Oslo, Norway (February 16, 2009) -- What you are looking at is a 10 meter tall sword, a tool used to measure a highly anticipated air for quarterpipe history. Since 2001, Oakley's Matty Swanson has been waiting to give away a solid gold watch (guestimated value: a lot of coin) to the first person to meet this mark. Two years ago, Terje performed a 9.8 meter air, just short of the sword's crest. Clearly he is still on his game and focused to one-up his 2007 performance and walk away with the prize. Stay tuned for more details of the 2009 Arctic Challenge as it gets underway later this week...

Bellingham, WA (February 16, 2009) - Downtown Bellingham transformed into a block party on Sunday as hundreds of local shreds, curious citizens and the occasional Railroad St. vagabond were drawn by turntable kicks and halogen lights to the First Annual BellingJAM rail jam. Attracting riders from all corners of the Northwest, The Copper Hog's parking lot was transformed by a 12-foot scaffolding ramp, straight and kinked rails, hay bails and roughly a dozen truckloads of recycled snow from the Sportsplex ice rink. Inside the Hog were art displays from Monument and Arbor Snowboards with live screen-printing from co-organizers Innate Snow and Skate.

The skiers climbed the ladder and dropped first warming up to the gunshots and Kidz Bop chorus of M.I.A.'s Paper Planes. After feeling out the rails and run-out skiers had a 45-minute winner take all jam. One-upmanship was the word of the day as local Zach Davidson and brothers Tim and Bret McChesney started out light and progressed to switch drops, 270s in and out and front flips until crowd participation became mandatory as hay bails failed to slow down stomping skiers.

A quick maintenance break for packed out landings and it was on to the snowboarders. Riders Yudo Kurita, Seth Kitzke and Bart Patitucci dropped to cheers and Bee Gees tracks, spinning the length of each rail, tip tapping through press combos. Austin Hironaka dropped an obligatory backflip, while Glacier's own Sean Donnkie Mansfield pleased the crowd by buttering into the flat bar in a blur of flannel and denim. Finalists were decided and moved on to a mixed jam in which Tim McChesney was the best two-planker and SnoCon rider Yudo Kurita held it down for the snowboarders.

But the night didn't end there. Seattle's hip-hop prophet Common Market took the alleyway stage while the scaffolding came down. Cheers and beats reverberated off Bellingham's dilapidated brick buildings.

Fueled by Taurine and Zamboni droppings, The First Annual BellingJAM was a long overdue event that brought together the Bellingham shred community. See you at the Hog next year.

Many thanks to everyone who made it happen: Dave Goto and the Red Bull crew, Casey and Jens for their planning efforts, Dylan, Corey and friends at Innate Snow and Skate, The Copper Hog, Chad at Monument Snowboards, Byron at Arbor Snowboards, Ally Video and Pyramid Brewery.

Photos: Joe Briggs/jvbriggs.com

With a helmet camera from the good folks at VholdR, a bit of early season snow, and some input from the kids at Team Hammerhead, an idea was born: freq TV. Utilizing low-res filespace and nothing too fancy in general, we bring you episode 1 of freq TV--a look into our season as it unfolds and proof that office-dwellers can still get out and shred in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

The winners to the Ride Snowboards 7th Snowboard Art Contest were announced on Wednesday at a packed Evo Gallery. With entrants from as far away as France, and attendance from across the country, competitors and connoisseurs alike got to sample a few beverages and take in a variety of topsheet art competing for money, schwag, and the chance to have their art featured on a Ride snowboard next season. In the end, a Canadian-Nick Panesar of Delta, BC-pulled the top prize and you will get a chance to ride his art in coming years.

See the winners and full results here.


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Wind, fog, snow, and perfect blue skies. Yeah, the banked slalom saw it all this year. Warming temperatures and lower than average snow levels weren't enough to dampen spirits as a cast of characters ranging from Glacier-based riders like Blair Habenicht and Maria Debari to Tahoe's Nate Holland and Norway's Helene Olafson (who finished second in the pro women's category), plus a slew of Canadians, took to the higher than normal banks and tighter than normal corners of the natural halfpipe.

Qualifying on Friday started in fog and heavy snow then mellowed to high could and, by the end of the day, clear views to Shuksan, Baker and beyond. This gave visitors and locals alike the chance to sample some of the goods higher on the mountain as the bootpack was laid on the arm and, continuing through Saturday, spectators in the starting area were watching lines being thrown down up above Chair 8 alongside riders dropping into the icy ruts winding around race gates in the shaded gully.

With a few new features, including a left or right option through the flats near the bottom, and a diversion left of the toilet bowl, even seasoned racers faced a new challenge and times didn't dip below the 1:24.00 mark all weekend, enough of a workout to leave everyone struggling for breath. Luckily, replenishment was provided in the form of smoked salmon bits, hot soup, and more than enough energy drinks to keep everyone charging hard through the weekend.

In the end, Whistler's Maelle Ricker repeated as the pro women's champion while boardercrosser Nate Holland posted a 1:26.86 to take pro men's. The fastest time of the weekend went to Graham Watanabe of Hailey, ID, who topped both the Friday and Saturday qualifiers before falling to second on Sunday's finals.
Mt Baker Website, and see you up top of Chair 5 next February.

Photos: Colin Wiseman

Leaving the Alta lodge for the mile-long walk to Snowbird just as the sun is hitting the sharp peaks of Little Cottonwood canyon, Utah, I brace for the biggest snowboard competition of my life, and one of the biggest freeriding comps in the U.S. My palms are somehow sweaty in the 15 degree chill. I do not see this as a good sign.

The North Face Masters at Snowbird, UT is the first in a three-stop circuit where riders are given a gnarly venue and creative control. With one run to qualify for the finals, they are judged on several factors including fluidity, creativity and the all-important line selection.

Day one's venue is Silverfox, part of Snowbird's ‘Cirque' terrain, and offers up a playground as wide as it is long from cruisers to 60-foot cliffs. Also of personal note is that I have never ridden Silverfox prior to practice, throwing my so-called home field advantage right out the door.

Going into the comp I know riders like Rob Kingwell and Cliff Dimon are there, but scanning the start list names start popping up that I usually only see in film credits Chris Coulter, Pat Moore, and what, Travis Rice? I have visions of utter failure: last-place finishing, falling, tomahawking and injury. I drink water and try to breath.

I watch the first rider, Morgan Hebert, rip the snot out of Silverfox, popping several cliffs and spinning a small but clean 360 towards the end, stomping everything. "The bar is set very high," says the announcer. This does nothing to calm my jitters.

Once on top of the venue, a gripping calm sets in. My run goes semi-smoothly: I butt-check my first drop but stomp the rest, getting through the hard pack at the bottom relatively clean and fast.

I exhale significantly, stage myself in the viewing area, and watch. Someone hucks the 60-foot smokestackp, a frontflip is thrown, Rice rides like himself and many sketchy lines are executed with finesse. Injury free across the board, how can the day not be considered a success?

Alas, I do not qualify for day 2, but didn't finish too close to last, either...

Day two's location was North Baldy, a long, shifty aspect between Snowbird and Alta. It starts steep and only picks up in intensity down the course. A burly midsection chute offers riders the choice of fast turns or a noodly Billy-goat through rocks and thick trees. Then there's the amphitheater the wide, extended cliff band that is a rider's last chance to perform. It's a near-mandatory air, with only a few clear landings not littered with rocks or shrubbery. As for the snow, two days of bluebird skies and some gusty winds relegated most of Baldy to firm chalk, and low coverage left many unwanted trees and rocks as unobstructed hazards.

In the first run of the first round, Salt Lake City's Tyler Anderson blew up the crowd by popping a back 3 onto hardpack up top, setting the stage. 34 riders and 34 hucks with varying success later, the field was whittled to 14 for the Superfinals, where Rice blew minds by throwing a switch rodeo off a hip-style rock jump and then rotating a slow backside 360 down low, but sketched on the landing. Kingwill was buttery smooth and quick, not letting the speed bumps coverage his true style. And last year's winner Cliff Dimon defined the concept of a "no-fall" zone by pulling a drop to mandatory immediate stop over a few stories of salt and pepper, and then wiggling out to safer exit.

In the end, Matt Annets of Stowe, VT, went home with the first place prize of $3,500. Ralph Backstrom took second, and crowd favorite Rob Kingwell was third. On the women's side, day one leader Shannon Yates' smooth airs and burly line pulled the $3,500 novelty check while Michelle Locke and Susan Mol rounded out the podium.

Undoubtedly, everyone present agreed that the level of riding had risen significantly in only the second year of the contest proving that, if the North Face Master's is any indicator, competitive freeriding is on the rise in North America.

Photos: Keith Carlsen, MSI