Session B at Camp of Champs in Whistler, BC was stacked with riders who know how to send it. Get ready to enjoy some big booter fun, guys slaying down rails, ladies sending it on the jump line, typical afternoon skate sessions, dodgeball, and no summer camp would be complete without, paintball.

This vid features Mark Sollors, Marc Swoboda, Seb Toots, Zak Hale, Annie Boulanger, Natasza Zurek, Spencer O'Brien, Stephan Maurer, Iouri Podladtchikov, David Bertschinger Karg, Sani Alobabic, Charles Reid, Chris Sorman, Ludwig Lejkner, Andrew Burns, Derek Dennison, Kim Rune Hansen, Ben Bilocq, Zach Aller, and Jake Kuzyk.

This weekend the first event of the 2010/2011 Swatch TTR World Tour went down at the Camp of Champions park on the Whistler/Blackcomb glacier. The 5Star Billabong Ante Up event was chock full of all-star riders each vying for a place on the podium. The contest saw some serious progressive riding that proved everyone was pushing for the win. In the end, it was a "Double-Cork or Die" situation, meaning that everyone who placed in the first through fourth position ultimately had to throw a variation of the technical trick.

Sebastien Toutant, AKA Seb Touts, was the big winner of the day who was awarded first place for his sleek style, smooth spins, and super-sized cab 1260 double cork he stomped on the massive 75-foot jump. The win earned him a cool 20G's and an automatic invite to the 6Star Billabong Air & Style event held later this season in Innsbruck.

"Touts" was more than stoked on his performance and said this about his finish, "Winning the first 5Star TTR big air contest was just amazing, it was an epic final and it's sick because I'll be in the top of the TTR rankings going down to New Zealand in August."

Coming in hot for second place was Matt Kulisek of Canada who nabbed $15,000 and a sweet spot on the podium after showcasing his backside 1260 double cork. Kulisek was pumped to place, and said he's determined to do well in the TTR events.

Rounding out the top three was Mark McMorris, another Canadian shredder who has his double corks dialed. McMorris opted for the frontside variation of the trick and stomped it. This landed him on the podium, made him $10,000 richer, and secured the second place spot on in the current Swatch TTR World Tour Rankings.

It's also notable to mention that Norwegian powerhouse Gjermund Braaten came in fourth place for his explosive riding and detailed delivery of his double corks, which edged him into the top spot of the TTR Rankings.

The Billabong Ante Up was an intense first competition of the contest season that proved the riders will be pushing the progression of snowboarding throughout the entire 2010-2011 season. Next up on the mega-contest scene will be the 5Star Burton New Zealand Open in August, so watch for all the juicy coverage from down-under.

Megan Ginter P: Ride Snowboards, Forsythe

The 2010 Ride Shakedown's Canada contest concluded this past weekend, adding to the list of spring time events that let us know that we're hitting the tail end of the snow season. I know, I know, don't say it out loud and it won't be real, however, it just is. When riders are competing in long sleeve T's and the snow looks more like your mashed potatoes you had for dinner last night...it's hard to avoid the obvious. BUT...that fact does not take away the awesomeness that is the Ride Shakedown.

With a gigantic blow up can of Coors Light donning the set up, the riders were already prepared for success with tons of liquid courage. The contest was truly vibing the street style that defines the Shakedown set up (gap booter, tons of concrete and a down-flat-down over a staircase.) After killing the TransAm Tour, Megan Ginter brought her A game once again while Marc McMorris topped last year's winner, Seb Toots.

Check out the official recap from Ride Snowboards:

Words by: Matt Houghton

After another glorious day at Mont St-Sauveur for the Ride Shakedown, I am certain of one thing: every other snowboard contest in the world is going to be envious of the Shakedown's good fortune. Sunny skies and unseasonably warm weather that somehow didn't mess up the snow conditions? Check. Thousands of screaming fans to cheer on the riders? Check. One of the most progressive jump and rail set-ups ever built? Check mate. How the Shakedown will improve upon this year's contest is beyond me; it was just that good.


Photo: Ride Snowboards, Forsythe

The day thankfully began slowly, with three hours of semi-finals not kicking off until 2 PM. This allowed plenty of time for people to shake off (not pun intended) their hangovers from last night's bender and ease into the day. Skate demos went down in the Push.ca tent, freebies were tossed into the crowd, and countless Coors Lights were consumed before a single rider even dropped into the jump: it was just that kind of day.

After the semi-finals wrapped up, riders were picked to advance into the finals, and the Push.ca Half-Time Show - featuring skateboarders competing on the kinked rail - went down for 60 minutes. Thomas Parent took the win with a 50-50 to backside 180 out, winning a cool two grand. That left just one hour before the finals happened, allowing just enough time to a washroom break, food run, and another beer or two to replenish your energy before the sun set.

The Shakedown's format is unique: riders can take as many runs as they'd like during the final jam, but they have to call which runs they want judged and what trick they'll do off the jump before dropping in. And if they land a trick they're not allowed to do it again. It makes for an entertaining finals and is no doubt a big part of the Shakedown's appeal. Factor in the perfect weather, and there was barely a square foot vacant for anyone to stand in - it looked to be the biggest crowd on record at the contest.

Marc McMorris Photo: Ride Snowboards, Mathieu Couture

Early into the finals, Mark McMorris asserted himself as a rider to watch, landing a switch backside 1080. Seb Toots unloaded some double corks, and McMorris countered with a double cork of his own. Zak Stone earned a spot into the semi-finals in yesterday's pre-qualifiers, and showed that he deserved to shred with the big boys: he stomped a backside 1080 into a buttery nosepress to 360 out on the flat rail. Eman Anderson, who took third place at the US Shakedown was going for switch backside 10's as well, and before long the backside 1260 made an appearance: Yale Cousino tried one and didn't land, but Matt Belzile did. So heavy, heavy tricks became the norm very quickly.

This was only the second year that the Shakedown had a women's category. A backside 360 was good enough for a victory last year, but this year was quite different: the ladies stepped up their game in a big way. Alex Duckworth and Lynn Neil both stuck solid back 3's into clean jibs, but Megan Ginter took it to another level, with a backside 720 into a 50-50 to frontside 180 out on the flat rail.

In comparison to last night's rail jam (click here for the story and photos), in which riders had to hit all three features to win, the riders could hit any rail they wanted to after their jump. That meant that the flat rail (which was arguably the easiest to do tricks on) saw the most action, and the kinked rail and wallride were largely ignored. Of course the banger tricks off the jump more than made up for that.


L to R: Lynn Neil, Seb Toots, Marc McMorris, Megan Ginter, Alex Duckworth, Eric Willet
Photo: Ride Snowboards, Mathieu Couture

As the final minutes of the hour-long jam ticked down, several riders had yet to take their last judged run, so 10 bonus minutes were added. But the contest came to its inevitable conclusion as the final seconds ran out... leaving everyone to wait and wonder which riders would take first place (although it was fairly obvious in the women's category). Several riders stood a good chance of topping the podium, so I really wasn't envious of the judges and the difficult decision ahead of them at this point. When announcer Pat Bernier got back on the mic, all was revealed: Megan Ginter took a deserving first place in the women's category, with Lyn Neil in second and Alex Duckworth in third. In the men's category, it was young Mark McMorris who took first, beating out last year's winner Seb Toots in second place, and American Eric Willet in third.

McMorris went home with $12,000 in his pocket: not bad for a 16 year-old kid from Regina, Saskatchewan. Considering how well he rode tonight, I'm confident this won't be the last time he tops the podium.

Men's Podium- Photo: Shem Roose

Sunny, cloudless skies created the perfect atmosphere for the Slopestyle Finals at the 28th annual Burton US Open.

The springy weather coupled with the three run format produced the ideal set up for progressive riding and competitors were showcasing the "suns out guns out" frame of mind. Hammer after hammer were thrown on the six feature course and it was apparent all the riders showed up to get down.



Mikkel Bang

The men hit the course first and Mikkel Bang out of Olso, Norway snagged the lead early in the game. His first run set the standard for the day as he earned a 93.5 right off the bat. This score held the top spot until Bang beat himself in his second run by scoring an all time high 98.0. Bang 's ultra laid back style, massive spins and overall technicality were just what the judges were looking for. This victory marks Bang's first Us Open win etching this shredder into Us Open history for eternity.


Ulrik Badertscher Photo: Shem Roose

The surprise of the day came from Ulrik Badertscher who snaked his way into second place after annihilating his third run. Badertscher's run included a backside 1080 late cork off of the big booter and a 50/50 double flip, which was shot off of the cannon feature. This trick also earned him the best trick of the day, and $3,000 smackaroos.



Sebastian Toutant. Photo: Shem Roose

Coming in a solid third was Sebastian Toutant who is more fondly known as 'Seb Touts'. Seb is free to toot his horn any day after this surprising podium finish. Seb just couldn't put down a clean run in either of his first or second attempts, but the fire was set in round three as Toutant burned his way through the course, smoking every feature with fierce, smooth style.

Shifting towards the feminine side of things, the pro women of the shred world went all out, each hoping to nail a spot on the podium. The level of riding for the ladies was truly progressive as everyone was going big and stomping solidly.

It quickly became clear that Sina Canadrian had the course on lock and wouldn't be walking away without the win. Canadrian was the most consistent on the course and the lone lady to score above a 90.0, which she easily did in all three of runs. Canadrian was bested by herself by earning a 95.5 on her third run that included a smooth cab 540, a frontside 720, a backside 360, and ending it with a truck-driver grab off of the pole jam.

Similar to the men's field, the second place finish for the women was somewhat of a shocker. Shelly Gotlieb who had a couple of bobbles in her first two runs, sent it in her third run throwing a backflip and sailed her way past the compeition for a podium finish.


Shelly Gotieb- Photo: Shem Roose

Rounding out the top three was 'One Life' crew member Jamie Anderson. Anderson has been missing out on podium status as of late, but returned to her rightful position of being a leading a lady by landing a run that included uber technical rail tricks, a BS 180, switch 540, a front 3, and topped it off with a shifty shocker on the up-box.


Jamie Anderson on the right with her One Life Crew. @burtonsnowboards


Jamie Anderson SENDing!!! photo: Shem Roose

Right after the women's last run, the awards ceremony went down on the stage at the base of Stratton. The mandatory champagne shake and subsequent spray off solidified the event in US Open history, marking it as one of the sunniest and most progressive comps in the 28 years of Open shredding.


Champagne!
Photo: Shem Roose

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Another day of bluebird skies graced Cardrona Alpine Resort, which remained impervious to the clouds, sitting above the inversion layer once again for men's and women's slopestyle semifinal and final competitions today. Part of the Burton Global Open Series and the Swatch Ticket To Ride World Snowboard Tour, the seventh annual New Zealand Open showcased some of the world's best riders as they took to Cardrona's 800m long slopestyle course, which featured up and downrails, boxes, three kickers and a unique upstair feature to quarterpipe.



A field of 42 men and 16 women were battling it out for a piece of the $24,000 slopestyle prize purse and the top spots worth $6,000 each. An international field of riders from nine countries included New Zealand's own Shelly Gotlieb, James Hamilton, Stef Zeestraten, in addition to BGOS Champions Chas Guldemond and Jamie Anderson, Olympians Danny Kass and Mason Aguirre, and many more.



The women were first to drop and competition was stiff through semifinals, but it was Kiwi Shelly Gotlieb that came out on top, killing it on the course with a run that featured style and variety on the rails, a Cab 5 indy, a backflip and a backside 360 tailgrab. Gotlieb continued to ride strong through the finals, taking third, being outdone by Janna Weatherby (USA) in second and 2008 NZO slopestyle champion Jamie Anderson (USA) in first. Anderson impressed the judges with a run that started with a street style tailslide, 5-0 to fakie on the box into a switch backside 360 on the first kicker, followed by a Cab 540 melon into a front 360 melon, followed by a 5-0 on the uprail, to a tail stall on the quarterpipe, finishing with a 50/50 frontside boardslide on the kinked rail. "I had a blast," said Anderson of her win. "It was a beautiful day, we lucked out with the weather, and I was happy with my riding, I had so much fun today."



French Canadians Sebastien Toutant and Charles Reid clinched the top two spots in men's semifinals, Toutant taking the top spot by wowing the judges with his signature "Toutsie Roll," a backside doublecork 1080 melon. Reid couldn't stick his run in the finals, dropping him to the back of the pack, but Torstein Horgmo (NOR) threw down in his third and final run with back to back 1080s, giving him an edge and finishing second. Eric Willet (USA) stuck back-to-back 900s and had smooth style on the rails, giving him an edge and riding away with third. But in the end, Sebastien recreated his winning run from semis by starting off with a backside 270 on the first rail to 50/50 backside 360 on the second rail, into a backside rodeo 540 indy, into a Cab 900 stalefish, followed by a backside 1080 double cork melon, followed by a noseslide on the uprail to alleyoop backside 50/50 on the quarter, finishing with a frontside boardslide on the kinked rail. "I'm so stoked to win my first contest of the year," said Toutant. "It was a great course, very different. I had fun trying new things and am so happy to do well."



With 850 TTR ranking points, both winners of today's slopestyle finals took over the world number one spots on the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour. The Burton New Zealand Open is a perfect opportunity for riders to get a jumpstart heading into the Northern Hemisphere winter.
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