Watch more Brighton presents _____ Was Here:
TECHNINE Was Here
UNDER DAWGS Was Here
LUNCH RAMP GANG Was Here
NITRO Was Here

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The pass can be purchased online in advance, at www.SkiHood.com/SpringPass or at the ski resort.

Meadows enters spring with winter raging on! The resort received 12 feet of snow in February, and March has roared in like a lion. The resort reports a snow depth of 106” in the base area, assuring great conditions for the rest of the season!

Meadows Nordic Center
The Meadows Nordic Center will operate Thursdays – Mondays through Sunday, April 6 and add two bonus days March 25 and 26 during Oregon Spring Break week. Track fees are $15 / day or a Spring Nordic Season Pass can be purchased for $45.

Meadows After Dark
Meadows extends operations to 9 PM Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings through March 30. This is in addition to the resort’s normal 9 AM – 4 PM daily operations scheduled through April 27th.

March 15 – Laurelwood Town Challenge
It’s a recreational race series designed for skiers and snowboarders of all levels, to have an opportunity to race in a Giant Slalom course. The goal of the series is to provide businesses and non-business teams the opportunity to enjoy Mt. Hood Meadows in a team-oriented, family friendly, recreational racing environment. It’s a dual format GS, with awards and a party following this final challenge.

March 15 – Après Ski Entertainment with The Quick & Easy Boys
A local favorite, The Quick & Easy Boys, a power-trio out of Portland Oregon, create their own blend of funky R&B, psychedelic rock, and garage pop with a slight pinch of honky-tonk. Imagine the Minutemen, My Morning Jacket and Funkadelic rolled into one.

March 15 – Laurelwood Tasting
Come taste brews from Laurelwood, from 2-4 PM in the Alpenstube Restaurant. A brew after hitting the slopes is the best. Score!

March 16 – 5th Annual Meadows Film Festival
The fifth annual Meadows Film Festival will showcase local talent – on the hill as well as behind the camera. Cash and prizes for the top finalists – presented by GoPro, Full Sail Brewing, Dakine and Keen Footwear.

March 16 – Steeps Clinic
Available to advanced and expert skiers and riders. These clinics are designed to improve your ability to ski steep ungroomed terrain. We will work on maintaining rhythm and flow through all terrain and conditions while exploring some of the best known and unknown runs at the resort.

Meadows Adds Park & Ride Services for Oregon Spring Break March 22-30

Park & Ride shuttle service will run daily from Portland to the mountain March 22 – 30 – $25 for round trip bus, or $79 for bus and lift pass. The shuttles also run weekends leading up to Spring Break.

March 22 – Telemark Clinic
For beginning through expert telemarkers. Improve your technique with one of our experienced, certified instructors.

March 22 – Ski For Water
The Ski For Water event on Saturday, March 22nd, will ensure that even more communities around the world receive one of the fundamental necessities of life: clean and safe drinking water. It’s a ski-a-thon to help end the world water crisis! It’s $58 for a lift day pass, and only $20 for season passholders to participate.

March 22 – 23 – USSA Hole Shot Boarder and Skier Cross
The Hole Shot Cross Tour is a competition designed to bridge the gap between grassroots and world cup level for Snowboardcross and Skicross. The event also brings together athletes across the country to identify the top juniors in the country. Athletes 15 (SBX)/ 16 (SX) and older compete together in an open-class style event.  The top juniors will be named to U.S. Snowboarding’s and U.S. Freeskiing Project Gold! – 2

March 22 – Après Ski Entertainment with World’s Finest
From PDX, World’s Finest pride themselves on playing many genres (americana, reggae, and funky punk just to name a few), and a love of songwriting. They are full of energy and fun, they are a band that brings “the feel good music.”

March 23 – Meadows Spring Demo Day
Free demo from dozens of ski and snowboard manufacturers. 18 and older with a credit card and ID to demo (minors must also have parent or legal guardian present).

March 23 – Women’s Clinic
For women and taught by our most certified and experienced female instructors. Work on your skiing/riding in a fun supportive environment. Participants will be grouped based on ability and the focus will be on improving your skills so you can ski/ride more confidently and in more conditions. Available to intermediate and above skiers and riders.

March 24-26 – 3-Day Spring Kids Camps / Freestyle Camps
Our 3-Day Camps offered over Spring Break provide kids with a great way to play on the snow! We provide alpine lessons for students ages 4-12, and snowboard lessons for students ages 7-12. Kids will be put in the same group with the same instructor for three consecutive days providing an excellent opportunity to make friends and bond with the instructor. You’ll be amazed at the progress your child can make skiing or riding 3 straight days!

March 24-26 – 3-Day Adult Camps
Join our Ski & Snowboard School for three straight days of coaching, from the same instructor and with the same group each day. Groups will be divided based on skiing / riding ability and desired speed. Topics include steeps and cruising the groomed. Four hours of coaching is provided each day, perfect for parents with kids attending the 3-Day Kids Camp!

March 29 – Steeps Clinic
Available to advanced and expert skiers and riders. These clinics are designed to improve your ability to ski steep ungroomed terrain. We will work on maintaining rhythm and flow through all terrain and conditions while exploring some of the best known and unknown runs at the resort.

March 29 – Après Ski Entertainment with Scott Pemberton
“Classic rock, jazz, psychedelia and everything in between collide and fuse around the notion of discovery that jumps with ease from the composer to the listener. Pemberton is a multi-genre master and a clever lyricist who can convey fun while digging deep.”

March 30 – Spring Brew Fest
Mt. Hood Meadows proudly presents the Spring Brew Fest. Soak in some sun on the deck and taste fantastic beers, as we celebrate the spring season! This event is open to anyone 21+ with a valid photo ID.

(Scheduled operations can change with conditions, weather and turn out. Check SkiHood.com for any schedule changes.)

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LIB TECH & ASYMBOL RELAUNCH #PASSITONPROJECT FOR 2014

#passitonproject re-launches with Firepower in 2014!  #passitonproject is a collaboration between Lib Tech and Asymbol, an experiment in social art, passing a board into the global snowboard community to be shared and to see just how many riders a single board can be passed on to, and how far around the world each board can travel. This year Lib Tech has customized 4 individually numbered #passitonproject boards of Travis’ newest model the 2014/15 T.Rice Gold Member XC2 BTX, featuring Firepower the lightest construction technology yet! Travis personally launched this year’s #passitonproject in Japan with board #3, while board #1 began its journey strapped to the feet of Jamie Lynn at the Mt. Baker Legendary Banked Slalom. Board #2 made its way to Switzerland with European pro rider Fredi Kalbermatten. Where they go from here is anyone’s guess…follow #passitonproject on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or Google +.  Check out the contest on lib-tech.com/passitonproject to find out how to win board #4!!

WHAT IF YOU GET THE BOARD?

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Valérian Ducourtil did a pretty good job last season shooting for Incoming. There’s a few good shots that should motivate you to go snowboarding and enjoy some fresh powder. We’re also pretty stoke to have one of the sickest miller flip we ever filmed in there! Turn up the volume, press full screen and enjoy!

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Check out the slopestyle finals video, halfpipe photos, and slopestyle video.

The post Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships – Halfpipe appeared first on Snowboarder Magazine.

Clear blue skies and bright sun shone down on a what was described as the best halfpipe of the season, built by SPT, at Vail Mountain today for men’s and women’s halfpipe finals at the 32^nd Burton US Open Snowboard Championships presented by MINI. Saturday morning opened up to the kind of conditions that pipe riders and spectators alike crave and resulted in an epic competition.

The women rode first, a field made up of Kelly Clark, Hannah Teter, Rana Okada, Chloe Kim, Sophie Rodriguez, and Queralt Castellet—five of six were 2014 Olympians and the sixth was not old enough to compete in Sochi. Suffice to say, the field was stacked.

While Kelly Clark didn’t debut the cab ten that she has been dialing in, all of her runs were characteristically smooth and enormous. Early on, a first hit frontside 1080 from the Southern Vermont native was easily one of the highest airs of the day. Kelly’s first run positioned her in first place, but with each subsequent go, she upped the ante. Here second run was scored highest of the day, and included frontside ten, cab seven, frontside air, backside five, frontside nine, and backside air. Setting up a victory lap for herself, the audience waited with bated breath to see the ten on her last hit, but Kelly ran out of pipe at the end and the cab ten has yet to appear in competition.

“I’m definitely a strategic rider,” said Kelly. “I go out and put down the run that I want to do that day and then I give myself an opportunity to push myself and push my riding. I think it’s really important to do tricks and push yourself regardless of it being a US Open final. For me, even in my victory lap, I’m still pushing myself because it is all about the riding for me.“

Spain’s Queralt Castellet set herself up in second place early on with her first run, which included a backside nine, to back-to-back fives, frontside nine, a big method, and a frontside seven. During her next two runs, she wouldn’t be able to top her first score, but she remained secure in second.

One of this season’s stories in women’s halfpipe has been the snowboarding of young Chloe Kim. This Mammoth-based rider has grown up riding alongside Kelly Clark, and while Chloe lists Kelly as one of her favorite riders, the respect is mutual between the women. “I saw her as someone who loves snowboarding,” commented Kelly after today’s competition, “who loves the sport and is out there when it’s foggy and is out there when the pipe’s not good—like, let’s go ride the minipark.”

Today, yet again, it is apparent that Chloe’s style and technical prowess goes way beyond her fourteen years and while watching her ride currently is exciting, it’s even more so to imagine where her abilities will take her over the next few seasons. Not only is she sending it high in the pipe, but her trick selection is proper. At Vail, Chloe debuted a switch method on her first hit, inspired by men’s finals poacher, Danny Davis.  “I wish I could have that [trick]!” Kelly beamed post-contest.

“I’ve had that run for a little bit but I haven’t done it at a contest before,” said Chloe. Her second run would be her best of the day, starting with the switch method and continuing into a cab seven truckdriver, frontside five, McTwist to Crippler and a switch frontside air. While Chloe has charmed the snowboarding audience with her genuinely sweet personality and easy laughter, her riding speaks volumes and with two switch hits in her run already, we at SNOWBOARDER can’t wait to see what this lady is throwing next season. Additionally, Chloe’s finish today at the Open awarded her as not only the Overall TTR Champion for 2014, but the youngest rider to ever win that accolade.

This year’s US Open men’s halfpipe finals was by far one of the most awesome pipe contests to watch this season. Maybe it was the bright blue skies that formed the ideal background to the enormous heights that the riders were boosting over the deck, or maybe it was the spring-pipe-good-vibes that permeated the contest arena, or maybe it was the ridiculous runs that were put down by all of the competitors, but likely it was a combination of all of the above that allowed the event to embody the fun, creativity, and shared enjoyment of shredding. Missing were halfpipe staples like Shaun White, Ayumu Hirano, and Iouri Podladtchikov, but the young riders that populated the finals had no problem showcasing riding of the utmost level. Yiwei Zhang, the top qualifier into finals linked double after double but was unable to land a full run. Bend, Oregon’s Gabe Ferguson, the youngest competitor at 14 years old linked back-to-back nines and frontside double tens were consistent and smooth. Gabe’s older brother, Ben Ferguson was sending massive cripplers on his first hit, and while Ben didn’t make it onto the podium, his riding was standout.

The top three was decided first run, and while there was no shortage of suspense as to whether the three highest scored riders would be bumped out of position, the movement never occurred. Swiss rider David Habluetzel materialized Saturday afternoon as a major player in the line up. He dropped in for his second run sitting just below the podium in fourth place and while his moniker is a new one in the US Open finals, David threw down a run that included a massive frontside ten to cab double cork ten, back-to-back nines, and a frontside double crippler and moved into third place where he would stay for the remainder of the contest. “I just came here for fun and to ride and got in finals and third place just happened. I’m so stoked,” said David.

Taku Hiroaka sealed his second place finish with a huge crippler, backside 900, frontside double cork ten, cab double cork ten and frontside 900. His 48.3 trick score translated into an 82.9 overall score. Not bad, considering his podium position finalized his TTR Halfpipe Champion status for 2014.

Throughout the steep competition at Vail, it was Taylor Gold’s day to shine. The twenty year old opened up with a huge method, frontside twelve, double Michalchuk, frontside double cork ten, cab ten taipan, and a crippler roastbeef. Taylor’s run was not only technical, but his choice of grabs throughout the event was just plain sick. “I was just kind of feeling it out in practice and it felt pretty comfortable,” added Taylor. “[The grabs] are harder than the regular grabs I’ve been doing all season, but I was so stoked I was able to put tem in my run. I saw Danny and Sage doing different stuff and I wanted to do as much as I could to make my riding a little bit different.” The strategy and effusive style worked out well for the Steamboat Sprigs, Colorado-based snowboarder, earning a 50 trick score in the SLS format and an 87.6 total for his run, Taylor took first place and never looked back. His last run wrapped up the fourth victory run of the US Open and Taylor celebrated with multiple methods. Said Taylor, the USO halfpipe was “best pipe I’ve ridden all season, maybe ever.”

And that’s a wrap on the 32^nd Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships. After a long and tumultuous Olympic year, the snowboarding community breathed a collective sigh of relief in Vail this year as the Open, the snowboarder’s snowboarding contest, closed out the competitive season.

RESULTS:

Women’s Halfpipe
1st – Kelly Clark
2nd – Queralt Castellet
3rd – Chloe Kiim

Men’s Halfpipe
1st – Taylor Gold
2nd – Taku Hiroaka
3rd – David Habluetzel

Check out photos from slopestyle finals. Watch the slopestyle finals video.

The post Kelly Clark and Taylor Gold Win Women’s and Men’s Halfpipe at the Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships appeared first on Snowboarder Magazine.

The post Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships 2014 – Slopestyle Finals appeared first on Snowboarder Magazine.

After a season that has been so focused on the #roadtosochi, the archetypal contest for snowboarders by snowboarders that is the US Open was positioned perfectly in the afterglow of the Olympics to provide a competitive celebration for riders and spectators alike. This was evident Friday morning as slopestyle finals kicked off under snowy skies.

“More than anything this year, with all of us doing the FIS events and the Olympics, it’s never felt better to come back to the US Open and have that snowboarding energy,” said Jamie.

It’s practically a tradition that Mother Nature likes to send out the snowguns for the slope riders at the US Open Snowboarding Championships and for the 32^nd year of event, the falling flakes didn’t slow any of the riders down. A buttcheck or fall on one jump didn’t prevent the competitors from being able to send it off the next hit, a testament to both the riders as well as the SPT-built course, on which steep transitions catalyzed a strong flow and prevented speed loss despite the light snowfall. The creative course moved downhill toward the Golden Peak base area, the upper rail section containing a flat down option, a second section with a flat-gap-flat and a battleship, and a step up option with an up-flat on rider’s left and a pole jam to pill jib on rider’s right. Three large cheese wedges measuring 55 feet, 65 feet and 70 feet respectively rounded out the bottom half of the course.

Jamie Anderson first competed in the US Open at Stratton in 2006. As a wildcard competitor new to the field, she earned third place and returned the next year to top the podium. Since then, Jamie has won women’s slopestyle three more time in 2011, 2012, and now, in 2014. After qualifying first in semis earlier this week, Jamie set the bar for the podium with her first run, which included a strong showing in the upper rail section and a cab five, frontside seven, and backside five on the jumps. With a score of 85.3, Jamie moved into first place and never looked back. On her second run, she nailed a gap to boardslide on the first rail, a 50-50 to frontboard on the battleship, a tail tap back one on the pole jam to pill, and a cab seven, switch backside five, and frontside seven on the jumpline. The purposeful run improved her previous score by 2.2 points.

Spencer O’Brien has one of the best-looking front sevens in women’s snowboarding and during women’s finals she put down the rotation with ease. She displayed her off-the-toes version of the trick at Vail in a run that included a frontboard on the first rail, boardslide on the second, frontboard to fakie on the pill, and then switch back 540, frontside 720 and backside 720 on the jumpline. Her second run of the day, it bumped her into the second spot on the podium.

Isabel Derungs has made a name for herself in the slopestyle circuit this season, going from a relatively unknown rider to a consistent competitor. At Vail, Isabel’s signature backside rodeo cemented a run that included back-to-back sevens and earned her third place. Also notable was the riding of Miyabi Onitsuka. At only age fifteen, this Japanese rider was sending big threes and fives. While she wasn’t able to keep her feet under her to earn a spot on the podium, she is undoubtedly a new face to watch in women’s slopestyle.

During the men’s finals, safety runs were immediately tossed aside as Mark McMorris dropped in second with no holds barred. Mark is no stranger to being the pace-setter and while he dragged a hand on the last jump, his run of a switch up on the flat down, 50-50 to backflip on the second rail, boardslide 450 off the rainbow on the MINI Creative Use of Space feature, followed by cab twelve, frontside double cork ten, and backside triple cork 1440 made it clear that he was at Vail to win. On his second drop, he nailed it, earning a score of 87.5 that would remain the high score number to beat for the rest of the competition.

There were a few riders who were hot on Mark’s heel edge during the event and despite the déjà vu-esque weather that blanketed the course, the conditions were actually much better than in 2013. “This year, we had speed and they built the course well,” commented Stale Sandbech. Seb Toots was in podium contention for a portion of the contest with a run that included a cab 1260, frontside double cork 1080, and a backside triple cork 1440. Stale bumped Seb into third place when he moved a slot below Mark by only three tenths of a point. Stale’s trick score was one of the highest of the day after a switch up on the flat down, 50-50 front three over the second jib, 50-50 backside one switch 50-50 on the pill, into a cab 1260, frontside 1080, and a backside triple cork 1440. On his last drop, Stale intended to affect his rail section to improve his score, but bobbled. “I was changing up my rail run in my head [before dropping in] and I tried to do a different trick on the first rail, but I couldn’t get my weight over it and kind of just messed up on the first rail,” said Stale. There’s no shame in a second place finish for this Norwegian wünder-rider, especially since his podium today earned him the Overall TTR Championship for 2014.

Max Parrot, who’s uncanny ability to throw triples on command has buoyed his season, earned third for the day and though a fall ended his first attempt on the course prematurely, he put down his second run to solidify his podium position. As double and triple corks cement themselves as ubiquitous in the snowboarding lexicon, it makes sense that elements of slopestyle runs would be similar from time to time between competitors. And of course there are plenty of riders that distinguish themselves and assert their style through trick and grab selection—there is no denying that. But today in Vail, a unique scenario emerged when Max Parrot’s run was nearly identical to that of Mark McMorris, who had dropped earlier in the start order. When posited about the run, Max humbly stated that “it was a coincidence. When I saw [Mark’s] first run doing the backflip on the second feature, I had thought I was the only one who was going to do it.” The high level and pressure of competition is no doubt responsible for some of the trick overlap that is present during contests, but the similarities between the runs were striking when considering the possible outcomes in a given contest based on the current state of men’s slopestyle snowboarding.

Unique to the Burton US Open, the start list is reorganized for the final runs in point order with the top rider dropping last. It is in this format that Mark McMorris achieved a victory lap exactly one year after the last time he sent it down a slope course devoid of scoring pressures. Unleashing two methods on the final jumps, Mark careened to the lower corral the winner of back-to-back titles at the US Open and the sole champion of men’s slopestyle since the contest moved to Colorado. Like numerous other contests that Mark has dropped into, his ability to stomp technical runs with a heavy dose of style have contributed to the overall high-level of snowboarding.

Mark was modest about his victory post-contest, but stoked to wrap up the competition season on a high note before taking off to Hawaii for some R & R. “I’ve always been one to have success in bad weather,” said Mark. “I was going to do that run if it was the best weather in the world and to do it in really tough conditions meant a little bit more to me. I ‘m just really happy about the way it went.”

RESULTS

Women’s Slopestyle
1^st – Jamie Anderson
2^nd – Spencer O’Brien
3^rd – Isabel Derungs

Men’s Slopestyle
1^st – Mark McMorris
2^nd – Stale Sandbech
3^rd – Max Parrot

Stay tuned for the slopestyle finals video and for more from the Burton US Open tomorrow when halfpipe finals commence.

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