Turns out that sometimes there is an "I" in Frends. Check out the latest Frendsvision from the Copper Mountain Grand Prix as Scotty Lago takes a competitive edge against fellow Frend Luke Mitrani and really spices up his morning.

Get ready to giggle.

Blazing sun and a pristine pipe sent the scene for the men's and women's halfpipe finals at the 16th annual U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix at Copper Mountain.

Snowboarder Mag's Pat Bridges was on site and breaks down all the action from the event.

Words: Pat Bridges
Photos: Aaron Dodds

With the conclusion of the US Snowboarding Grand Prix pipe finals at Copper Mountain, CO the North American competitive halfpipe season is officially underway. Over two dozen Olympic veterans were onhand to make the drop and hopefully gain a solid result leading into next weeks Breckenridge Dew Tour stop. Unfortunately all but one assembled European and Asian competitors in the field would have to settle for also ran status. Halting an American sweep of the Grand Prix pipe podium was Queralt Castellet. The young Spaniard set down a solid frontside 9 on the first hit of her second run to secure her third place.

It has been two years since Maddy Shaffrick has made a Grand Prix podium but the 17 rider out of Steamboat Springs, Colorado has left her injuries in the past and returned to the Grand Prix circuit with a vengeance and a Haakonflip handily earning a second place finish. Soaring above the rest of the field for first place was Kelly Clark. In attition to her unprecedented airtime Kelly stomped a first hit frontside 9 as well as back to back 7's to achieve her record breaking 25th career Grand Prix halfpipe victory.

Despite strong showings by America's Benji Farrow, Finland's Janne Korpi, Switzerlands's Christian Haller, Australia's Nate Johnstone and Japan's Rya Aono the men's Grand Prix pipe podium was rife with familiar faces. Greg Bretz appears in top form as his refined style on cork spins provides a proper counterpoint to his double cork enders. Bretz bested all but two members of the field but solidified his spot as an early contendor for a ticket to Sochi in 2014. Louie Vito executed the most technical runs of the day including three double corks but ultimately would have to settle for a second. Making only his second trip ever to the top of the podium was crowd favorite Luke Mitrani. Luke's no speed check style and double cork repertoire, which includes both frontside and backside variations, is what set him apart from the pack and earned him a well deserved victory.

Next stop on the halfpipe circuit is Breckenridge, Colorado so keep checking back to snowboardermag.com for the latest news and results.

Head to Snowboarder Mag for full results.

Looks like the FRENDS crew finagled their way into "the best snowboard video of all time" last season, of course referring to "The Art of Flight". The guys loiter around a shoot in Aspen, session a picture-perfect halfpipe under bluebird skies, and cause a scene as usual. Kevin Pearce chats about being back in the scene and the pros and cons of it all while Jack and Luke Mitrani draw their own blood.

The Frends Crew seriously knows how to throw a party. They get it done in such an awesome way that it was a definite necessity for them to throw an annual gathering. Even more necessary was to expand this West Coast Frendly Gathering to the East Coast -- 2011 marking the first time The Frends Crew "officially" threw this rager in Vermont.

Live music, camping, no shirts required, face paint, and good friends are the usual themes of The Frendly Gathering and the East Coast version was no different. Unfortunately, I could not teleport across the US to party with this cool crew however, SNOWBOARDER provided a detailed account of how rad things got.

Words & Photos: Avert Guldemond

Screaming north on the highway from Rhode Island on a soaking 100+ afternoon, I couldn't help but think, "What have I gotten myself into." Leaving the Ocean State's breezy coastline for inland adventures, I was setting myself up for one sweaty adventure. I came prepared, packing my battery powered fan and as much energy as I could muster for something completely new to my realm of experience, a real deal multi-day music festival. What could be better than a music-filled camping extravaganza? Well that's an easy question. One hosted by snowboarding's favorite wild boys, The Frends crew of course.

Full recap and photos...

The culmination of the Winter Dew Tour series went down today as men's and women's superpipe championships went off at Snowbasin Resort in Ogden, Utah.

The coveted Dew Cup was on the line tonight, making the event action packed with incredible riding on both sides of the field. All of the shreds were ready to compete and the record breaking crowd comprised of Utah's finest were stoked for the show.

The women were the first to set it off in the superpipe with six of the world's greatest laying it on the line. After qualifying first in yesterday's prelims, it was pretty clear that Kelly Clark was determined to do well. Clark has won five contests in five weeks, making tonight her sixth consecutive win. The Vermont native is currently unstoppable because she's known as the only women who can consistently throw a 1080 in competition. In her winning run, Clark whipped out a front 7, cab 7, a huge frontside 1080, cab 3, front 5 and a back 5 earning a 95.75. This score was a solid 4 points higher than any of the other girls, securing Clark's second Dew Cup.

Clark said this about today's performance, "I'm really happy with my riding today and it's even better to walk away with the win and the Dew Cup," said Clark. "It's been an amazing season and I didn't think I could recover after Breckenridge when I finished in sixth place, but to come back and win the next two and walk away with the Cup is just incredible."

Rounding out the podium was Kaitlyn Farrington and Japan's Soka Yamoka. These girls were charging and put on a great show for the expansive Utah crowd.

With the fate of the girls sealed, it was time for the eleven dudes to suit up and get after it in the superpipe. The drama for the day was whether or not Louie Vito could continue his winning streak, or at least place high enough to win the Dew Cup.

Vito's first run was a little shaky and he wiped out on his second double cork, which made him look to his second run to secure the Cup. The 'Tiny Dancer' was able to keep it together and scored a 73.50 in his second run, which was placed him in seventh. This position was just enough to seal the deal for Vito to win the coveted Cup.

'Lou-dog' had this to say about the contest, "I'm bummed I didn't make the podium, and I wasn't completely satisfied with my riding tonight.The level of riding was sick though, and in the end I'm stoked I got the Dew Cup."

It may not have been Vito's night, but it was definitely Luke Mitrani's time to shine. The twenty year old ripper has been killing it as of late, but hasn't been able to podium at any major contests. That all changed tonight as Luke laid down a super sick run that consisted of a huge double michal chuck, frontside 9, backside 5, front 10 and a cab double 10. This impressive run had the crowd oohing and awing and the judges were equally impressed and awarded 'Squid' the highest score in Dew history, a whopping 97.0.

Mitrani said this about today, "It was a great contest, the last stop of the Dew Tour, and the crowd was amazing. A really good energy," said Mitrani. "I can't believe I won. I've never won a contest this big so I'm really tripping."

Greg Bretz and Steve Fisher were also tripping on how well they did, and were stoked on their second and third place finishes.

The Winter Dew Tour may be a wrap on this year, but it will be back in full force next year, so look forward to that.

Congrats to all the competitors!

Men's Snowboard Superpipe - Finals
1. Luke Mitrani, Mammoth Lakes, Calif., 97.00. 2. Greg Bretz, Mammoth Lakes, Calif., 95.00. 3. Steve Fisher, Breckenridge, Colo., 92.00. 4. Jack Mitrani, Mammoth Lakes, Calif., 89.00. 5. Spencer Shaw, Stratton, Vt., 84.50. 6. JJ Thomas, Breckenridge, Colo., 80.75. 7. Louie Vito, Bellefontaine, Ohio, 73.50. 8. Ben Watts, Bend, Ore., 60.25. 9. Matt Ladley, Steamboat Springs, Colo., 48.75. 10. Brett Esser, Breckenridge, Colo., 30.00. 11. Zach Black, Breckenridge, Colo., 24.50. 12. Scotty Pike, Sun Valley, Idaho, DNS.

Men's Snowboard Superpipe - Tour Rankings
1. Louie Vito, 270. 2. JJ Thomas, 248. 3. Steve Fisher, 238. 4. Greg Bretz, 228. 5. Matt Ladley, 228. 6. Luke Mitrani, 207. 7. Spencer Shaw, 201. 8. Jack Mitrani, 181. 9. Trevor Jacob, 179. 10. Mason Aguirre, 152.

Women's Snowboard Superpipe - Finals
1. Kelly Clark, West Dover, Vt., 95.75. 2. Kaitlyn Farrington, Sun Valley, Idaho, 91.00. 3. Soko Yamaoka, Japan, 86.25. 4. Hannah Teter, Belmont, Vt., 74.75. 5. Queralt Castellet, Spain, 70.00. 6. Ellery Hollingsworth, Darien, Conn., 65.00.

Women's Snowboard Superpipe - Tour Rankings
1. Kelly Clark, 274. 2. Queralt Castellet, 264. 3. Elena Hight, 244. 4. Soko Yamaoka, 242. 5. Kaitlyn Farrington, 236. 6. Ellery Hollingsworth, 210. 7. Kelly Marren, 194. 8. Hannah Teter, 144. 9. Serena Shaw, 120. 10. Katie Tsuyuki, 120.