Its easy to say we are blessed living in Colorado, and its even easier to take for granted the amazing riding we have with-in a short drive. I mean, if there is good snow we have sick peaks, and good sledding, and every other day of the week we have amazing parks, my favorites being Breckenridge, and Keystone obviously.
With that said I'd like to present a two days riding and filming with Doug Cushnie, during my time back in CO between Dew Tours. Lets just say I'm lucky enough to film with Doug, because he can make any simple maneuver look oh so cool.
As every good thing has to come to an end so does the 2011/2012 winter Dew Tour.
As the sun rose, and sleds roared we all hit the slopes and prepared for an early morning of sliding rails, flying through the air, and non-stop excitement! Finals kicked off with a wild and bit sketchy practice and as it ended we all questioned how things were going to turn out. To no surprise things turned out different than anyone guessed. Two Dew Tour first time podiumer's set the scene for some pretty happy campers. A huge congrats to Dash Kamp and Spencer Link for getting 2nd and 3rd respectively. So pumped to see homies stomping runs and getting the credit they deserve. Obviously congrats to Seb as well for the win and Dew Cup, he definitely put down the best run possible with the conditions.
http://www.allisports.com/winter-dew-tour/event/toyota-championships-2012/news/sebastien-toutant-wins-mens-snowboard-slope-finals-and-the-dew-cup Some difficult conditions made the course a bit interesting. but thats how it goes with any contest, things will never be perfect so you have to work with what you have and hope you have the skills to stomp a run. with that said at least we all made it to the finals and were able to spend another day shredding the awesome Snowbasin course, especially with such a great audience. I know for me it was still a successful day, obviously a podium would have been amazing, but Im not complaining about a Top 10 finish at the Dew Tour by any means!
Thank you everyone who made this possible for me, as well as made the Dew Tour and course such an awesome experience. I feel honored to be able to say I've competed and made it to the finals at such a prestigious event. And with that I say keep the dream alive, and never loose the fun in things!!!
My goal for this last stop of the 2012 Dew Tour, was to make finals... I guess I can say goal accomplished.
With the field getting cut down by the minute with injuries we all prepared outselves for the 2 runs which would decide our weekend. Aside from couple inches of sluff on the take offs and a bit of ruts, you couldnt have asked for a better course. The Guys at Snowbasin definitely put in the work to make it unique and fun. Unfortuantely some interesting weather and conditions made things a little un-predictable and took some riders out.
Now with that said my hat goes off to some amazing riding by my homies Mark Hoyt and Sage Kotsenburg and all the other riders. Mark throwing down a perfect front dub 10 to seal in the first place run, and Sage with sick style top to bottom definitely showed the crowd what could be done on a slopestyle course. As second runs came to an end Mark and Sage still held first and second, while I rounded out the top 3 with Dash Kamp tight on my heels.
To many of the riders including myself the Dew Tour is one of the best contests of the year. The vibe is awesome, the courses are rad, and it really just feels like another fun day hanging with your friends. For those reasons as well as many others making it too the finals is a huge honor. I look forward to some insane tricks and tough competition come sunday morning. Please stay tuned for a video ride through as well as more recaps as the weekend continues.
Adding another resort to my list, we headed up to Baqueira-Beret with our park builder in hand ASP. And Alba, David, and myself hit the slopes ready to make something happen. We knew if there was a chance, it would be here. We asked some patrols and found a spot with a bit of potential... A stumpy tree, with a good run in, plenty of landing and photo possibilities. We shaped a take off, slipped the in run, and decided to let the landing get some sun and see if we could find another spot in the mean time. We found a cool little hip spot, got the speed dialed and sent it a few times.
With Alba's great eye, we got some shots, but not quite exactly what we came for. With a new addition to the crew, we headed back to our initial spot. Flashes out and camera ready I gave it a go, not quite sticking it but at least making it over. One more attempt with a solid landing and David came to the plate. Not quite ready for the pop, David got bucked and barley made it over, luckily catching the transition with his back. We each have it one more try and called it a day. Parting ways with the crew Alba and I headed headed to Alba's home town. The next day was my day to be a tourist, Barcelona.
As quickly as it began it has come to end. Day 1 of Canadian Open SlopeStyle is a wrap with nothing but a great showing from some amazing riders.
For an UNEDITED self cam of the SlopeStyle run check here
With about all my contests these days, as practice ended I was feeling pretty comfortable and ready to put down my run. I had watched many of the riders during practice and new what to expect. I had spent the time and preparation fine tuning my run and getting it dialed for qualifiers.
My first run started out strong; nailing the rails and rolling into the first jump caring a bit more speed than realized. I popped off the lip and immediatly knew my take off was wrong and i was going too fast. The front 720 came around fine but I hadn't been expecting going this deep and just couldn't hold onto the landing. I instantly knew the run was over and the score was going to be low, but I figured I might as well still get some points on the board. I methoded the 2nd jump and approached the 3rd jump, definitely off my game I sent it and once again couldn't hold onto this one. Throwing run 1 away I chilled and waited for runs 2 to start. Somewhere deep in my head there is still the pressure of trying to move on in the contest. I took 4 deep breaths and dropped in, again top part landed and cruzing into the jumps first one landed and I knew this was the run. Ready to put down the landing gear on the backside 9, I spotted and put my feet down. Not making it as far as I would have liked I hit and tried to not put my hands down, unfortunately this wasn't the case. I gained my composure but with the bobble on the second jump there was no hope, I hit the knuckle and that was all she wrote. At the moment my time competing in the 2012 Canadian Open was over.
Congrats to those 25 of 64 who handled the icy landings and stomped a run, Also congrats to my homie Colin Spencer stomping his Prequalifier running seating him 1st into the qualifier as well as advancing into the Semi-finals on Friday. Good luck to everyone riding in the Semi's, Stomp that Shizz!!!
Canadian Open Practice
A pretty fun day, on a pretty fun course, with some pretty awesome riders has come to an end. As with all Burton Open courses, there was no lack of creativity. A three tear box, a side by side rail, and a redirect provided nothing but options for the riders to figure out.
With a whole day of practice, and a really quick chair lift ride, we were all able to get tons of laps which is un-common, yet really nice for a contest. The morning went awesome, stomping the run I want for qualifiers as well as working on some other runs I was pretty stoked! As we headed out for the afternoon practice, I decided to try and get a little more tech on the rails which didn't quite work in my favor...I took a pretty harsh hip banger on the double rail first run back. not cool!!! I got back on my feet, put a couple more runs down before calling it a day. With conditions getting sketchy; windy, icy, bumpy and sluff on the take offs. I decided to cut my loses, get some physio and call it a day.
To no surprise things turned out different than anyone guessed. Two Dew Tour first time podiumer's set the scene for some pretty happy campers. A huge congrats to Dash Kamp and Spencer Link for getting 2nd and 3rd respectively. So pumped to see homies stomping runs and getting the credit they deserve. Obviously congrats to Seb as well for the win and Dew Cup, he definitely put down the best run possible with the conditions.
With the field getting cut down by the minute with injuries we all prepared outselves for the 2 runs which would decide our weekend. Aside from couple inches of sluff on the take offs and a bit of ruts, you couldnt have asked for a better course. The Guys at Snowbasin definitely put in the work to make it unique and fun. Unfortuantely some interesting weather and conditions made things a little un-predictable and took some riders out. 
