Christy Prior taking flight during the slopestyle. Photo: Katherine Calnan

This was Billabong’s second event of the Flaunt It tour. The contest took place at Mount Norquay in Banff Alberta. Local riders were blessed with blue skies and mild weather throughout the entire day. The girls were killing it, taking advantage of the jam format to push their limits as the day progressed. Best trick winner, Kim Wiersma, threw down a back flip-180, and Marie-Andree Racine, the first place SS winner was landing some big front 7’s. Nixon was also on site offering hot chocolate with whipped cream and a chance to demo some of their new headphones. The afternoon rail jam was a blast and the girls were hitting a variety of features and showing of their best moves.

Ladies Slopestyle Podium, L-R, 2nd Sara Niblock, 1st Marie-Andree Racine, 3rd Christy Prior Katherine Calnan

Results

Slopestyle
1st Marie-Andree Racine
2nd Sara Niblock
3rd Christy Prior
4th Karen MCnab
5th Brooke Voigt

Rail Jam
1st Christy Prior
2nd Brooke Voigt
3rd Marie-Andree Racine

Dakine Best Trick
Kim Wiersma – Back flip 180

Stand Out Rider of the Day
Adriane Cairns

Shaun White learns a new trick.  The double mctwist 12.  What do you think of it?

Heavy rains and warm temperatures in Vancouver forced operators of Cypress Mountain, the host of the Olympic halfpipe event, to close the hill this week in an effort to safe guard the snow for the event. Cypress officials remain confident that there is plenty of snow for the event.

According to the Canadian Press:

Tim Gayda, the vice-president of sport for the Vancouver Olympic Games Organizing Committee, said both artificial and natural snow has been stockpiled.

“In terms of having enough snow, even if this weather stayed around, we do have it,” Gayda said in an interview. “Right now we are very confident in the pack we have, that we will be able to produce a great field of play.”

Kent Rideout, a spokesman for Cypress Mountain, said temperatures of 4 C and rain have resulted in some snow melting off the mountain located on Vancouver’s north shore.

“I don’t think it’s a panic situation but certainly both the mountain and VANOC are looking at this closely,” Rideout said. “Our plan is we are going to get through this storm, see what the impact is on the lower slopes of the mountain, and look at what we would need to do to get the mountain open and going.

“What I mean by that is snow management. Maybe moving snow from some runs over to other runs to keep things going.”Since November, VANOC has been using state-of-the-art equipment to turn 95.3 million litres of water into snow, which has been stockpiled at the Olympic venue and surrounding mountains.

Natural snow has also been pushed into massive piles and left for later use.

“In doing that, it insulates the snow from the weather systems like we are getting now,” said Gayda.

Areas of the mountain which will be used for Olympic competition have already been covered with over two metres of artificial snow.

“Right now we have all the snow that we need on the competition area,” said Gayda. “The nice thing about artificial snow is it’s more resilient and actually stands up better to this kind of weather.”

Soft snow conditions and warm temperatures were partly responsible for cancellation of a men’s and women’s World Cup parallel giant slalom snowboard event last winter. The competition was supposed to be an Olympic test event.

Poor visibility due to fog also hampered a World Cup aerials event in 2008.

Rideout said snowmaking will begin again when temperatures drop.

“The venues still look to be in very good shape right now,” he said. “They will return to making snow again as soon as the temperatures come back down.”

Given the current snow conditions, Rideout said the freestyle ski events could probably be held. The bigger issue would be visibility.

The weather could make or break the Games and the government is providing US$9 million in weather forecasting services during the Olympics, including an extensive network of weather stations and wind monitors.

Will Peetu Go For Second Consecutive Swatch TTR World Champion Title?
After claiming the Swatch TTR World Champion title last season, Peetu is aiming for his second consecutive title in 2009/10 and surely has the will to get there. “It is possible. Right now I have five results. I am pretty confident for the 6Stars that are coming. It would be really nice and I will for sure go for it and do my best and hope it is enough.”, says Piiroinen after the finals. He could become the first snowboarder ever to win two consecutive Swatch TTR titles. However, the season is still in full swing and there are still many 5 and 6Star events on the calendar before the Burton US Open where then Tour Champion will be crowned.

Slopestyle Finals Bring Along a New Swatch TTR Top 10
Although the sun did not find its way through the clouds today, the 5Star Slopestyle finals saw some of the Swatch TTR Top 10 ripping and going for a better ranking score. Among those, Seppe Smits (BEL) just missed the podium taking fourth place and now sits in World No. 5, Eric Willett (USA) moved up to World No. 4, and young Norwegian Stale Sandbech jumped into World No. 3 in the Swatch TTR Rankings.

More 6Star Action On The Tour
Another 6Star event, the Roxy Chicken Jam in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, also just came to an end with young Fin Enni Rukajärvi as winner and up ahead is the prestigious 6Star Burton European Open in Laax, Switzerland. If you want to know more and watch some action, TTR is invites you to visit ttrworldtour.com where you can find videos, rankings, news and profiles of all your favourite events and riders.

Top 16 of the Slopestyle Finals:

1 Grilc, Marko / SLO / 93.5
2 Paumola, Ville / FIN / 90
3 Piiroinen, Peetu / FIN / 89.67
4 Smits, Seppe / BEL / 89.5
5 Tiller, Sondre / NOR / 85.5
6 Willett, Eric / USA / 80.33
7 Elhardt, Elias / GER / 77.83
8 Sandbech, Stale / NOR / 76.33
9 Bergrem, Torgeir / NOR /76
10 Ryan, Sean / USA / 74
11 Schaer, Mathieu / SUI / 68.5
12 Backstrom, Kevin / SWE / 62.83
13 McMorris, Mark / CAN / 61.67
14 Braaten, Gjermund / NOR / 44.5
15 Lipsanen, Janne / FIN / 30
16 Holvik, Tore / NOR / 29.67

Adam’s Apples issue 2. Take a bite of snowboarding knowledge.

Welcome to the second instalment of Adam’s Apples where you will find a weekly selection of tasty snowboarding articles, blogs and forum topics from around the globe.

Source: NONSTOP Snowboard Blog

Back Lips with Bjorn Leines:

Rome Snowboards has a great approach to their brand ideals, riders and ways of interacting with snowboarders.  The idea of the SDS (Snowboard Design Syndicate) advocates that pro riders, shop riders and everyday snowboarders can collectively help to shape the culture of snowboarding.  Bjorn Leines, one of  Rome’s most established pros shares his knowledge with the syndicate, hence this trick tip.  Back Lips are a pretty technical trick that look super smooth.

Click on the link below to learn how it’s done by a rider at the top of their game.

http://www.romesnowboards.com/shredtv/view/42

Tim Pierce Showreel:

The action sports genre with regards to creative cinematography are brought to viewers by the athletes, but also the people behind the lens.  Kiwi cinematographer Tim Pierce runs NZ production company Zeros & Ones.  The 2009 southern hemisphere winter produced some epic footage.  Not only did Pierce capture some beautiful New Zealand backdrops, he also documented the first double-corks in halfpipe competition at the Burton NZ Open.  Shaun White, Louie Vito and Luke Mitrani stomp these progressive tricks. White wins with a back-to-back double cork (1 min 20 seconds into the showreel)

Click on the link below to enjoy snowboarding history being made.

http://www.nzsnowboard.com/articles/673/dec_19th_09__tim_pierce_showreel_2009

Zeros&Ones website: http://zerosandones.co.nz/

IS Eyewear Movie: PartySnake:

Snowboarding and partying often go together like peas and carrots.  After a fun shred session with your friends, there’s nothing more satisfying than enjoying a touch of apres drinking at the resort town bar.  This film by IS Eyewear relates to anyone who has uttered the following words: “I’m never drinking again” after one of these nights end up going big.

This teaser contains some pretty good snowboarding mixed with some debauchery:

Link to teaser by BroBlog European Snowboard Blog: http://broblog.snowbroader.eu/2009/12/30/legend-of-the-partysnake-full-movie-partysnake-again/

I Am Snowboarding Art Show:

Snowboarding sometimes produces some talented individuals.  One of these people was the insanely gifted snowboarder Jeff Anderson, a previous Burton Pro rider who tragically lost his life at a young age.  I Am Snowboarding is a collaborative art project to honour his life.  It serves as a reminder that life is precious.  Do what makes you and others happy.

Details of this event by Frequency, the snowboarders journal.

http://www.frqncy.com/news/2009/12/28/i-am-snowboarding-art-show-to-hit-portland

And… HAPPY NEW YEAR!  2010 is going to be epic!

Newly re-emerged on the competition scene, Marko Grilc a.k.a “Grilo”, is no one hit wonder, but a familiar face in the snowboard world since a decade. Introduced to the wonders of snowboarding by his brother at the age of 7, he quickly picked up the skills. He soon began competing, claiming early success winning himself four Youth World Championships. Shortly afterwards he was snatched up by one of the leading snowboarding brands, Burton, who have in the past 10 years nursed him on his way to success and given him the opportunity to design his own board for four years, as well as work on clothing designs.

The friendly and outgoing Grilc has successfully been focusing on filming for many years now and has kept away from the competitive snowboarding scene. His impeccable style and floaty airs in the backcountry and parks all around the world have been captured in some standout video parts for Pirate Productions, Standard Films, Blank Paper Productions and Burton.

In season 2008/2009, upon his return to competitions, Marko claimed a World No. 32 placement on the Swatch TTR Tour and rode for the Slovene team finishing 2nd in the overall ranking in FIS Big Air. He began his 2009/2010 season in the Southern Hemisphere, bagging some good TTR results such as the 3rd place at the 3Star Boost Mobile Sho Sho, which lead for him to jump up into TTR World No. 4 after the first Northern Hemisphere event, the 4Star Horsefeathers Pleasure Jam.

At the first 6Star event of season 2009/10, the Billabong Air & Style/II, Marko landed a switch backside double corked 1080 in the super finals, which in the delight of 11.500 viewers, earned him the coveted Ring of Glory. This bumped him up to the Swatch TTR Tour lead, for the first time in his career, and gave him an invite to the 6Star Oakley Arctic Challenge and the 6Star O’Neill Evolution. “This is the best day of my life by far. I never even thought that this could happen. I am just very stoked” said the overwhelmed Grilc after the prize giving. “I went to Australia and New Zealand and then today I am number one. I don’t even know what to say. It came out of fun and pleasure and now I am here and I am stoked.”

Stemming from Ljublijana in Slovenia Marko is somewhat of a national hero, and upon winning the Air & Style his phone filled with congratulation messages. The season 09/10 is looking bright for this experienced rider, and we are happy to see him back on the TTR Tour with a motivation to take over the top spot.

INTERVIEW WITH MARKO AFTER HIS WIN AT 6STAR BILLABONG AIR & STYLE (December 2009)

1. How did you get into snowboarding?
I have been shredding since 18 years now. I got into snowboarding through skating and my brother got me into that.

2. Explain the addictiveness of snowboarding? Why do you choose to snowboard?
I love to do sports and be in the mountains, it gives me the freedom I need in my life and the people and lifestyle are a perfect match to my personality. For me, I get a lot of happiness out of the day while doing this.

3. How would you describe the difference of feeling, between riding powder, winning competitions, getting a cover shot or feature article or profile and stomping a new trick? What stands out for you?
For me there is a good side to everything. I think riding pow or learning a new trick is the essence of why I snowboard. The happiness I got in the beginning is still the same. When you get a nice picture or win a contest it is more of a reward for your hard work. Feels more like the work side of snowboarding, which is also good.

4. Which way do you surf and/or skate? How have these other board sports influenced your snowboarding?
I do everything regular, I think surfing gives me the right vacation time activity. It is really fun and makes you strong, and the way I do it you don’t really get hurt just like that. I mean, I ride mellow waves, heh. Not that I am good.

5. How has snowboarding changed since you first started?
Well, in all those years it went from just crazy times to serious. From a sport full of people who are just having fun snowboarding to a main stream sport followed by a huge industry. I think the spirit is still here, it changed a bit but it will never go away.

6. Progression in snowboarding is taking off. Why do you think it has risen so much and so fast? Should it just continue into massive spins and flips? Do you think pros are sacrificing style, spinning big to win?
I just think that is the evolution of the sport. That moment had to come. Snowboarding reached the limit in some parts, such as size of jumps. So the next step is the tricks we do. So double flips are here but it will progress in other ways also.  I think if there is no style doing your tricks you shouldn’t even do it.

7. What does the TTR World Tour mean to snowboarding? Where do you think it’s going? What does it mean to the sport and to snowboarders?
I think it is super important to have an organization such as the TTR, it keeps snowboarding true to what it is and doesn’t let it get ruined by the ski influenced competitions. I think in the next couple of years snowboarding will go into competitions a lot. Most of the pros are going to have to do contests full time because of the exposure they can get.

8. Who do you love to shred with? Who do you love to compete with?
I love to shred with my yugo friends from back home and with all the Burton homies. I know them all very well, so I know when they do some new trick or when they stomp a cool trick. I know when they are stocked so I can be happy with them.

9. What is the first contest you won? How long have you been riding in contests?
I rode a lot of contest when I was little, it meant a lot to me back than to compete. But then I kind of lost it because I started seeing new challenges in the backcountry. But now I am back to competing. So I guess I am just so old that my thinking has changed a couple of times. Heheh!

10. What specific techniques do you use when riding in a competition? Do you wax your board a certain way? Do you spin a certain way? Do you map out your runs before hand?
I try to have fun cause then I ride the best. I try to do my tricks as the jump feels. I try not to let other people influence my feelings.

11. How does filming fit into your competitive schedule? Is it difficult to film and compete in the same season? Which do you prefer and why? Any goals with filming or magazine coverage?
I try to do something every day, so when I have time I go filming. I think it is good for your mind to change it up a bit. I like to do both and I hope I get to film a part this season also.

12. Who is currently the most stylish rider in your eyes? Who is killing it right now?
I think Mikkel Bang, Gigi Rüf, Scotty Lago and Danny Davis… are on top of their game when it comes to making riding look good.

13. As current TTR Tour leader, you are in a good position for the rest of the season. How would you feel and what would you do if you won the tour? What does it mean to you?
I think I have to ride really good to be in that spot at the end of the season, it is not just one contest. You need to be riding really good through out the whole year so I will just try to have fun and do my best. If I win I would be very surprised and stocked at the same time…

Patrick Burgener, BEO 2009 © Laemmerhirt

Top Riders Confirmed

The crème de la crème of the snowboarding scene will use this opportunity to ride the LAAX halfpipe in preparation for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The slopestyle course looks promising with interesting features that will be ripped up by the riders. Reigning 08/09 Swatch TTR World Champion Peetu Piiroinen (FIN) and 08/09 BGOS men’s champion Chas Guldemond (USA) have both confirmed that they will compete. They will be joined by first ever Olympic Halfpipe Gold Medalist, Gian Simmen (SUI) and Mathieu Crepel (FRA), 2006 TTR World Champion. On the women’s side Cheryl Maas (NED), the 2006 Women’s TTR World Champion, will make an appearance. A squad of upcoming riders will use the chance to show off their skills against the champions, among them the 2008 BEO Junior Champion and freestyle.berlin 2009 winner Sebastien Toutant (CAN), 2009 freestyle.berlin Crossover Champ, Elias Elhardt (GER), 2009 halfpipe and slopestyle Junior’s champion Patrick Burgener (SUI) and the current women’s TTR points leader Sarka Pancochova (CZE).

Hundreds of riders representing 21 countries and 4 continents registered to compete in the halfpipe and slopestyle events. The youngest rider registered is Chloe Kim from the US (9 years old), who placed 5th in the Junior HP last year, and the oldest competitor on the starting list is Japanese rider Chiyo Ishida (37 years), who competed in the BEO in 2008 and 2009.

Top Music Acts

Burton is proud to announce that Swedish rock back The Sounds will be performing at the 2010 BEO. The Sounds have earned an ardent global fan base with their frenzied live performances. Formed in 1999, The Sounds released their last album “Crossing the Rubicon” in 2009 and will rock the Riders Palace on Saturday, January 16, 2010. For the Riders Welcome on Wednesday, January 13, BEO visitors can get ready for BudZillus out of Berlin, who will perform their oriental Swing Polka, a unique mix of Swing, Jazz, Punk, Polka and oriental sounds. A circus themed party is scheduled for Friday night, Jan 15, accompanied by the beats of DJ Il Clauns, a local Rhaeto-Romanic DJ group.

Event Schedule

Saturday, Jan. 9, 2010: Slopestyle Juniors, Juniors DJ Party
Sunday, Jan. 10, 2010: Halfpipe Juniors, Slopestyle Pre-Qualification Men
Monday, Jan. 11, 2010: Halfpipe Pre-Qualification Men
Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010: Slopestyle Qualification Women/Men
Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2010: Halfpipe Quali Women, Slopestyle Semi-finals Men,
Live in concert: BudZillus (INDY Bar)
Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010: Halfpipe Qualification & Semi-finals Men
Friday, Jan. 15, 2010: Slopestyle Semi-Finals Women, Finals Women/Men,
Crazy Circus Party & DJ Il Clauns (Riders Palace Club)
Saturday, Jan. 16, 2010: Halfpipe Semi-finals Women, Finals Women/Men;

Live in concert: The Sounds (Riders Palace Club)

Contest Location: Laax, Crap Sogn Gion mountain (2220 m)
Side Event Location: Riders Palace Club, rocksresort

For more information visit www.opensnowboarding.com

If you can’t make it to Laax, watch the finals live on www.GO211.com

“It’s an honor to be part of such a talented and progressive team, a team that is setting the standard in snowboarding today,” says Wiig. “I already know most of the guys on the team and I’m looking forward to riding with them. It’s going to be good times.”

“There is no better fit for Forum than Andreas. Forum is a cutting-edge freestyle brand and that is exactly who Andreas is, always taking it to a new level,” states Director of Team Marketing, Bryan Knox. “We are all extremely happy to be working with a rider of this caliber.”

Thinking back to when his snowboarding career began and how he got to where he is today, Andreas is looking forward to focusing more on filming and shooting photos. Although he’ll continue to participate in select contests globally, the emphasis of Wiig’s upcoming season seems to be reconnecting with his roots.