The final stop of the 2011 series of The North Face Masters of Snowboarding went down at Kirkwood yesterday and today. Â With a closed venue full of new snow, tracked only by ski patrol and the Mt. Sports International ninjas, and blue skies on both days of the competition, conditions were excellent for a second year in a row.
The top of the qualifier venue
Alex Yoder and Danny Day atop the Finals Venue with the Finish in the background
With a 20% chance of weather moving in, riders were told that we’d have 1 run only so as to not be cut short by stormy conditions and poor visibility. Â This in mind, riders were charging, going for the win. Â Overall points leader Jonathan Penfield of Whistler fell, leaving the door open for Forrest Burki and Aaron Robinson tied for second.
As I sat in 1st place at the bottom of the venue after my run, I saw some extremely sick snowboarding. Â Andrew Irwin of Squaw, part of the UnofficialNetworks team, laid down a super sick straight line that required a couple calculated turns, finished with a smooth 360, finishing the comp in 3rd place. Â Aaron Robinson showed up a bit late, but dropped in and nailed the fastest run of the day, complete with 3 monster airs, one of which was a stylish 360, bumping me into 2nd place. Â Other notable lines went to Chris Galvin, also part of the UnofficialNetworks team, and John Rodosky, who did similar lines, both fast and fluid, and tied for 4th. Â Moss Holladay rounded out the top 5 with an exposed line and some solid airs.
This is why you wear a helmet.
Tim Carlson, the winner of the Crystal Mountain TNF Masters, had the only scary fall of the day, reminding us why helmets are mandatory. Â He was very lucky to have gotten away with only a broken helmet.