Legendary Mt. Baker Banked Slalom 2013

Dustin Anderson (far left) was posing for me when a bunch of chumps got in our way.

Alright cats, let me tell you what's real about this year's Legandary Mt. Baker Banked Slalom. Why now? The day after I got back from the LBS I flew to Japan and who wants to write about Mt. Baker when you could be riding pow in Japan. Not I.

First off, some greats were there (LBS, not Japan): Terje, Palm, Gigi, TRice, Müller. Some Olympians: Holland, Watanabe and Wescott, who took home the gold for the Men. His first. Maelle Ricker won for the ladies. Her seventh. In a row. If there's an asterisk (there isn't) it was that Maria Debari wasn't there. I don't know why not. Filming?

While we're talking about winners, the Men's Masters winning time (Jake 'minibike' Price - 1:35.167) beat the Pro Men's Masters time (Marcel Dolak - 1:36.678). Actually the top three places in Masters would have won Pro Masters. I guess the joke's on them? I asked last year's Masters winner Adam Haynes whether he would bump up to Pro Masters and he declined in his customary, humble way. His sixth in Masters would have been second this year in the Pro Masters field. Catch the rest of that interview in the current issue (10.4) of frequency: The Snowboarder's Journal on finer newsstands now.

Missing from the winners category, the belt buckles. Open Pros got race gates instead. Bamboo poles and all. Ask Marcel Dolak if he minds. Spoiler Alert, he's still stoked. He seems like the kind of guy who might wear one of those belt buckles, though. With the jacket. And a cowboy hat. Maybe it's all in my head. Dude lives in Seattle somewhere. Redmond. Not exactly the wild west. They also got Lib Tech Water(surf)boards and the customary raven statuette.

Speaking of shit that was missing, no switch race, at least officially. I don't know the story, maybe they ran out of time, but I feel like the awards were finished early this year. They did award the Andre-nuski rivalry award at Milano's after the official awards, though, and I didn't go, so that could be something.

The sportsmanship award went to a girl whose name I missed. She was finishing her run when she came upon a slower rider in front of her. She didn't get upset, she didn't pass. She slowed. She shouted. Words of encouragement. 'You go girl' and 'Finish strong.' Love to hear it.

Unknown rider extends ass and hand in opposite directions, remains erect.

Also missing was the mid-course party cave. No cave. Smaller party. Even with (because of?) the legal weed. The fact that the sheriff's department was on the scene, in skis, might have had something to do with that.

Sighted at the location of the cave-less party, OG Mt. Baker Hardcores Eric Janko, Carter Turk and Mike 'Tex' Devenport. Longer pony tails and gray hairs. Legends, all three. I've seen maybe 10 pictures ever of Turk. He didn't even show up to accept his Craig Kelly award two years ago. Tex is the one I'm most familiar with. He's in some later movies. Maybe Let it Ride or Platinum even. Ballsy, big-mountain stuff. Stories of dropping four stories to flat. Earning his stripes the hard way.

From the same site, I watched the course gobble fools up. And by 'fools' I mean even big-shot pros like Terje. Cat went off-course, boosted a method and drowned a cameraman in spray before ducking out ahead of the awards ceremony. I guess if you're going to leave before your gold tape (last year) you might as well leave before your 8th place, too. What a guy.

This year, Jamie Lynn got the Craig Kelly Thunderbird Award and I've never seen anyone so proud of anything before in my life. You could tell how much it meant to him from the second his name was called out by last year's winner Jeff Fulton. Lots of love coming from that man for those who came before and the current tribe.

Proud Jamie sandwiched by Jeffs Fulton (left) and Galbraith

Once again, the Older Amateurs podium was swept by Baker employees. Home field advantage kids. Deal with it.

Jason Robinson won the 2nd Annual Handplant Contest. He took home a raven-shaped Lib Tech board, which he tried to make out with. Des Melancon deserves props for the sickest single trick, a steezy stalled frontside invert.

J-Rob bestiality boardplay

Oh yeah and keep your eyes open for some demos of next year's gear. I got my hands on the Anon M2 goggles, Jones Aviator, Gnu Beast and Salomon Villain boards. I also might have something in the works with a binding company that will remain nameless until the ink dries.

Also in a coming post, I'll talk about Japan. Right now, I'm off to Montana and Moonlight Basin.

Board Exam: 2012/2013 Capita NAS Snowboard Review

What the Rep Said: It's a normal-ass snowboard. Directional twin, camber and a progressive sidecut.

First Impressions: It's blue and now I have Nas songs stuck in my head. Average weight underfoot. This is my football field.

But what's the waist width!? Learn from Capita.

Stats/Setup: I was 6'1" (185 cm) and 162 pounds (73.5 kg) when I rode the Capita NAS 159 at Mt. Bachelor. I rounded out the setup with Union Force SL bindings with Salomon Dialogue boots inside (men's size 9.5 [27.5 cm])

Conditions: Soft, packed-powder groomers with boot-top fresh off the groom and still snowing. Not bluebird, but Grey Goose and a whole lotta hydro.

The Ride: Right off the lift, I'm struck by how much this feels like my 2001 Option Kevin Sansalone. It's medium-stiff. I would agree with Capita's assessment of 7 of 10 (10 being tree trunk, 1 being wet leaf). I'd probably like it better at a 6.

You will notice the pop. You will also notice (if you're used to any sort of reverse camber) that the moment the board pops is different. It reacts sooner and stronger. You put more effort into it and you get more air in return (the negative is that it also takes more effort to press and butter). When you land, you'll also notice the difference. The NAS is stable underfoot regardless of how off-center you come down.

Same thing goes for the turns. My demo day was soft with few chunks or ice patches around. Edge hold and dampness weren't tested as fully as they usually are here in the northwest. That said, the NAS didn't care about its vanilla sidecut. It eased into turns smoothly and quickly, held on through the gut and powered to the next.

It also charges like a bull at speed. Not surprised at all it performs well at the Baker Banked Slalom.

The powder wasn't exactly challenging. As with most boards that aren't pow specific, you'll want to size the NAS up or set the bindings back. It will do fine.

I didn't go near a rail. It would have meant traversing. Not this day.

Nas's landmark album Illmatic dropped the same year as Volcom's video The Garden. The Capita NAS would have been right at home in 1994, too.

Bottom Line: This is a normal-ass snowboard. You might call it 'old-school,' but if you've ever watched any old snowboard movies, chances are they're all riding boards similar to the Capita NAS. People still slayed it hard back then. They rode pow and did sick nosepresses. You can do these things on cambered boards. Give it a shot, you might find that old's cool.

Awards: 2x Transworld Good Wood

Similar Boards: Stiffer boards of the pre-2006 era.

27th Baker Banked: Another Legend

Yup, last one to the party, no doubt, with the 27th Annual Legendary Baker Banked Slalom info. Had to make the haul down I-5 yesterday with some stops. Then, crashed out early because today was a powder day at Meadows. Who'da thunk? That crazy ice layer is still lurking, though. Tripping heel edges you thought were going to spray powder all over the free world. Serious damage done today. In a real way. To my meat box. Not some metaphorical 'destruction.' I feel broken. Enough about me, though, things got legendary over the weekend. Let me tell you what eye saw.

Saturday. Hard to get motivated when it's been raining all week. More on that later. Managed to get down there and check out the race. Even demoed some gear: Jones Hovercraft, Yes Pick Your Line and Now IPO bindings. All good in different ways. You will hear more, but here's the teaser.

2013 Yes Pick Your Line

2013 Jones Hovercraft and Mountain Twin flanked by Yes men

JF Pelchat sets me up with the Now IPO.

Mervin boards I didn't ride. Look for C3 BTX next year.

What about the race? I watched a few folks from the top and a few from the middle. Not much middle ground as far as the race. Folks were either slaying or getting bucked. Gnarly-ass course. Makes me wonder whether I really want to get accepted to ride in it. Gwyn Howat said that for the first time ever some of the banks were over her head. And she's no pixie at six feet tall. Another first, mid-week the course was an icy mogul field and the crew was praying for rain. You read that right. They can't just power-till the course, so the only natural cure would be the four-letter word we usually curse. It came. Course softened. What could have been a bobsled track got downgraded to 'challenging.' Thank the rain. Ha. Just make sure it knows its place. For example, don't rain on the salmon feed/handplant contest. Thank you. 

Who is this, Marben? Where's the light from, God?

So much food they were giving it away at the end.

The grindage up top was looking tasty, too.

Sunday Finals. No demos as my crew again lacked motivation and the demo tents were packing up early. I did get a glimpse of some pro men's runs and some groms' after them. Let me tell you something, it's easy to appreciate video-part-quality snowboarding when it's on a screen in front of you, but it's even easier to appreciate when it's carving down a hill in front of you. Professional athletes on a closed course. Sit back and watch. If you can't watch Josh Dirksen take his LBS turns and aspire to replicate them, you're either Terje or you're numb. Not everyone films a three-minute shred-porn section every year, but, much like REM said, everybody turns. Sometime. Still, no one ever says, "I want to turn like Josh Dirksen." Well, I do. Maybe next year I'll ask all the micro-groms who their favorite riders are. I will take special note of those who respond with Dirka-Dirka-San. All that said, this is a results-based game, no one cares what you look like, you gotta WIN! Overheard in the lodge before the awards, "Dirksen has all the qualities you envy in a person except the ability to win." I should have asked that dude his name, I'd love to have an attribution for that. You know who you are, third floor of the lodge around 4pm. Of course he goes on to take second AGAIN. Maybe he just knows that silver is the only real duct tape color. Everything else is an impostor. Who would want that? Temple Cummins came in third because the only place he ever lands at this event is on the podium. Terje won because he's that good. He had to bounce to Norway and the World Snowboard Championships before the awards, though, because he's in demand. And because he's that good.

Scotty Wittlake praying

Scotty Wittlake slaying

Another special moment for me that day was Kevin Pearce's presence. What can you say? Has a time ever mattered less? Kevin looked more stoked than anyone at the awards ceremony. What an inspiration to anyone who's ever had to come back from a serious injury. Traumatic brain injury to gnarly banked turns in a couple years. Ending in Banked Slalom entries for life. See you next year, Kev. Wear your helmets, kids.

Watching Milo Malkoski race and win his first gold was pretty cool, too. You can read all about it on his proud pop's blog. What he won't tell you is that dad was pacing/racing Milo down the first half of the course. Talk about a stoked dad. Milo's time was just a little slower than the old man's, too. What does he get when he finally beats you, Johan?

Who says the groms don't take it seriously?

Hearing the crowd go nuts when someone from Glacier wins is amazing. Makes me wish I could have been there when Lucas DeBari won in 2007. Must have been off the meter. My first year was 2008, when Temple won it and I thought that crowd was nuts. I couldn't even hear Danielle Davis's name getting called this year. And this wasn't her first win. Glacier loves its own.

Sarah Taylor, "I get second every six years: 2000, 2006 and 2012."

Maelle Ricker owns the women's pro division. This year marked her sixth win in a row. And she won by almost five seconds. She also wrecked into the fence in her second finals run. Like a true pro, she unstrapped, hiked up around the gate, took a bow, buckled back in and finished her run without a DQ. Is the mark of a pro the flawless winning time or the unwillingness to give up?

That quote sums it up.

Finally, I just can't top Baker for getting together with all my shred buddies. I have quite a few that I only see there. I wish I could see them more often, and I wish I'd stop missing some even there, but as long as the Legendary Banked Slalom goes down, at least I'll know where they'll be for that one weekend in February. You guys know who you are. See you next year!

Not This Year

I'm still going, I just won't be racing.

Another Year Another Legend

The 26th Mt. Baker Legendary Banked Slalom went down over the weekend. Those of you who follow me on Twitter (@boredyak) already know that Harry Kearney won Pro Men's, Maelle Ricker won her fifth consecutive Pro Women's and that Terje Haakonsen won the switch run. You won't find that last one on Baker's site, but I assure you it happened. No duct tape trophy for that, just some commemorative goggles that ended up in the crowd. Ricker won hers with her broken hand tucked inside her jacket. Rumor has it that Maria DeBari hired Tanya Harding to smash her in the knee with a pipe, but Maelle got a hand in the way, saving her knee and her gold duct tape. I started that rumor, of course.

You better aks somebody.

I didn't race this year as I yet again failed to have my name drawn from the lottery. I did get to shred two days on a legendary hill with equally extraordinary folk. Saturday it was windy enough for the powers that be to shut the diesel off and kill the lifts early - save the one lift that shuttled riders to the top of the course. Then, it dumped eight inches overnight, tapering off for a mostly sunny opening on Sunday. My friends and I showed up for first chair only to find that two of us forgot our boots. Team Rental Boots still shredded the pow mercilessly. Honestly, the rentals were as comfortable as my own boots. I took the occasion to ride a couple different borrowed and demo boards; a K2 Turbo Dream and a Bataleon Omni. Even with our lack of a local guide, we found fresh snow until it was time to return the smelly boots. Helluva day. We even managed to find a crew who barbecued a whole pig in the parking lot and provided dinner for a crowd. Didn't really expect that.

Look close enough and you might even see a race course.

Another year without running the race and I find the LBS to be all about friends. Friends from as far as Norway or as near as Bellingham, with Utah, Colorado and Seattle in between. I wish I could have caught up with everyone. Thanks goes out to all who provided me with hospitality and congrats to those who brought home the tape, came close, qualified, gained entry or just caught up with their own friends. You know what it's all about. Watch out next year in the Masters class, though. I'm aiming for the top. Only 364 training days left.

Snubbed By the Academy, Yet Again

And I quote:

Hello,

Thank you so much for entering the 2011 Legendary Banked Slalom Lottery. We had 528 people apply for 110 spots, and unfortunately you were not chosen during our lottery selection.

Thanks again for applying for the lottery and we hope to see you at the 2011 Legendary Banked Slalom on February 11, 12, & 13 at Mt. Baker!

-Laura Bruhns

Bullshit!

Maybe next year...

Baker Banked Slalom Final Wrap: Banks for All the Memories

Some riders ran their 25th race and won gold, some crashed out spectacularly in their first showing. Personally, it was my third Banked Slalom and I've never made it into the race. I have made a bunch of friends and had some good times along the way. Here's a sampling of what I take away from this year.
This year, I spent more time riding with friends and less time on things like checking out the race and demoing boards. In years past I didn't know as many people, so I watched the race, rode groomers on demo boards and met some folks. Now things are a little different. It always has been kinda my style to show up solo (in this case, I had a place to stay with parents of a friend) to some event that I've heard is fun, but I don't know much about. From there I proceed awkwardly until I meet people. You youngn's might not know, but this is what social networking was like before the internet. 

Side point: there's something for everyone at Baker Legendary Banked Slalom weekend.

Baker's got some great terrain and I finally had friends to take me to the goods. Thanks for some sweet riding everybody!

In a squeaker in the Older Amateurs division Tom 'T-Bird' Monterosso of Snowboarder Magazine fame and Colin Wiseman of frequency The Snowboarder's Journal qualified last and second to last respectively. Before their finals runs on Sunday, I asked if they had anything riding on the outcome. T-Bird jokingly suggested the loser write a 2000-word feature for the winner's magazine. They settled on something a little more gentlemanly: a beer. At the end of the day Sunday, by a margin of about a second and a half, T-Bird was adding another couple bucks to his expense report and Colin was sipping some sweet, free suds. There's your glory, Colin!

Speaking of the Older Ams, Gwyn Howat says it was a first, so I'll believe her. She thinks it's the first time Baker locs have taken a clean sweep of the duct tape in a division, that's just what Craig Newbury, Josh Charles and Jack Freysinger did. It pays to know the course.

Speaking of knowing the course forwards and backwards, Sunday night before the gates were plucked, one extra race was set. One run, winner take all, switch. With $75 on the line, Rob Kingwill took home the largest cash prize ever at the LBS. At the ceremony, he pledged to spend it that at Milano's in Glacier on his fellow competitors.

A standard place to stop for morning coffee and pastries on the way to Mt. Baker is the Wake n Bakery in Glacier. They have a funny little sign inside that says something like 'Astronauts like Hot Tang.' One morning I bought a scone and they asked if I wanted anything to drink, so I said jokingly, 'I'll have a hot tang.' Turns out the joke was on me. They actually serve it. I opted for a small and it wasn't nearly as bad as a steaming hot, artificially orange beverage could be. Courtney, the proprietor, insists it's the ultimate hangover cure.

One Norwegian's first exposure to Pop Tarts

With that the 25th Legendary Banked Slalom is one for the history books. Snowboarding fast through some twisty gates with your friends. A course that challenges kids age 9 to 69 and pros of the highest caliber. Eating salmon and drinking beer. If that sounds like a good time keep an eye on lbs.mtbaker.us and come check it out next year. If not, there's an event in Vancouver coming up that might be more your style.

Baker Banked Slalom Day 3: Banks, A Million

Sources of much pride

The 25th running of Mt. Baker's Legendary Banked Slalom is in the books. Rather unsurprisingly, Temple Cummins and Maelle Ricker took home the top prizes. Each already has enough duct tape to open a specialty store, neither showing any sign of slowing. In a first, Rob Kingwill won a spur of the moment, one run, winner take all run of the course... switch. He pocketed $75, the largest cash prize ever awarded by the LBS. In anti-cash prize news, the Craig Kelly Thunderbird Award for a rider based in the Northwest who's made an outstanding global contribution to snowboarding went to old-school shred Dan Donnelly.

Baker Banked Slalom Day 2: Race Gates or Access Gates?

Mt. Shuksan looms over the Arm

My choice was obviously access gates. The sidecountry access at Baker is amazing. At the top of Chair 8, a patrolman checks your beacon and you leave the resort (if you want). After that point, you better know what you're doing because the only avalanche control that happens past that gate is natural or accidental. We were treated to some good stability yesterday and my friends knew the spots, so we were also treated to some sweet snow on Shuksan Arm. My only regret is that I'm not in good enough shape to make the hike without sucking some serious wind. That first pitch is a doozy.

Not Shuksan Arm, just a pretty picture

 
As for the race, well that went on just fine without me. I didn't get any video like I'd hoped, maybe tomorrow. Most of my friends qualified for the finals. Good for them, bummer I might not get to ride with them Sunday. I didn't demo any new boards, either. Hiking for pow is all-consuming. If you don't go, you'll never know. Hanging out in a new place with friends who can show you where to drop without fear of a cliff-out, I wasn't thinking about much other than getting the goods. Tomorrow, my legs might have me thinking otherwise. Maybe groomers on next year's boards taking video of The Gravitron. Maybe you'll get some more sweet shots of snowy peaks with fewer tracks than people.

 

The real highlight of Saturday: salmon BBQ, bonfire and beer garden

Baker Banked Slalom Day 1: Qualify Today and Shred Pow Tomorrow

 

Just wakin' up in the mornin', gotta thank God

Nothing says variable weather quite like the Legendary Banked Slalom. Hell, they've canceled the thing before, so I should be happy. The snow level was at the lower parking lot and stayed there most of the day. Just one spitting of rain came through that I felt. Other than that, the clouds rolled in and out, the snow came and went, the wind iced my face and then fell silent. As far as the stuff on the ground, if it was a song by Disturbed, it would be Down With the Thickness. The stuff was tough. The top six to eight inches was a step away from being too hard to ride through. Also, the stability wasn't exactly rock-solid, so it didn't break my heart that the snow was mediocre. After a couple hours of slackcountry we ditched the packs and finished off the day on groomers.  I think I heard my legs cheering. Most valuable tool to have at Baker: a friendly local. Not even close. Things like, 'Don't go left or you will have to swim out' or 'Don't go right or you'll wish you had wings' make a guide invaluable. Thanks, Martin! That's all I can say or they might not have me back...

I could stop typing, this says it all.

Some gates were set up on the hill, too, so I decided to check that out. I'm not much of a competitor, but why would you race in such a weird, up and down, zig-zag line? I kid, I kid. The LBS course was kickin'. Good coverage made some deep banks, some deep ruts and a couple special features. As I mentioned yesterday the final corner this year is The Gravitron. Riders have a roller option to air into the final 180-degree, downhill, right-hander. Word was the gates before it were iced over from all the speed checking. The other gate that is eating people up is the fourth blue gate. A combo of ice, tightness and maybe a lack of banking is giving folks the old heave-ho. About half of the riders I watched at that spot hit the deck. The Blue Cheese!

It happens to plenty of guys, Colin...

The Gravitron cannot be confined to one picture.

I'll hit it with video tomorrow.

Tomorrow, more of the same. Another try at qualification will set Sunday's finals field. The weather's looking to hold steady tomorrow, so look for a hard and fast course and some good conditions for those of us looking to hike for turns. Demos start tomorrow, so get up here and try out the super, next level type gear. If you want all the LBS info go to the source and you'll know when we all know. You know, except for those of us who are actually here. Like you should be.

Baker Banked Slalom: the Night Before

I'm officially a Bellinghamster for the next few days as this weekend is the Legendary Banked Slalom. You might as well make this your homepage 'til Monday, I'll have all the info you need. Actually, I'll probably 'blow it' and hike around the mountain with a bunch of friends I don't get to see nearly often enough. You know I gotta get out there with my new toy, though. It's Baker, what would you do?

Toys that I hope I never have to use.

If I get tired enough, I'll venture down to the course and see what's up. News is the final turn has been dubbed 'The Gravitron.' Here's hoping that's the only thing that resembles a carnival. If they hired barkers for lifties and the chairs smell like cotton candy and vomit, I'm demanding a refund. Unless I can play skee-ball and win a five-foot stuffed pink giraffe. That might be hard to ride with, though.

I'm calling it an early night tonight in favor of getting an early start tomorrow. Weird, I know. The way things are laid out this weekend, I'm sure future-me will thank current-me for that decision. If you happen to be at Baker at all this weekend, come check out the race and watch a little bit of history. Terje's not training for the Olympics, you can come fan-out on him. They serve free snacks at the top of the course and they have free demo snowboards at the bottom. You don't have to eat before you come or even bring your own deck. How's that for full-service!? If you see me, come say hi. I'll be the one with the dented helmet, broken goggles, beard-cicle and oversized neon safari animal...

Holidays, New Year and Then Some

We're officially into it, the teens. I expect it to be awkward. Change. Growth. Distractions. Just like any decade, I guess. Hell, I'm already 1 for 1 on writing checks, how bad could it be!?

This was actually my first holiday season without contact with my family. I've been stuck in airports and on trains for Christmas, but I always managed to find a way home. This year, I just decided to forgo the whole long-distance winter travel to a small town in the middle of nowhere scenario. Instead I went to Sunriver, OR where my friend and his family rented a vacation house for the week. I got to Skype with my family, which of course turned into my six year-old niece goofing off for the camera and precluding any real conversation. The family vibe was high at the rental home and it was packed with 14 of us, so it felt like 'home for the holidays' for sure. The bonus was two days of snowboarding at Mt. Bachelor, just an hour's drive away. Peep the pixels.

12/23 - The first day Northwest Express was running

12/24 - the first day Summit Express was running
Gotta get those lifts running by Christmas and we were there to use 'em!

After four days of Christmas cheer it was back home to Portland for a tic and then up to Bellingham, WA with my girlfriend for our traditional New Year's festivities: shredding Baker for New Year's Eve and ringing in the decade at a warm, boozy house party. This year that meant I got to hang out with some friends I met up in Baldface last year. Snowboard friends become good friends quickly and it's been great hanging out with Martin, Jeff, Jesse and all the rest over this past year. There's nobody I'd rather ring the new year in with than my girl and some of my best new friends.

With that, here we are. 2010. Keep reading the blog and dropping your comments. I can promise you nothing but the best of my abilities, which hopefully improve throughout time. Got anything you want to hear about, let me know. I've got a handful of board demos to tell you about in the coming days and another board demo to attend this weekend. This one's only Burton boards though. What should I try? I'd like to check out some different cambers, a Malolo if it's powdery, something jibby and loose to round things out.

Also coming up quick is my Level 1 Avalanche certification. My kit is complete except the beacon and a good pack. Which reminds me, I'll be introducing you to a custom backpack maker, too. He just happens to be my cousin.

After that, the Legendary Banked Slalom at Baker. More good times with the crew up there. Followed by an epic, three-stop shred trip: Salt Lake, Aspen and Jackson. Any of you live in those areas or have advice thereto, let me hear it. Especially Jackson, I'm going in with nothing but some lift ticket vouchers. Not quite seat of the pants, but not quite fully clothed either, if you smell what I'm stepping in. Baldface comes next, speaking of epic. That's about as far ahead as I plan. Some 'maybes' in there: North Face Masters at Crystal Mountain, Level 2 Avalanche certification, Ride Shakedown at Snowqualmie. Lots going down and I'll be sure to tell you all about it. Just like I told you about Cambodia. Yeah, you thought I forgot. I'm working on some big things there. Here's a taste.

Anybody ever see Tomb Raider? I haven't but apparently this tree figures in a scene.
Ta Prohm, Angkor Province, Cambodia

Here's to the best year yet. May all your powder be deep and safe. May your landings be as solid as your joints. And may you always have the prefect words when recounting your tales of deep powder and solid landings!

Board Exam: 2010 Never Summer Premier F1-R

Another day at Baker's Legendary Banked Slalom and I chose to inspect another new board. This one is Never Summer's 2010 Premier F1-R. My initial impression of the board was that it was heavier than average hanging from my foot on the chairlift. That's easy enough to make up for, depending on how it rides... Also, the nose and tail shapes were different, supposedly to enhance float in powder. Too bad I wouldn't get a chance to test that today.

Dangling from my boot

The ride on this beast was stiff and damp. And beast is an apt title. Everything I'd heard about Never Summer boards charging was true on this ride. That was the most noticeable characteristic of this board. Hardpack, chunder, tree bark, no match for the Premier F1-R. That said, this is not a board for pressing and jibbing. Maybe if a tree jib is in your way the F1-R might attack it for sport.

What else? Well, I'm amazed at the differences in companies' reverse camber applications. Never Summer runs what they call R.C. Technology: rocker and camber. Basically, it has a camber point under each insert and rocker between the inserts. On the snow, this translates to less catchy turns with plenty of power out of turns. I would rate the pop as moderate. Nothing surprising either way.

Accompanying R.C. Tech is NS's Vario Power Grip sidecut. Instead of having one radius throughout the sidecut, NS uses three. A deeper one toward the tip and tail, a shallower one near the inserts and a straight line at the waist of the board. This creates six contact points during turns instead of the standard two. This really translates to stable turns, even on the Baker boilerplate.

This board excels at hauling ass in any condition. It can handle anything you can up to a 60° ice skating rink through trees (OK, that might be a little extreeme). It is a freeride ruler, though not a board I'd want to ride everyday, due to it's stiffness. Those racers in the LBS could shave some seconds ripping with a stick like this one. Though it won't be out 'til next year, here's Never Summer's site to check the dirty when it goes live next fall.

Baker Banked Slalom: Holland, Ricker and Strohl Take Pro Divisions

It was another sunny day at Mt. Baker for the finals of the Banked Slalom. Word from the course was that riders were going down faster than free beer. The carnage took did not discriminate. Pro men and younger ams were taken down alike. Put together two clean runs and your reward was probably some duct tape. Minibike over at Board as Fuck didn't mince words, "Sketchiest course off [sic] all time." You can find all the results over at the official website, if not now then soon. Here's a quick rundown of the winners.

Next Gen: Hank Kennedy
Juniors: Gus Warbington
Younger Ams: Logan Beaulieu
Older Ams: Craig Newbury
Women's Ams: Danielle Davis
Women's Masters: Weeg Simmons
Masters: Marcel Dolak
Mid-Masters: Dave Wray
Grand Masters: Jim "JT" Taylor
Pro Masters: Ludovic Strohl
Pro Women: Maelle Ricker
Pro Men: Nate Holland

Yup, Mr. X-Games 4-peat himself. Originally from Sandpoint, ID, he's no stranger to the Northwest. This is, however, his first pro win at the LBS. Congratulations, Nate. Maelle took home her third gold in a row. Better start working harder if you want to catch her, ladies.

Of course good times were shared by all and plenty of stories got tossed around from the mic by master of ceremonies Gwyn Howat. For that, well, you just had to be there. Here are some photos for a little taste of what you of what you missed.

Victoria Jealouse, the bank robber, disappears into the vault

Maelle Ricker en route to a win

The spoils


The victors: Graham Watanabe, 2nd Pro Men and Nate Holland (l to r)


The brain trust: The Howat Family

24th Legendary Banked Slalom: Finals Set

Saturday was a sunny one here at Mt. Baker. Friday's snow passed through and we were treated to clear mountain views in every direction. The course was quick, if a bit icy. The riders who could stay on course put up some fast times, but more than a couple cartwheeled past gates. One victim was Blair Habenicht, who fell twice and missed a gate on Friday. He made the most of his Saturday run, qualifying 8th in Pro Men. He'll be back Sunday looking for his first gold duct tape since winning young amateurs in 2001. They're really quick posting the results over at the website, so check it out if you want to see who's where for Sunday's final. I'll let the pictures I took do the rest of the talking.

Classic view from the start shack


Turn 1: No looking back


The course snakes off down the mountain


Check your time and hope it holds up


Then it's off to the parking lot for salmon and beer by the fire

I also got a chance to demo a Burton Supermodel X with Triad EST bindings today, so I'll have that review up later. Check back tomorrow when I'll have all the pictures from the finals and the names of the winners.

Red Bull Snowscrapers Results

I just watched the big scaffolding hip gap in NYC that was Snowscrapers. Shayne Pospisil took the top spot and the $50K check with a big backside '900.' Torstein Horgmo came in second with Scotty Lago and Travis Rice wrapping up 3rd and 4th respectively. Torstein survived a crazy fall that saw him skid off the side of the take-off on his last run. He then got up to the top of the drop-in and made his last jump. Ballsy.

The format went like this, all 16 riders went at it in a 60-minute jam session which then cut to the top 8 who competed head-to-head. Oddly enough, it looked like the #1 rider from the jam rode against the #2 rider. Then, 3 vs. 4 and so on, instead of the traditional 1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7, etc. The bummer in this case went to Shaun White who got knocked out by Torstein Horgmo in round 1 of the elimination. If the scores went down the same, he would have gotten knocked down by #8 Daniel Ek, too, so maybe that one didn't matter. It still seemed a bit off.

The weirdest thing about the contest was that the riders couldn't get enough speed even though the drop-in was 90 feet tall, so they got a slingshot start from two workers or a winch. The riding was pretty good, though. Not 'Air & Style' good, but OK. Pospisil's '900' in the finals deserved first place for sure. Rice had some nice rodeos, Lago ripped off some quality spins and of course Terje cranked a nice method or two. Terje also attempted a one-footed air, but washed out the landing. Super ballsy, especially considering some of the riders were barely clearing the gap fully strapped in. They gave him the best trick at the end, I can only assume it was for the big method.

It might be my inexperience with hip jumps, but it seemed like the announcers were adding an extra 180 to all the tricks. For example, in Pospisil's '900' he took off forward and landed forward. I'd have called it a 720, but I defer to the experts. Maybe they just wanted it to sound bigger or maybe I'm wrong. It wouldn't be the first time.

I thought it was cool to see Shayne win a big event like this. He's not exactly a household name, even though he rips hard. For proof, check out last year's King of Quarters and last week's Air & Style. Hopefully he had a bunch of family and friends in attendance, being a Jersey native and all. I was also really impressed with Daniel Ek's performance. He's pretty new to the scene, but he threw down with the vets and came out with a nice finish. Hopefully we can see some more of what he's capable throughout the season.

Another cool thing is that some smaller form of the jump will be kept up for a week or so for public use. How cool is that? If you're anywhere nearby, go check that out: East River Park at FDR and Houston. Now snowboarders have a chance to play out their dreams. Internal monologue, "It's come down to this last jump, for all the fame, glory and 50,000 dollars. (S)he's got to beat an 85.33 for the win..." In the words of Valient Thorr, that's what I'm talkin' about.

Here are the rest of the results, 5-8 are my best guesses based on scores from the first round of eliminations.

1. Shayne Pospisil
2. Torstein Horgmo
3. Scotty Lago
4. Travis Rice
5. Daniel Ek
6. Shaun White
7. Bjorn Leines
8. Terje Haakonsen

Next stop for me is the Mt. Baker Legendary Banked Slalom, where the goal is to not leave the ground so much. Check back for more on that one later...

Competition or Community?

This weekend two of the most opposite contests in the history of competition are going down: the 24th Mt. Baker Legendary Banked Slalom and Red Bull's Snowscrapers. One is a long-standing race that gets hundreds of groms, pros and old souls together for a few days of racing with nothing more (or less) than locally-made prizes and a trophy fashioned after a roll of duct tape. The other is a first-time mega-jump with uber-sponsors and hyper-promotion (and-I-love-hyphens!). Battling it out for spin-to-win supremacy and 100G's in prizes will be 16 hand-picked combatants.

Tonight, the first ever Red Bull Snowscrapers kicks off in New York City. The scaffolding jump is reminiscent of Air and Style, but with a hip landing; a gap hip, if you will. I've never seen anything quite like it. Not sure what will go down. Initial reports say the speed isn't quite right, so I hope they got that fixed. Anthrax (the band, not the disease) is set to make an appearance. Oh yeah and the prize pool is 100,000 bucks, so everything is huge, large and/or epic. Check out the info at Red Bull and watch it live at GO211 from now 'til around 6pm Pacific Time.

Tomorrow the qualifying runs start for the Mt. Baker Legendary Banked Slalom, one of the most storied snowboard races of all time. Tomorrow night, Jamie Lynn's band, Kandi Coded, will rock the Joowanna Café in Maple Falls. Coincidence? Probably not. This is one event that might be more about people getting together off the hill than throwing down on it. Run in the same natural halfpipe since 1985, the LBS course changes a little every year, but the basics are the same: banked turns and high speeds. On the same run are everyone from 10-year-old amateurs to 60-year-old grandfathers. The last chance to qualify is Saturday, then the finals on Sunday determine who takes home the tape. Oh yeah, they have a baked salmon dinner and a bonfire on Sunday, too. That's it. No live broadcast, no commercial interruptions. Money donated to causes infinitely exceeds prize money because there is no prize money. Really. A contest with no prize money. And it's not a qualifier for other contests that do have prize money. If you don't get it, you might have to drive east on WA 542 to find out.

An interesting connection: Travis Rice and Terje Haakonsen are listed as competing in both events. Also, the band Valient Thorr is playing Snowscrapers while they played in Kandi Coded's spot last year. Maybe the two events aren't so different after all. It's all snowboarding, ya know?

It's a little late to get to NYC, but GO211 has the live coverage of Snowscrapers right now. I'm making the drive up to Baker tomorrow and might even have a blog from there for you. Not that the internet can capture the legendary vibe, but maybe it will get you to check it out for yourself next year...