Road Trip Across the Country

I had the opportunity to drive across the country from Pennsylvania to Oregon in a large Dodge Durango.  Of coarse I had to raid my parents house and completely fill the truck with stuff.  Jeff and I hit the road on Monday March 23 at about 5 p.m. with a mission to get to Colorado State University by Wednesday morning, less than two days later.  The Campus Rail Jam tour had a stop there and I really wanted to participate in the event.  The drive out there was long and tiring.  We really couldn't stop to sleep for two reasons.   First, there wasn't enough time.  Second there was no room in the truck to lay down.  We had a chance to catch a few hours in and there, but overall it was a straight long drive to Ft. Collins.  I showed up about two hours past registration, but the guys putting on the event were cool enough to let me compete.  The girl vibe there was great.  I had a chance to meet Amanda Poindexter and Charlotte Trundle, both really great girls.  The comp was a success, I took first place and walked away with $100.  The next stop was going to be Salt Lake City.  We headed north and went west on I 80 until about two hours later we hit a block in the road because of weather.  Jeff was a strong person for being able to drive through the storm, but it was crazy, gnarly.  We had to turn around and figure out a plan for the day.  We decided to head back south and try to make it to Breckenridge for the night so we could visit a good friend Aaron Thompson and have a warm place to sleep.  Thankfully, we made it there safely and had a wonderful night of comfortable sleep.  The next day Aaron showed us around and took us on some sweet runs.  On our way out we had to stop at smoke shack tucked away.  I'm sorry locals, but it is too cool not to mention.  The shack was so well built and not appropriate for people with a fear of heights.  

The next day we started back on the road with Salt Lake as our destination.  We got there and spent our time with Steve Pierce and Sam Driver.  Many pow turns were created at Brighton and in the back country.  I had a great time.  I also had a chance to catch up with my friend Abby Johnson. 

Once we left Utah we started to head towards Spokane, Washington but stopped in a small town called  Mcall in Idaho.  Jeff and I spent a night in a nice resort and had a wonderful opportunity to relax and catch up on some chill time after being on the road for so long.  We enjoyed a good home cooked dinner and a few cocktails, but we had to get to bed early to get on the road early the next morning.  The drive to Spokane was long because of snowy road conditions, but thankfully I made it to Spokane in time again to compete at the next stop of the Campus Rail Jam tour.  This stop was at Gonzaga State University.  I'm so glad I got to compete at this event.  Mt. Hood local Becky was there and I had a chance to meet a girl named Kendra that is from Canada.   The competition was a lot of fun and I walked away with first place again and some cash to put gas in the truck.  We took off after the competition and drove till we made it home to catch an amazing night of sleep, in our own beds.  

Mamafest 2009 at Summit at Snoqualmie

On March 14th, a non-profit competition was held for the cure for cancer called Mamafest at Summit at Snoqualmie. There was about a foot of fresh powder and it was completely silly to be doing a competition since the rails were caked in snow and the jumps were super fluffy, but regardless the comp was on.  There was a great group of girls that came out for the event and local rider Raelynd Tarnove took first place followed by myself.  She had a sweet 540 and sweet style on the rails.  Overall the event was a great time. Since this benefit has a great cause, there was a great group of spectators and sponsors.   I hope that Mamafest will be held again next season.  

PB&J at Snoqualmie

The PB&J was a super fun event.  The set up was awesome.  There was a box line set up as a flat down with a gap to the down.  There was a corrugated pipe that was set up as a down feature.  The last feature was a pole jam into a down box.  The girl turn out was really good.  I have to say after doing comps in the northwest for a few years, there is more and more of a girl turn out every year.  I think that is awesome.  I had first place going into the finals, but I ended up with 5th in the long run.  There was a group of chics from Canada rolling through. The level of riding for girls snowboarding is stepping up every year.  

Mission Ridge

Mission ridge demo days was a great time as usual.  Even though there is some work involved, it is always sweet to be there and see lots of familiar faces.  The ride booth was crowded as usual.  There was a chinese down hill that was really interesting.  There was a mogal field that was a bling spot at the start of the run.  I guess the guys run was a total white out and dudes were falling all over the place.  I wish I was there to see that.  The girls run was a little more mellow, and Raelyn gave me a run for my money.  She was on my tail the whole time.  Thanks to Kyle's mom for being so hospitable.  Staying at her house is always a treat.  

The Legendary Banked Slalom at Baker

I was really fortunate this year to by having an opportunity to compete in the legendary banked slalom at Mt. Baker.  I've always heard really great thing about the competition, but never competed.  It is pretty hard to get in for locals and almost impossible for non-locals without an invite.  Thank you to EVO gear for inviting me to take one of their two spots.  The weather the first day was typical northwest weather.  The skies were grey and the snow was blowing.  I'd never competed in a banked slalom, so the only thing running through my head was, "GO FAST!"  The first couple of turns were really tight, so when I gunned it out of the starter booth, I pulled off a beautiful cartwheel.  I am pretty sure that cartwheels aren't part of banked slaloms.  The US Forest Service put a slight damper on my day as well.  Oh well, maybe the next day would be better.  Saturday was a much nicer day.  The sun was bling'n and the course was icy.  My goal for the day was to stay on my feet and avoid aerobatics  Unfortunately my time was slightly too slow.  I have to say I am not too bummed.  My time still topped some pro's and the women that made it to the finals have been doing the slalom for years.  One of the ups to the banked slalom was the awesome food.  At the top of the course there was a roasted red pepper cream cheese dip with crackers, fresh fruit and chocolate fondue, and sourdough with cheese fondue.  There was also a salmon feed on Saturday, which I think caused the food poisoning that haunted me all Saturday into Sunday.  I have to say that food poisoning is the most horrible thing ever and I would never wish that upon anyone else.  The banked slalom was an amazing time even with the lows.  I saw a lot of familiar faces from EVO gear, POW gloves, and Spacecraft.  Hopefully I'll have a crack at the course again next year, minus the food poisoning.  

Tokidoki Party

On Dec. 5th, Evo and Ride Snowboards held a party to celebrate the Tokidoki series that was created for Ride.  I've never heard of Tokidoki until I received a Tokidoki board from Ride, but there are lots of other people who know who Tokidoki is.  There was a line out of the gallery into the shop to get a signature from the artist.  The artist is Italian, but has made his success on animated Japanese style art.  There was an awesome crew of people up there.  Some of the attendants were Pat, the Sweeny twins, Dan, Kyle, Austin and Austin, Chris, Molly, Justin and the rest of the Evo crew.  There was free beer and  and lots of happy faces.  Many good times.