

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www.snomadic.com is a website dedicated to ski bums created by ski bums. We personally are Dave Fernon and Greg Matthews and with a little help from some very smart web site designers have launched www.snomadic.com. A universal place to find your dream job.
Greg and I cut our teeth working on the unforgiving diesel ski lifts on the north side of Mt Buller in 2001. A shared passion for all things snow was ignited and after a couple of Aussie winters and a northern season each on opposite sides of the US, I in Vermont and Greg in Colorado, We went together to Steamboat Springs, Colorado, home of Champagne Powder and Billy Kidd, and worked our way up to Lead Lift Operators running up to 15 ski lifts and their crews daily. All the while coming back to Mt Buller for yet another beautiful southern winter. We’ve now racked up 7 seasons each at Buller and, let’s say an average of, 5 each in American ski resorts. Our combined experience includes terrain park crew,  lift operations, instructing, mountain op’s., ski patrol and grooming as well as a good handful of wonderfully random “in-between seasons” money earners. Then finally it was time to put our idea into practice.
snomadic.com was cooked up over a slice of pizza at lunchtime in Gnarly Charlie’s, and while doing the dishes in staff accommodation, planned on a high speed quad during daily ski breaks and put into effect after digging in the C-box at MBP!

“Wouldn’t it be sweet, greg, if there was a web site where all the ski jobs around the world were listed and anyone could apply?”

“Wow! That’d be pretty cool, Dave. It would certainly beat scouring the internet for hours at a time searching for Ski Resorts then dissecting their sites looking for a job.”

“Sure would Greg. Know what else would be nice? If the same web site allowed one person to apply for multiple jobs at multiple resorts.”

“That would be nice and it could also provided a place where Resort HR could access a database of snomads ready to leave it all behind and travel to the other side of the world in search of their dream ski job.”

“One day, Greg, someone will do something like that….”

Turns out that would be us. snomadic.com is all of the above and we are very excited about it.
snomadic.com is a searchable database for ski job seekers and ski job providers with plenty of search options. With an interactive map, conventional search fields and member email updates there’s really no way you can miss out on making snow at Whistler or instructing at Niseko or driving Kassbohrer’s in Bulgaria!…Did I mention it was free?… It’s free! Jobseekers can register, search, apply for and be headhunted for jobs for free. There is no joining fee, no membership fee’s, no nothing. Just your dream job.

Aspen/Snowmass, Colo., March 6, 2009 – Aspen/Snowmass, CoverGirl, Oakley, K2 and The Villas at Snowmass Club are teaming up to give away a trip for two to the second annual CoverGirl Snow Angels Invitational.

One lucky winner, along with a guest, will receive free airfare, lodging at The Villas at Snowmass Club, lift tickets, a brand new outfit from Oakley, a board, boot and binding set up from K2 and year’s supply of makeup from CoverGirl.

This event, hosted by Olympic silver medalist and three-time Winter X Games winner Gretchen Bleiler, brings the world’s best female snowboarders to Snowmass, April 3-5, 2009 for an all-girls weekend retreat.  In addition to the snowboard superpipe competition on Saturday, April 4, the athletes will participate in photo shoots, yoga, an environmental workshop and other activities; plus all that Aspen/Snowmass has to offer.  Look for big names to join Bleiler, including Kelly Clark, Elena Hight and Jamie Anderson.

Those interested should visit www.aspensnowmass.com/snowangels for a chance to win.  The contest ends on midnight on Sunday, March 22, 2009.

CoverGirl Snow Angels Invitational is sponsored by CoverGirl, Oakley, Herbal Essences, K2 Snowboarding, Giro, Nike, Snowmass Club, The Villas at Snowmass Club and Town of Snowmass Village. The event will be featured in a half-hour TV program on Fuel TV this spring.

Spring Deals for the CoverGirl Snow Angels Invitational:

Spring MVP

Spring MVP – mini-vacation package – boasts unheard of deals on lodging and lift tickets. Four-night/four-day lodge and lift ticket packages start as low as $250 per person in Snowmass (less than $63 per day) or $420 per person in Aspen (just over $100 per day).

Buy 2, Get 3 and Buy 3, Get 4

Aspen/Snowmass is offering a one-time only spring deal of Buy 2, Get 3.  When guests book at least two days of lift tickets, lodging and rentals, they will receive a third night and day free.  Buy 3, Get 4 is also being offered for guests purchasing three days of lift tickets, lodging and rentals as they will received a fourth night for free.

The Buy 2, Get 3 and Buy 3, Get 4 offer allows guests to save nearly $1,000 on an Aspen/Snowmass vacation.

The Buy 2, Get 3, Buy 3, Get 4 offer must be booked before March 19, 2009.  Offer valid March 27 – April 12, 2009. Subject to availability, restrictions apply.

To book any of these amazing spring packages, please visit www.aspensnowmass.com/deals or call 800-525-6200.

For more event information or general information on Aspen/Snowmass, please visit www.aspensnowmass.com or call 800-525-6200.

Xcorps Action Sports Show #46.)”SNOWBIKE-2″- show open- XC TV Press Release 2/8/09 San Diego California USA-
Xcorps Action Sports TV returns to the slopes for another exclusive look at a new sport featured on the next Xcorps episode 46 called SNOWBIKE-2. Jason Lazo hosts the show from San Clemente Ca and thros to the winter action at So Cals Big Bear Resort.

If you can ride any type of bicycle you can roll any ski slope like a pro using a simple conversion kit that replaces the bike wheels with skis and your peddles for a foot peg! BMX-Mountain Bikes-ANY bike can roll the Mtn!

Brand NEW music from SUBURBAN NOIZE records band (hed) p.e. featuring the hard driving tune RENEGADE off the fresh New World Orphans CD! Check out the XCORPS episode #46 SNOWBIKE-2 show open ripping to this drivin tune!

New music videos from RIVE fit the speed snowbike X shots. So Cal brothers MXPX from Tooth and Nails records lash their whip with the anti-war video Contention. Nice job.

Check out Bubba-XGuRu Eric Ducharme and 12 other riders shredding Big Bear Mountain on a bluebird day about 2 hours out of San Diego Ca and then ask your self how many shows on TV have you seen SNOWBIKES on!

Also on this upcoming episode Jason talks with San Clemente chick Jennifer Hunter a member of BOB-an acronym for Bitches On Boards! These girls know how to have fun with their boards! Check out their action in this show.

Xcorps episode 46.) SNOWBIKE-2 show open on YOUTUBE in wide screen featuring new (hed)p.e. tune Renegade. Click HQ:

Check out Sub NoiZe Records- (hed) p.e.
http://www.subnoizestore.com/Hed-PE-N…

See The Action Hear The Music Join TheXcorps!
©2009 TheXcorps

Xcorps Action Sports Show #3.)”SNOWBIKE”-seg.2- The face bending cutting edge action continues on this episode of The Xcorps called “Snowbike”.
XC hosts Jason Lazo and Roslyn Bradle open things up from Long Beach, Ca at the “Celebrity Grand Prix” which gives TV and movie celebs a chance to test their race skills. Check out Jason of team ‘X Corps’ and the POV cam as he takes a Toyota Racer around the Long Beach track at 3 digit speeds! See celebs like pro wrestler “Goldberg”, “Star Treks” Patrick Stewart and “Seinfelds” “Puddy” character Patrick Warburton who talks about the track and his 1st car.
After that the show heads to the mountains to Big Bear California where Eric “Big Air” Ducharme introduces the “Winter X Bike” and the fresh new sport of snowbiking. See the future of the slopes with mountain and BMX converted bikes carving fast down the fall line. See master BMX rider “Bubba” cross over big air moves like the “Tailwhip” to snow in this emerging sport. Kit inventor Matt Hanson talks about the sport and shows some moves of his own along with veteran X Corps rider Eric Ducharme who rides hard too. Currently snowbiking is banned at most U.S. resorts. This will change — it’s too much fun!
The future is now on the X Corps with the next segment hosted by skater Bob Woodard who test rides the big “Phat Criuze Board” skate board at scenic Cardiff State Beach CA. See Bob “GO Large” hanging “5 and 10″ on this massive fun board and then see what he has to say about the ride.
After that it’s back to fast cars in Long Beach with Roz and J and more “Dash Cam” shots of Jason doing 100mph+. Hear the tires skid the corners in his turbocharged Toyota Celica.
Then it’s back to Eric and the 1st ever “Snow Bike Freestyle Nationals Race” where 10 riders line up to compete. More sick POV “Pack Cam” shots here. See who wins! The show wraps with a “Coming Soon” look at future XC episodes with clips from such X Sports as “Dirt Thingz”, “Moto Sk8″, “Mountain Boarding” and “Powerski”. This show moves fast and hard c/o Maverick Records bands “Home Town Hero”, “One Side Zero” and the “Deftones”. Additional music from the San Diego band “The Naked Ones”. JSE 5/02 xcorpstv.com TRT_29:30 See The Action Hear The Music Join The Xcorps! Close Captioned
©2009 The Xcorps XcorpsTV.com

New Directors Cut of Aesthetica from Standard Films

Check out the New Directors Cut of Aesthetica and Remix Metallica Trailer.  Aesthetica Exclusive on iTunes has New Unseen Footage, Extended Segment Edits and Revamped Soundtrack. Download to your ipod today and enjoy!

Click here to go directly to the iTunes store and get it

Want to see what Simon’s getting into. Check it.

http://www.fuel.tv/Firsthand/videos/view/10405

White Wins Park City’s Inaugural Intelligent Design

Words: Jen Sherowski Photos: Liam Gallagher

Pipe riders haul ass up icy 22-foot walls, rail kids dull their edges and 270 in, kicker killers point it and send it—but it’s all just snowboarding, right? That’s roughly the idea behind Park City’s all new Intelligent Design competition, featuring a grab bag of all of the above in one course at the base of Utah’s most park-friendly resort. Starting off with a 60-foot kicker into a unique step-up hip jump, jib section, Superpipe, and finally a massive quarterpipe to finish things off—this outside-the-box contest venue makes being an all around snowboarder a total pre-requisite.

Up until the last minute, the event had commitment from a wide range of top riders—from Marc Frank Montoya and Mason Aguirre to Torstein Horgmo and Andreas Wiig—but at the very last minute the roster thinned out savagely. It seems that there were some end-of-season injuries (Aguirre broke his rib etc.), but evidently some folks just couldn’t wrap their head around the concept. Says event mastermind Jim Mangan, Park City’s Director of Action Sports Marketing, “There were some riders who said to me, ‘Jim, it’s just too much,’ but you know we’re pushing things and this is what needs to happen for the sport.”

Of course, every pro snowboarder isn’t an all-around attacker, but it was still a surprise that more riders didn’t come out for the event—especially considering how many pros clamor from all ends of the earth to ride in commercial, non-endemic-generated events like the Dew Tour. I know how it is, though—“Show me the money!”, right? Still, “I wish we could’ve had more support,” says Mangan. “We worked our asses off and we’re really doing something different here.”

However, that’s not to say that no one showed up (Shaun White, Luke Mitrani, Wyatt Caldwell were there, etc. etc.), and it’s definitely not to say that no ripping went down (sweet airs, a backside 1260 on the kicker, and a double backy in the halfpipe!). The morning’s qualifiers started off crisp and sunny with the likes of Joe Eddy, Sebastien Toutant, and Tim Humphries slaying the kicker-tranny-rail combo course while many others excelled at one element and struggled with another. It’s like I said, the Intelligent Design is all about being all around—and it was impressive to see the younger guns adapting.

Since Shaun White was pre-qualified into the finals, no one got a real taste of his all-terrain mastery until finals practice time—and I gotta say it: After Shaun’s first practice run it was obvious that he had the thing won. But I’m getting ahead of myself. The finals was best of three runs, and a young Charles Reid had three pretty flawless runs—a front 1080 off the kicker into a backside rodeo on the hip followed by a savage inverted frontside 900 in the halfpipe. And actually, Reid stepped up that nine in the pipe to 1080 on his last run—totally solidifying his number-two position on the podium. Let’s see, what else? Norwegian Gjermund Braaten spun a backside 1260 on the top kicker so fast that announcer The Dingo called it a 1080, and Luke Mitrani launched straight from the back of the pack into third place with an explosive last run that included a frontside 900 on the kicker, back to back sevens in the pipe, and—you ready for this?—a switch double back flip at the bottom of the pipe. The crowd was stoked! However, sixteen-year-old Sebastien Toutant couldn’t find the clean, killer runs that won him the morning’s qualifiers, and Tim Humphreys battled consistency issues, too.

So what did Shaun do to win yet another title at his home resort of Park City? Well, after working his way down the kicker line with flawless spin maneuvers, he headed into the Superpipe and did this: backside 900, frontside 7, and Cab 1080—then on to the QP to loft a nice big backside rodeo 5. Yep, Shaun’s consistency and his otherworldly ability to slay anything he points his snowboard at made him a total shoe-in for the gold medal today. Not showing up would’ve been like turning down $20,000 for him—and not even Shaun is rich enough to do that, right?

Results
1. Shaun White
2. Charles Reid
3. Luke Mitrani
4. Gjermund Braaten
5. Wyatt Caldwell
6. Joe Eddy
7. Sage Kotsenburg
8. Tim Humphries
9. Sebastien Toutant
10. Louie Vito

Got to spend a week with the Get Real dudes in Wyoming. Drove 13 hours from Mammoth. Slept in my truck in front of the gas station. Met ‘em there and headed right into the woods. Stood below some of the sweetest pillows I’ve ever seen.  Ate lots of jerky, even some bison. Woke up at 4:30 one morning to make it to the trailhead before sunrise. Went sledding to some pretty sick spots. Got tossed, took a beating and did some digging.  Froze toes. Felt real calm alone in the middle of nowhere. Got to watch Kevin Jones shred some shit. Was in awe. Slept hard every night. Carbo-loaded with Pabst. Snacked constantly. Skated the garage. Even mini-shredded Klancy’s front yard. It was a real man camp kinda retreat. Got it good. Here’s the photos.

TransWorld traveled with the DC team up into the Swiss Alps for a roadtrip to St. Moritz. What a trip! With Devun Walsh, Aaron Biitner and Finnish killers, Iikka Backström and Lauri Heiskari, it was a good show with a few tricky tricks, and lots of shit-talk. Filmers Pierre Wikberg and Anthony Vitale along with Canadian photographer Colin Adair rounded out the media crew on this 2-part mission. The first stop was here in Switzerland, where the crew scoped for rideable snow all over Corvatsch and Furtschellas. Unfortunately, the snow was actually pretty wind hammered, melted and re-frozen, so it kinda sucked, but the scenery and the piste was amazing to see. Among those in the know, Corvatsch is considered one of Europe’s best spots on a pow day: all rollers and rocks and gullies. Well, it wasn’t powdery, but we had fun. After this session, the crew loaded the vans back up and headed to Austria, on the hunt for pow. Stay tuned for coverage from the Arlberg and until then, Here’s a few photos from the day:

photos: muzzey

SHAUN WHITE BATTLES TO KEEP HIS TITLE HOPES ALIVE IN PARK CITY

Park City, UT – March 5th, 2009:  The final leg of the Swatch TTR World Tour has arrived with only three weeks remaining in the men’s 2009 season. This weekend, Park City Mountain Resort will host the 5Star Intelligent Design on March 7th, 2009 – The final chance for male riders to score points ahead of the tour defining 6Star Burton U.S Open.  850 TTR ranking points and a $50 000 USD prize purse have lured the world’s top technical riders to Park City.  Whatever transpires this weekend will be pivotal to the season’s final ranking.

Park City Mountain Resort, in Park City, Utah is renowned as one the freestyle epicenters of U.S snowboarding and the shaping crew always delivers truly world-class parks and pipes.  The Intelligent Design will take elements from Slopestyle, Halfpipe and  Quarterpipe and put them all into one run that is sure to be a catalyst for creativity.  The course will consist of a 60-foot kicker, hip jump,   jib section, 350-foot long perfectly shaped 22-foot pipe with jibs on each deck and will finish with a Quarterpipe at the end of the course.

2006/2007 Swatch TTR Tour Champion, Shaun White (USA), has confirmed his attendance and will be chasing a podium finish that will move him into the TTR Top 5, in a solid position to score his second TTR Title.  With Peetu Piironen and Chas Guldemond absent from the Intelligent Design riders list, Shaun will have a bit of an edge rolling into the US Open later this month if he can throw down his mastery on this unique course.

Finishing the season in the Swatch TTR Top 5 brings international prestige and guarantees invites to major 5 and 6Star events next season.  With time running out, these factors are pushing a host of riders to lay it all on the line at the Intelligent Design.  Arthur Longo from France has recently been annihilating the competition scene and another podium finish here will improve his position in the TTR Top 10.  French Canadian duo, Charles Reid and Sebastien Toutant, both had breakout seasons on the TTR Tour.  The Intelligent Design will give Toutant the opportunity to move back into the TTR Top 10 while giving Reid a chance to improve on his World No. 8 position.   With ground-breaking double corks in their trick repertoire, there is a strong chance Charles and Seb could find themselves on the podium

This season the riders’ 7 best results will be averaged to crown the rider who has dominated across all formats as final victor at the last 6Star event.  A total prize money payout of over $200 000 USD will be dispensed when the Tour Championships are decided, bringing the total prize money throughout the season to over $2 million USD.

The action also continues for the 3Star events this weekend, giving young riders a chance to step up.  March 6th - 7th, 2009 sees the Coors Light Riders Cup Ripzone Open go down in Ontario Canada, while in Austria, The Chill and Destroy Tour takes place in Alpendorf.  March 9th – 11th, 2009, The JSBA All Japan Snowboarding Championships see young Japanese rookies do battle in Nagano while the Revolution Tour resumes in Maine, USA.

For video updates, news and ranking changes from 5Star Intelligent Design and all other events around the world make sure you check outwww.ttrworldtour.com.

Here is the first teaser for ‘Shine On’. This will be the 5th film
from Sandbox and we’ll release it in September 2009. We’ve had a crazy
season here in Whistler. A lot of bad snow and avalanche conditions
mixed with injuries and all sorts of bad luck have made this season a
challenging one for us. But we have a really great crew of riders and
filmers this year. We’ve been out exploring and shredding together and
that’s what it’s all about. We are going to have a bunch of videos up
on TWSNOW.com this year so stay tuned for more teasers and web vids
from Sandbox.

Enjoy the good times, forget the bad and Shine On.

Get the Flash Player to see this player. iPod® nano®, and a year supply of Juicy Fruit Stix™ gum, so check it out at www.juicyfruit.ca

Registration is now open for the ‘09 TransAm stop at Bear Mountain, California on March 21st!

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:

March 21, Bear Mountain, California

Photo: Russ Shea

When most people think about snowboarding in the UK they forget we do have mountains and in Scotland we get plenty of snow. Most of it gets blown about a lot but on the whole the season runs from mid December through to springtime. For me Scotland holds a special place in my heart, its where I learned to snowboard, where I have spent many a drunken night propping up a bar talking rubbish and where many of my best friends live and ride. I thought I’d start with a little guided tour of what is available to ride in Scotland.
Snow falls every year on the mountain resorts of Nevis, Glenshee, Glencoe, Cairngorm and the Letch. I am lucky to have ridden at all these locations over the years and can honestly say that with good snow and weather they are excellent fun. They have a charm and atmosphere that a lot of European resorts can only dream of and the locals are more than happy to welcome all comers. I took a group of UK Pros to Nevis to experience the wonders of Scotland as most of them had only ever ridden in Europe.

www.dopeshots.com

Cool snowboard park


Read more

Cool snowboard park


Read more

Coors Light YOU LOOK GOOD Rider’s Cup 3rd  STOP Banff Norquay

~ Nash Lajeunesse and Cassandra Ironside take first place YLGRC09 Banff Open ~

Toronto, ON –  Banff Norquay played host to the third stop of the Coors Light YOU LOOK GOOD Rider’s Cup (YLGRC09), Canada’s premier slopestyle series. On Saturday February 28th, Banff was blessed with blue bird skies and -5 temps with 75 riders showing up to take part. A consistent and substantial crowd supported the riders throughout the day and cheered even louder as Murray Hodgson attempted a double backflip backside 180 and as Matt Munn sent a 70ft one-footer into the flats and yes rode away (after a couple reverts but who cares?!?!) Norquays Jump line acted as the YLGRC09 Banff Open course with the Coors Light Pro categories and Salomon Ams utilized all three jumps while the little guys and women hit the top two jumps.

Pierce Mimura from Fort McMuuray was back again for the second year in a row as a repeat winner in the Amateur category.  This year Pierce brought new tricks to the series and stomped a cab 5, back cork 7, front 7.   Cassandra Ironside, on a competitive tear this year, locked up her first place win on the tour as she sent a switch back one into a back three melon winning $500 and putting her into the series lead.

Standout riders of the day were Kirsty MacDonald in the qualifiers with backside fives and lofty threes.  Unfortunately Kirsty struggled with her landings in the finals and missed the podium. Joel Dalacker, new to the competition scene, entered his third event of the YLGRC09 looked to three-peat after qualifying in 2nd but he too unfortunately struggled with his landings in the finals and missed the podium.

Men’s Coors Light Pro category were plagued with speed issues, those that were either over weight or had wax had no difficulties as they found the podium with their standout runs. Third place went to Geoff Brown who dropped backside rodeo five into a switch backside 900 into a corky-backside-900, which also won him Ripzone Best Trick.  Scot Brown launched himself into second place with a switch backside rodeo five, frontside 7 tail ending with cork- backside 7 melon.  The big winner of the day was Nash Lajeunesse (THINK FINESSE) dropped an entire switch run consisting of a switch backside 7, cab 7, and banged out a switch backside 900… he killed it!!!

Current Coors Light Pro points leaders are Cassandra Ironside with 22,500 points and Kevin Konings with 19,000 points.  Both Ontario natives are heading to their home mountain, Blue Mountain this weekend (March 7) with the hopes of being the overall series female and male winners.

Awards and prize give aways took place at Norquay’s Day Lodge patio. The winners were as follows:

Grom Men (12 & under)            Grom Women (12 & under)

1st     Jack Dawson            1st     Adriane Cairns
2nd  James Leal                2nd  Mia Vescarelli
3rd    Felix Hodkinson

Renegade Men (13-15)

1st     Jam Gallagher
2nd   Daniel Young - Lapointe
3rd     Jack Daniel Berstein

Salomon Men’s Amateur Open

1st            Pierce Mimura
2nd          Matt Munn
3rd           Tyler Lightfoot

Coors Light Pro Men’s Open                  Coors Light Pro Women’s Open

1st            Nash Lajeunesse $2000                1st    Cassandra Ironside $500
2nd          Scot Brown $1000               2nd  Taryn Cowling $300
3rd           Geoff Brown $500                     3rd   Karen  McNab $200

sbcwomen’s Best Trick winner: Taryn Cowling  Back 3 Tail $500

Ripzone Men’s Best Trick winner: Geoff Brown Switch Back 9 $500

For the complete list of results check out: youlookgood.ca

SEVEN SPRINGS MOUNTAIN RESORT HOSTS MONSTER ENERGY’S HOMECOMING,
KRISTI LESKINEN’S INVITATIONAL SKI AND SNOWBOARD EVENT

SEVEN SPRINGS, Pa. – Seven Springs Mountain Resort is pleased to present Kristi Leskinen’s invitational ski and snowboard event, Monster Energy’s Homecoming, March 13 – 15, 2009.

Leskinen, a pioneer in women’s freeskiing and native of Uniontown, Pa., took home a bronze medal at the Winter X Games IX in the Women’s Superpipe. Her career highlights also include: second place Slopestyle at the 2009 Aspen Open, second place Slopestyle at the 2008 North American Open, third place Slopestyle at the 2007 US and Japan Opens, first place Halfpipe in the 2005 Gravity Games, second place Halfpipe in the 2005 World Championships and in 1999 she was the first female to compete in the US Open.

“After traveling around the world to international competitions for the past 10 years, I’m thrilled to bring this contest to the resort where I grew up,” said Leskinen, “We have an amazing group of athletes coming and Seven Springs is pulling out all the stops to make this event a huge success.”

Top female skiers and snowboarders, including three-time Winter X Games gold medalist skier Sarah Burke; Tara Dakides, four-time Winter X Games gold medalist and two-time silver medalist; and Hana Beaman, three-time Winter X Games silver medalist, will join Leskinen at Seven Springs for the all-girls ski and snowboard slopestyle event and rail jam. The contest will be an opportunity for the girls to push themselves, progress the sport and raise awareness and interest in the sport among young girls and women.

Snow Park Technologies (SPT) will make a stop at Seven Springs on its way to the Burton US Open to build the course for the first annual event. The course will be created specifically for the purpose of showcasing the girls’ abilities and the sport. The event will be a rider-judged jam format encouraging the girls to go for their biggest tricks. The prize purse for the ski and snowboard contests will be $20,000.

There will be many opportunities for spectators to interact with the athletes, including clinics, autograph sessions and more. Steelers Super Bowl Champion Chris Hoke will also be on-hand for autograph sessions.

Practice sessions begin Fri., March 13 at 10 a.m. and will continue throughout the day. The first rounds of the competition will be at 12 p.m. and 1:15 p.m. with finals held at 2:45 p.m., Sat., March 14. On Sun., March 15, kids ages 10 – 16 will have the opportunity to ride with the pros from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. Limited space is available for this event. Registration will be held in The Yurt from 8 – 9:30 a.m. An amateur rail jam will be held from 1 – 2 p.m. and a pro rail jam will follow at 2:30 p.m. For more information on Monster Energy’s Homecoming and a complete calendar of events, please visit www.7springs.com.

Event sponsors include Willi’s Ski & Board Shop, Rome Snowboards and Oakley. Freeskier Magazine is the event’s media partner.

Monster Energy’s Homecoming will be working with the Women’s Sports Foundation to promote healthy, active lifestyles for women and girls, and any proceeds from Sunday’s Ride with a pro session will be contributed to the organization.

“The Women’s Sports Foundation is excited by new events that give women’s sports greater visibility and give girls additional opportunities to play and become active,” said Women’s Sports Foundation CEO Karen Durkin. “In creating this event, Kristi Leskinen is not only expanding her own sport, but has once again demonstrated that she is a wonderful role model for girls and a great ambassador for women’s sports.”

About The Women’s Sports Foundation
The Women’s Sports Foundation-the leading authority on the participation of women and girls in sports-advocates for equality, educates the public, conducts research and offers grants to promote sports and physical activity for girls and women. Founded by Billie Jean King in 1974, the Women’s Sports Foundation builds on her legacy as a champion athlete, advocate of social justice and agent of change. We strive for gender equity and fight discrimination in sports. Our work shapes public attitude about women’s sports and athletes, builds capacities for organizations that get girls active, provides equal opportunities for girls and women, and supports physically and emotionally healthy lifestyles. The Women’s Sports Foundation is recognized worldwide for its leadership, vision, strength, expertise and influence.

For more information, please call the Women’s Sports Foundation at (800) 227-3988 or visit www.WomensSportsFoundation.org.

We are proud to present the newest Original Porgramming show on StoneYour.tv. Volcamera swtiches things around a little bit; we put the cameria in th ehads of our team riders. This gives the viewer a loosely edited story straight from the mind of our team riders doing what they do.

For the first episodes, we sent a camera to Gigi Ruf. Gigi spent two days shredding the Italina Alps under ht e famous Matterhorn. This is Gigis’s view while filming for Absinthe’s new snowboard film

Watch the episode here, at http://www.stoneyour.tv/index.php?c=VOLCAMERA&cID=6084

Snowboarding NH

Riders in order of appearance: Kyle Hay, Eric Conrad, Dane Byron, Blake Reid

edit: Peter Larson

Video By Johannes Brenning
Starring: Eiki Helgason, Eman Anderson, Nick Dirks, Kareem El Rafie, Kevin Griffin, Ludwig Lejkner, Sha Dang, Max Honegger, Nick Russel, Stubbs, Mike Casanova, Torstein Horgmo, Gulli Gudmundsson, Halldor Helgason, Julien Haricot, Andreas Gidlund, Reno Belisle, Will Lavigne and more.

Throwing down under the lights at Main Event finals at Loon Mtn.Photo: Brian Nevins

The Main Event Finals- Loon Mtn. NH

One true way to know if you can handle your opponent is to lace up the gloves and get in the ring! Saturday February 28^th the lightweights & heavyweights had their match, and riders travelled to Loon to take off the gloves and fight bare knuckles for the victory over the ice coast!

The East has been feeling positive snowflakes so far this season, however Friday night before the contest Mother Nature brought a few inches of rain to harden things quite a bit. Realistically, mother nature basically created the biggest rain gutter on the planet, followed by some cold nighttime temperatures, and a new eastern glacier was formed for riders to get adventurous with.

Snowgrind cut the pipe for the Mini Main Event contestants to kick things off in the morning. Kids came out for a chance to win the wildcard tickets for the US. OPEN JR. JAM. Meanwhile Loon park staff crew worked hard to dial in the set up for the first ever night- time Main Event combo course. The Redbull archway was the entrance to a 45’ & 55’ gap and a landing that needed feet balanced over the bolts, or a state of the art, ice luge, for the run out. The features below consisted of a 30’ down bar, and a 35’ down flat down rail.

The night proved that real shredders come from the East Coast, where the weather is treacherous, and the conditions vary… Putting all competitors this night at the top of the starters list in the next draft picks. Fighting fistacuffs on this lady killer; Lauren Tamposi was going huge stomping back 3’s with style, and Elin Tortarice stepped it up with a backside 540 winning best trick from Snowboard Jones that was super impressive! Gent’s weren’t holding back either; Ryan Burns killed the combo with enormous cab 7 grabs, and switch 270 gaps over the down flat, onto the down rail. Jake Harris had a spin to win flawless 900, also taking home Snowboard Jones best trick award.

It has been an amazing season watching the progression of the series from each stop and all riders advancing with it. Thanks to all who support what we do… It’s all about Snowboarding!

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, NXTZ, and Rye Airfield. The Main Event may have wrapped up for this winter, but get ready… we have a lot in store for next season.

Check out all event details and photos at www.maineventseries.com

***and check out the Photo Gallery below***

Men’s Pro

1^st Place Ryan Burns

2^nd Place Eric Beauchemin

3^rd Place Ian Hart

Women’s Pro

1^st Place Lauren Tamposi

2^nd Place Elin Tourtarice

3^rd Place Taylor Owen

Am Men

1^st Place Zach Normandin

2^nd Place Eugene Secato

3^rd Place Merrick Joyce

Am Women

1^st Place Brianna Daly

2^nd Place Kelli Redes

3^rd Place Nicole Fitzgerald

Mini Main Event Boys

1^st Place Kyle Washburn & Snowboard Jones Best Trick Award

2^nd Place Nate Strickler

3^rd Place Beau Brassard

4^th Place Trent Scott

Mini Main Event Girls

1^st Place Ryah Lempert & Snowboard Jones Best Trick Award

<http://www.maineventseries.com> .

Cody Rosenthal displays a proper method over the hip while the crowd looks on.Photo: Andres Quintana

Febuary 28th at Bear Mtn. meant only one thing, the infamous “BroDown Showdown”. Never one to disappoint, the park crew at Bear Mountain created a course that allowed for tons of creativity in the jam format. Breaking the stock contest setup with just rails and jumps the pipe was included in the course forcing competitors to be able to shred all terrains. In the end, the judging panel comprised of professonial riders, team managers, and filmers awarded the top stop to Brandon Cocard as he took away 2 grand. Thanks to all the sponsors for making it all happen.

***Check out the Photo Gallery below***

Check out these live links

www.activerideshop.com

www.bearmountain.com

www.nitrousa.com

Vote for the Winter Dew Tour’s Ball Park Alpha Dawgs

Voting ends on Wednesday, March 18

Ball Park is partnering up with the Winter Dew Tour to crown the best up-and-coming athletes that
participated in the inaugural season of the Tour. Fans can cast their vote at
allisports.com/ballparkalphadawgs and the top three vote getters will receive $5,000 courtesy of Ball
Park.

Contenders for the Ball Park Alpha Dawgs include: (Eligible Winter Dew Tour athletes must be under 18-
years of age, have been pro for no more than two years, and competed at all three stops of the Winter
Dew Tour)

Duncan Adams
Colby Albino
Ross Baker
Elizabeth Beerman
Greg Bretz
Bobby Brown
Matt Duhamel
Brett Esser
Sean Jordan
Gus Kenworthy
Marshall LaCroix
Nick Martini
Tucker Perkins
Evan Schwartz
Taylor Seaton
Byron Wells
Walter Wood

Hang on for the ride of your life—this is real snowboarding. Get Real, the forthcoming release from TransWorld Snowboarding, is 100% pure shredding. Featuring nine of the most dynamic riders in the world—from seasoned pros to young whizkids—this movie carries on where 2008’s smash hit, These Days left off. Get Real brings viewers inside the life and high times of pro riders on a nonstop mission to keep it real—to ride anything and everything they can. With dramatic HD visuals, a bangin’ soundtrack, and progressive filming and editing, Get Real is guaranteed to slam you with a heavy dose of snowboard reality. This new flick features heavy action on the streets from Jed Anderson, Scott Stevens, and Chris Grenier and wild, tech trickery from the likes of XGames medalist Scotty Lago. Plus, there’s loads of fresh backcountry mayhem from Kyle Clancy, Mikey Rencz, and Pat McCarthy. Finnish powder slayer Eero Niemela and young Sammy Luebke round out the cast of next-level riders. From shred hotspots to secret spots all over North America, to Europe to the Southern Hemisphere, Get Real takes you to the goods. When riding your snowboard is priority one, it’s time for you to Get Real.

MT. HOOD MEADOWS $99 UNLIMITED SPRING SEASON PASS

Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Resort’s Unlimited Spring Season Pass is on sale now for just $99! Enjoy every glorious day for the rest of the season at Oregon’s premier ski resort.

• Your spring season pass includes $10 of added value you can use anywhere at Mt. Hood Meadows this season!

• Purchase online now and receive FREE Ski Check for the rest of the season! Passes are valid beginning February 28, 2009 and will be issued at the ski resort.

Season pass holder benefits include:

• Kids 6 and Under receive FREE spring passes when their parent or grand parent purchases a spring pass.
• Save at least 40% off retail prices at Meadows’ sport shops through the rest of this season.
• Save 25% off ski and snowboard group and private lessons
• Save 25% off KidSki half and full day kids programs (for pass holder or child of pass holder)
• Save 25% off Women’s Clinic and Telemark Clinic
• Save 10% off Daycare
• Second night FREE at Cooper Spur Mt. Resort when you pay regular price for first night arriving Sunday – Wednesday evening (Oregon Spring Break week excluded)
• Save 10% off HPC demo ski or snowboard equipment rental
• Purchase online now and get free ski check!
  

With all the snow we just received it is going to be a sensational spring season!

We’ll see you on the mountain soon - LIKE THIS WEEKEND!

Come out to Mt. Baldy on March 14th for the 3rd annual “Money N tha Bank” throw down.  All ages are welcome to compete for some cold hard cash in everything from best trick, to a flat ground ollie contest.  Following the contest cruise to the world famous Mt. Baldy lodge and listen to the beats and music by Mike Robles.  

The contest is open only to individuals, who are legal residents of the United States. Employees of Bonnier Corporation and its parent companies, subsidiaries or agents, their immediate families (defined as parents, children, siblings, spouse and grandparents), and those domiciled with any of the foregoing are not eligible.
To enter electronically, visit our website at goretex.transworld.net. All information provided by entrant must be complete, true and correct. All submitted entries become the property of Transworld SNOWboarding and will not be acknowledged or returned. Entry is limited to one entry per household per day. Online entries will be deemed submitted by the authorized account holder of the e-mail address submitted at time of entry. By entering, you agree to be bound by these Official Rules.
A random drawing from among all eligible entries will be conducted under Sponsor’s supervision. Potential winners will be notified by e-mail. Potential winners will be required to sign and return a sworn Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability and Publicity Release. If required documentation is not returned within seven (7) business days of notification, or if notification is returned as undeliverable, any prize will be forfeited and an alternate winner will be selected by random drawing.
Entry and acceptance of prize constitute permission to use each winner’s name, prize won, hometown and likeness for print publication, online posting, and any other promotional purposes without further compensation, except where prohibited by law. By participating in the contest, you agree to release Sponsor and its parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, employees, directors, officers, and agents from any and all liability, claims or actions of any kind whatsoever for injuries, damages or losses to persons and property which may be sustained in connection with the receipt, ownership, possession, use, or misuse of any prize. Sponsor is not responsible for technical, hardware or software failures, or other errors or problems which may occur in connection with the contest, whether computer, network, technical, mechanical, typographical, printing, human or otherwise, including, without limitation, errors or problems which may occur in connection with the administration of the contest, the processing of entries, the announcement of the prizes, in any contest-related materials, or that may limit prize fulfillment or a participant’s ability to enter the contest. Sponsor reserves the right to permanently disqualify from the contest any person it believes has intentionally violated these official rules. As permitted by law and in accordance with the Sponsor’s Privacy Policy, Sponsor may use information provided by entrants to send announcements about the Sponsor’s products and programs via electronic and ordinary mail.
Except where prohibited by law, by entering you agree that: (i) all issues and questions concerning the interpretation, validity, and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of participants and Sponsor and its agents shall be governed by and construed exclusively in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, without regard to its rules on conflicts of law; (ii) any action at law or in equity arising out of or relating to this Contest, or awarding of the prizes, shall be filed only in the state or federal courts located in the State of New York, and entrant hereby consents and submits to the personal jurisdiction of such courts for the purposes of litigating any such action; (iii) any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or connected with this contest, or awarding of the prizes, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action; (iv) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with participating in this Sweepstakes but in no event attorneys’ fees; and (iv) you hereby waive all rights to claim punitive, incidental and consequential damages and any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses, and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased.

Tamarack Resort in northcentral Idaho plans to shut down operations by Wednesday, March 4, 2009 according to an article on New West Network, “In a worst-case scenario, the resort could literally be taken apart, with the chairlifts re-possessed and all equipment and real estate liquidated in a fire-sale.” Read the complete story here.

The Roxy freeskier took a few moments to sit with me and explain what had happened that infamous day in Canada where she miraculously survived the avalanche she got caught in