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I crossed over to the dark side today. I swapped my baggy pants for tight pants, my helmet for a head turban, my skis for a snowboard and my co-ordination for clumsiness. Charis and I both gave snowboarding a go while our friends; Possum, Jake and Chris, traded in their snowboards for skis.
I tried to look as snowboardery as I could with tight pants and some hesher flair. Jake let me dress him in the worst possible ski get up I could find in my closet- super baggy pants, a hat that was way too tall, an obnoxiously coloured jacket, some bad ass bandanas and of course some skull-candy headphones (I don't think he was listening to music).
Possum rocked out the Tall-T.
We ripped all over Peak 8, but my favourite spot was the mini-park. I slid my first boxes on a snowboard and got like 3 feet of air of the baby jumps! Perfect for learning.
First timer Charis, tackling the up-down box.
Jake looking super steezy in his Tall-T.
 Location: Breckenridge Ski Resort, Peak 8
Registration: Noon, competition: 2:30-4pm; $35 in advance, $50 day of Registration
Information: www.springmassive.com
Skiers and snowboarders are invited to rally on the rails for a good cause at Breck this Friday, April 9th. Matt Wyffels is a snowboarder who suffered a spinal cord injury and learned to walk and even snowboard again, despite his doctors’ prognosis that he never would. This event has helped Matt “get back on his feet again” quite literally and now he would like to pass on the support that has been given to him over the years.
Matt and Breckenridge Ski Resort will donate 100% of the registration fees from this event to Kevin Pearce, the 2008 TTR World Champion and, multiple Winter X Games Medalist who suffered a traumatic brain injury in December of 2009 while training for the an Olympic Qualifier event. Kevin is currently participating in rehabilitation at Craig Hospital in Denver, Colorado.
There will be prize money on the line for each rail, as well as giveaways and music.
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Matt Wyffels Benefit Party, with proceeds being donated to Kevin Pearce, Saturday, April 10, 2010
Location: Cecilia’s Night Club, Breckenridge, 9pm
Cost: $5 at the Door.
All $ from the door and drink specials will be donated to a recovery fund for Kevin Pearce.
The benefit party will be held on the following evening, April 10, at
Cecilia’s nightclub in Breckenridge. Hosted by Olympic Bronze Medalist JJ
Thomas and other members of the Breckenridge Freeride Team. Featuring live
DJ’s, Budweiser drink specials and giveaways, 100% of money raised at this
event be donated to Kevin Pearce to aid in his recovery.
www.springmassive.com www.kevinpearce.com
On December 20, 2009, Duncan Adams’ phone rang. Josh Berman of Level 1 Productions had some news to share.
“It’s not 100 percent sure, but it’s 99 percent,” Berman told Adams. “You got your first Powder cover.”
Adams, a Breckenridge team rider, had just turned 17. The photo that graced the cover, shot by Vail-based photographer Jeff Cricco, showed Adams in perfect form on top of a steep powder spine in Haines, Alaska.
For Adams, known by most as a promising pipe skier who took third at the 2008 Dew Tour stop in Breckenridge, the Alaska photo was not only the biggest thing to happen in his career, but also proof that he was a more complete skier than anyone realized.
What got lost in Adams’ glowing moment, however, was the event that immediately preceded its capture. At just 16 years old, he’d flown to Haines to ski some gnarly lines for one of the industry’s leading film companies. He’d climbed out of the helicopter for their first run, perched on top of a massive cornice. One guide scrambled to unload their skis from the basket, while another held the door. A second athlete got out, then a third.
Suddenly, a huge chunk of cornice calved off the mountain and began rumbling down the steep mountainside. Adams and Stefan Thomas, another pro skier, went with it. They fell an estimated 400 vertical feet before coming to rest 100 feet above a giant crevasse.
The following morning, still shaken from his near-miss, Adams dropped in to a spiny line called Dick’s Picks. It was the first run he’d ever skied in Alaska. It became the February 2010 Powder cover.
Adams was named the No. 3 skier in the world under the age of 18 in the accompanying story. Berman, an esteemed talent evaluator, was quoted as saying, “I don’t know of anyone outside of Tanner Hall that was on the podium in a major pipe or slope comp and rounded out their season shredding big lines in AK. Duncan is well on his way to a long, successful, and comprehensive professional ski career.”
Adams has come far, fast. He grew up in Stowe shredding with his friends, not skiing in any sort of structured program. “We pretty much just skied park and all the trees and stuff,” Adams recalled from Crested Butte, after a day of backcountry filming with Level 1.
The son of a former World Cup racer (his mom is Tiania Tutt, who raced on the U.S. Ski Team in the late ’70s), Adams caught the eye of Berman, Spy’s team manager, when he was 12. His parents soon moved him and his sister Colby to Breckenridge so they could train full time.
Ironically, Adams said the Powder cover didn’t change much right away. “My sponsors are the same — they have been pretty much the same since I was 14.”
They are: Dynastar, Spyder, Spy, Level Gloves, and Breckenridge.
Adams is already earning a salary in addition to the gear, travel budgets and incentives — a rare distinction for a skier so young. His largest salary is $10,000. The largest incentive he received for the Powder cover was $1,000. “It was a logo-displayed cover,” he said, adding: “But you have to think about the expense that goes into that cover. I spent $7,000 on the trip.”
Still, Adams is happy with where he is in the industry. “It’s starting to work out,” he said. “I can pretty much travel to wherever now, for whatever opportunities that turn up.”
This year, that means going to Mt. Baker; British Columbia; Aspen for the X Games; Vermont for the Dew Tour; Laax, Switzerland; Tignes, France, for the Euro X Games; Aspen last week for a Spyder shoot; Crested Butte; and he’ll finish with a filming trip to Valdez, Alaska, then some park shoots in Mammoth.
Adams still signs his share of Powder covers (the issue is on newsstands through the summer) for sponsors and shops, and when he’s at the family’s home below Hoosier Pass, he’s not above shoveling the deck or washing dishes.
But things have changed nonetheless. No longer is he just following the sport’s park and pipe pioneers; he’s also absorbing everything he can to become a better big mountain skier. He admires in particular snowboarder Gigi Rüf, who rips perilous spines like they’re park features; the king of versatility, Candide Thovex; and the incomparable Sage Cattabriga-Alosa.
But as hungry as he is, Adams is not intimidated.
“Being the youngest,” he said, “is something I’ve gotten used to at this point.”
Article provided compliments of buzz.snow.com  Join us in Breckenridge for the annual Spring Massive Competition Weekend that continues to grow in Massive proportions from year to year! Don’t miss out on a weekend full of exciting competitions, music, parties, prizes and more!
Check out www.springmassive.com for all of the latest details, and to register.
MASSIVE SUPERPIPE OPEN: Freeway Terrain Park - APRIL 9, 2010
MATT WYFFELS MASSIVE RAIL JAM OPEN: Freeway Terrain Park - APRIL 9, 2010
MASSIVE STYLE & AIR OPEN: Freeway Terrain Park - APRIL 10, 2010
MASSIVE SLOPESTYLE IN PARK LANE - APRIL 11, 2010
Register online before midnight on April 8, 2010 and save $15 off each competition! Join us for the whole weekend - receive a special discounted rate with you register for three or more of the competitions. www.springmassive.com
***HELMETS REQUIRED-NO EXCEPTIONS*** At the European X Games in Tignes, France last week, Breckenridge athletes were dominant. Eric Willett took first in snowboard slopestyle, while Keri Herman took second in women’s ski slopestyle, and Bobby Brown skied to silver in ski slopestyle.
Eric Willett’s run was impressive; Cab 9, Backside 7, Frontside 10 Double Cork, Backside Rodeo 5 to Switchback 9, and a double backside Rodeo.The 22-year-old Breckenridge, O’Matic, O’Neil, and MeGlad rider won gold with 91 points ahead of American Sage Kotsenburg and Slovenian Marko Grilc.
The ladies ski competition pool was strong, but Keri Herman won her second straight X Games silver medal. The only female to utilize the flat-down rail at the top of the course, she held strong grabs on her left and right 360s and 540s --something the judges are careful to spot.
Anna Segal, another Breckenridge rider and the 2009 X Games gold medalist, was the only lady to go inverted with her lincoln loop on the first jump.
On the men’s ski side, Breck team rider Bobby Brown grabbed silver, with Tom Wallisch edging him out for gold and our friend Jossi Wells rounding out the podium. Bobby’s run was impressive, and he stomped everything to his feet. The last few days up here have been soooooo nice, very ideal for filming and learning new tricks! I met up with a few of the younger bucks; Brett Esser, Jake Black, Brock Waring, Dylan, and John Blank. Let me tell you, if you want to feel like your snowboarding ability is stuck in 1995 just go ride with this group of guys.
We were lapping freeway and I was stuck watching their snowboard moves in awe and clicking off a few photos.
| Brett showing off his moves, show off |
Jake dropping his shoulder in a back 7 |
Jake locked on the down bar, front board |
Grant G.S. Savidge shares his thoughts with us. We like that. Breckenridge team rider Duncan Adams is coming into the 2009/2010 season with plenty of momentum from last winter. He placed fourth overall in the first Winter Dew Tour, was the youngest competitor in the Winter X Games, and had a full season of filming with Level 1 Productions. Whether Duncan is bringing creative elegance to the pipe scene, or ripping sexy spines in Alaska he quietly proves himself to be one of today’s most promising young skiers. When he’s not skiing, Duncan is most likely deep in the Rockies with his dogs, or perfecting the ultimate breakfast burrito in the high-altitude dome which he calls home. Recently, I sat down with Duncan in the geodesic dwelling and got the exclusive info. His thoughts and feelings coming into another exciting season, and specifically kicking things off with the Breckenridge Dew Tour stop, just weeks away.
Has it been a long summer? What have you been up to?
This past summer started to feel a little long towards the end, but it was good. I spent time mountain biking, fishing, rafting, bouncing on trampolines, playing soccer, reading, writing, staying strong—basically everything I do when I’m not skiing. I skied in Hood for a little over a week, which was super fun, but for me it’s definitely important to have some time off snow. It’s relaxing to just chill in the sun after a winter of chaos, and it makes you that much more stoked going into the start of the next season.
In anticipation for this season and the upcoming Dew Tour, how challenging is it to carry momentum after a long summer break from comps?
It’s tough. I’ve skied pipe for three days now, and I’m still super rusty—falling on basic tricks and just feeling out of my element. Freeskiing out of the park feels good, but riding transition and trying tricks is still pretty foreign.
How many days have you gotten in so far?
Not as many as I would have liked. I’ve had some back trouble this year so I’ve been taking it easy and focusing on getting as healthy as possible going into the season.
Do you have a specific training schedule in anticipation for Dew Tour?
Not a specific one. I resent training schedules and I don’t believe in plotting out every move. I can’t live like that. I’m really just trying to get the feeling of being on my skis again and keeping my body feeling good by doing Yoga and strengthening exercises. The feeling of riding pipe is coming back slowly. I’ll just keep riding and it’ll be all good.
What is the best part of Dew Tour kicking off at your home mountain of Breck? Does this make it more important or special?
Having the first Dew Tour stop at Breck is sick in so many ways. In addition to having such a good venue to compete on, it’s nice to be at home, not having to travel right away to compete. It’s definitely more special than other comps simply because it’s at home.
How do you feel about kicking off the season on Breck’s park and pipe? Is it an advantage or a disadvantage?
Being able to shred at Breck early season is an advantage for sure. The jumps are big and smooth, and the pipe is flawless. It’s great to ski on Breck features at the beginning of the year; it makes for a super friendly environment to get comfortable in.
What do you think we can expect out of mens’ skiing?
Skiing is going to be wild this year, in pipe and slope. Already there are tons of people throwing double flips in the pipe, and after watching the videos from the city big airs, slopestyle is going to be even crazier. So expect a lot of doubles to go down, and some other unique runs that incorporate new and innovative tricks.
How does competing with snowboarders differ from skier-only comps?
Having an event where skiers and snowboarders share the same venue is a refreshing way to compete, and it gets me stoked to watch everyone’s runs, regardless of discipline. Snowboarding is a big influence for me, so it’s sick to be at a comp and watch what the snowboarders do on the courses in comparison to skiers.
Whose runs are you most excited to see?
There are a bunch of guys that I’m stoked to see compete, both in ski and snowboard. For pipe, I’m looking forward to watching guys like Justin Dorey, AJ Kemppainen, Mike Riddle, Scotty Lago, and Danny Davis. Zack Black is another rider that’s bringing unique technicality to the pipe scene, so I’m stoked to see his runs this year. In slope, the level of riding is crazy—Phil Casabon, Henrik Harlaut, Corey Vanular, and many more are all bringing style along with the technical tricks.
What will you most likely eat for breakfast on the morning of the Dew Tour?
Probably a breakfast burrito with sautéed veggies, avacado, salsa. I’ll also eat a pomegranate somewhere around that time. Food is a big priority.
How has this event affected the sport? Has it opened doors, maybe helping halfpipe skiing get into the Olympics?
This event has been great for the sport. It adds more exposure and pushes the level of riding faster than ever. If you look at the current state of pipe skiing, it’s getting ridiculous, and the next few years are going to see a lot of progression. The Dew Tour has at least shown that halfpipe skiing is undoubtedly at the Olympic level, and it’s proven that there is no reason it shouldn’t be an Olympic sport.
You recently went to northern Washington to ski pow. How does freeskiing and shredding pow help you physically and mentally prepare for halfpipe competition?
Skiing pow before contests calms me down and gives me good perspective going in to the event. As fun as park and halfpipe are, there is nothing better than turning in good snow and skiing some fun, natural terrain. I know that regardless of the contest result, there will be more pow to ski, and what else really matters? Physically, it helps as well. Skiing soft snow is way better for the body than jumps or pipe walls.
Breckenridge Team Rider Bobby Brown, who lives and trains at Breckenridge, became the first skier to win two gold medals at a single Winter X Games, taking home the gold in Men’s Ski Big Air and Slopestyle. “I’m so pumped, it was one of the best weeks in my life,” said Bobby Brown. “I couldn’t have asked for anything more.” Follow Bobby on Twitter @BobbyBrown9202.
One of the most respected females in the ski industry, Breck Team Rider Keri Herman took home the silver medal in Women’s Ski Slopestyle. While Herman is no stranger to the podium, this was her first medal in Winter X. Follow Keri on Twitter @KeriHerman
Raised in Breckenridge and a rookie to Winter X Games, Eric Willett placed 2nd in Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle. With his smooth, clean and technical style, Willett had previously placed 3rd at the Breckenridge Dew Tour this year. Look for big things from Willett in the future.
Other Breck Team Riders who competed in the X Games include JJ Thomas (5th Place), Duncan Adams (5th Place), Steve Fisher, Colby James West, Zack Black and Chanelle Sladics.  Ever since I was trying to make a way for myself in the snowboard world , I knew this kid had something going for himself. He was always marching to his own beat and getting attention along the way. I always told people I thought this kid has what it takes, as long as he doesn't get caught up in the usual high school delinquency. He has since finished High School and has come out unscathed and today I find myself in a 5 hour car ride with my friend, fellow teammate on Breck, and all around good guy, Madison Elsworth. We kinda made small talk, I made fun of him a little bit, and picked his brain about lots of irrelevant subjects. Here are some of the random Q and A's.
Ryan: What is your favorite aspect of snowboarding for a living?
Madison: Being able to do what I love, and be on my own schedule, and traveling around the country.
Ryan: What is the worst part of snowboarding for a living?
Madison: Not making that money... I still live with my parents haha.
Ryan: Why aren't you going for the gold this year in the halfpipe?
Madison: 'Cuz I can't ride pipe. Those things are crazy!
Ryan: How do you feel about the Tall T (tall t-shirts) epidemic?
Madison: Do what you wanna do but you look like pretty funny... hah!
Ryan: Who's car, you or Chad Otterstrom's , would win in a race down Main Street?
Madison: My jetta would of course smoke anything.
Ryan: Do you prefer the video game World of WarCraft or Richard Simmons Virtual Dance Party?
Madison: WarCraft or dancing? I'll go with the first option. ***Editor's note...Whatever, Madison, we LOVE Richard!***
Ryan: What is the deal with YES? Most people say it everyday, why do you say YES a little more often?
Madison: YES is the next hot thing in snowboarding keep an eye out for it... yesnowboards.com.
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