Photo: Snowboarder Mag

After a sub-par Day Two (aka flat light, dragging riders, and sketchy take offs), Superpark 14 got down to business on the third day of the Mammoth event. The Loon Mountain builders are a little on the nutty side. The riders hitting the 100 foot Loon jump are definitely on the nutty side.

Rumor is that the riding that went down was plain jaw dropping. The kind of riding that makes you question life as you know it. The kind that makes you feel inadequate because just standing next to the takeoff of the jump makes you piss your pants and you don't even feel bad cause you're still scared out of your mind.

The kind of riding that one expects to see at Superpark 14.


Photo: Snowboarder Mag

Superpark 14 full PHOTO GALLERY

This is Snowboarder Mag's event so I'll let you read what they had to say about Day 3 of Superpark 14 presented by Gatorade (Warning: Excessive "f-bombs"):

(May 6, 2010) Holy fuck.Day 3 of Superpark 14 at Mammoth Mountain, CA saw the heaviest shit go down in years. The morning sessions on Mammoth's massive step down precluded what was one of the most prolific and progressive jump sessions (possibly) of all time.

For the first few days, apres rumors spread throughout the village at bar tables littered with beer bottles and empty shot glasses.

"Dude, I hear the thing is fucked."
"They built another big jump?"
"I wouldn't hit it for all the money in the world."

For their second annual Superpark appearance, the builders from Loon Mountain, NH pushed a pile of snow that would make any established park jumper shit their pants at the top of the drop-in. 2 and a half football fields of run in collided with a 3 story takeoff stepover that resulted in jacket-flapping airtime. Norwegian Gjermund Brten was the first to send the beast and once he safely rode away from his first two attempts, word spread around Superpark that the now-infamous "Loon jump session" was a go.

Jeremy Thompson fired his first run to flat, hopped back on a sled and dropped in again to a hundred-plus foot back seven. The chairlift erupted when Stompy touched down and the invite-only jumpers continued on. Standouts included Tyler Flanagan, Lonnie Kauk, Chas Guldemond, Austen Sweetin, Austin Hironaka, Mario Cappeli, Matts Kulisek, Heikki Sorsa, Sammy Carlson, Jason Robinson, Eric Willett, Markku Koski, Marc Swoboda, and a handful of other attendees.

Between Flanagan's back ten late cork, Austin Hironaka's late frontside 180, Marc Swoboda's perfect back sevens and Sweetin's flawless front threes, it was a session including myriad tricks and riders. Where else would you see two former Olympians, an X Games bronze medalist and a mix of unknown (but not for long) Euros session one of the biggest jumps built in recent memory?

After the jump session, Pat Melandoski and the High Cascade digger crew unveiled their creation: A huge quarterpipe located in the exact spot that Pete Columbo's massive hip was last year. Though it seemed like a bit of a warm-up session, riders like Trevor Jacob, Colin Langlois, Danny Garrity, Ben Bilocq, Dustin Craven, Nate Farrell, Austen Sweetin and a Japanese kid who didn't know what I said when I asked him what his name was were checking it out and getting a feel for the transition. Topping out at around 20 or so feet, Craven had arguably the highest air of the day, but tomorrow will tell yet another tale in this chapter of the Superpark book.

Keep checking back for daily updates from Superpark 14 at Mammoth Mountain, CA. Today was totally fucked, and the next two days are sure to follow in this afternoon's footsteps.

Sunday was a super funday at the Snowbasin stop of the Winter Dew Tour. Thats because it was action packed as snowboard slopestyle finals took place under sunny blue skies.

Kicking off the action were the ladies of shred who were ready to prove they could spin to win. Six girls lined up to lay down their stylie and technical runs on the Dew course. The competion proved stiff as the ladies were throwing banger after banger, each trying to out do each other for the win.

Spencer O'Brien led the throw down showing everyone her highly dialed skills on the jump features. Spencer sent it with back to back 540s on her first run that had her sitting pretty atop the leader board throughout the entire contest. On her second run, Spencer thought it would be fun to turn her backside 5 into a 7 on the last money booter. She nailed the trick without even trying it warmups. From here on out the ladies were trying to follow her lead, but were never able to crush it as much as Spence did.


Spencer O'brien
courtesy of Alli Sports

Jenny Jones was also riding really well, and earned herself a second place finish. Jones worked the tight course by timing her speed in and out of the jumps perfectly. With each spin, she landed on the money spot allowing her to set up and adjust for her next tricks perfectly. Her smooth tranisitions, and dialed style led her into 2nd.


Jenny Jones
courtesy of Alli Sports



Megan Ginter came in a respectable third with her trickery on the rails, and impressive amplitude on the jumps.


Megan Ginter
courtesy of Alli Sports



Women's Podium
courtesy of Alli Sports


Noticeably missing from the podium was Jamie Anderson, who won the Breck stop of the Dew Tour, and has been annihilating most slope comps as of late. Anderson said she was having trouble with the quick transitions in to the jumps, saying "the course was a little too tight." This proved to be an issue for the Men as well as many top riders were unable to execute a clean run.

However this was not the case for Mr. Charles Guldemon. Chaz came out firing from the gates and threw down a flawless run that had everyone gunning for his first place position. His 1260 on the bottom jump was epic, and his attempt at a 1440 was just nuts.. Bigs Ups to Chaz for laying it down and getting this win under his belt.


Chaz guldemond
courtesy of Alli Sports

The winner of the last stop in Breckenridge was young gun Tyler Flannagan. Tyler is only 16 years old, and is already riding with such intensity, it will be amazing to see how far this youngster goes. The Flan- Man, or more appropriate for his age, the TyGuy, had a great run, but wasn't able to edge out Chaz.


Tyler Flanagan
Couresty of Alli Sports


Completing the top three was another young gun, this time being SLC loc Sage Kotsenburg. Sage was so smooth on the rails and was boosting on the jumps. His efforts were respectable, and landed him in 3rd place.




Sage Kotsenburg
courtesy of Alli Sports







Men's Pipe Podium
Tyler- 1st, Chaz 2nd, Sage 3rd
courtesy of Alli Sports

With the conclusion of the men's pipe, the second stop of the winter dew tour in Snowbasin came to an end. The four day fest was full of fun, and impressive skiing and riding. Congrats to all of the competitors, and we look forward to the next and final stop at Mt. Snow in Vermont.

By Heather Hendricks

Here at Grindtv.com we pressed rewind on 2009 and looked back at all the moments that shook the world of snow. From dancing divas, OMG moments and comeback queens, we sifted through it all and came up with our picks for the 2009 "BEST OF" SNOW AWARDS.

Most Main Stream Media Coverage:

Louie Vito- Snowboard
This one's obviously a no-brainer. Vito's stint on Dancing with the Stars propelled this shredder to a new level of stardom.

Gretchen Bleiler- Snowboard
The queen of snowboarding wins this award for her numerous TV appearances and print features. From Conan to the Today Show, Snowboarder to TWS. Gretchen and her new husband Chris Hotel even landed a spread in "Brides Magazine" featuring their Costa Rican wedding. See our girl all "glammed" out

Simon Dumont- Ski
Why you ask? Because it's Simon. The guy is a marketable prodigy. Just check out his list of sponsors, and see how many times he's been on MTV. He even appeared on the Ellen Show after breaking the world quarterpipe height record.


Simon at the 2009 Winter X Games Ski Big Air. Photo www.nateabbott.com

Sarah Burke- Ski
Ms. Burke (soon to be Mrs.) has appeared in mainstream magazines such as Maxim and FHM. She also won female action athlete of the year at last year's ESPY's and is aptly known as skiing's dominating darling.



Most Hyped Olympians:

Shaun White- Snowboard
This surely comes as no surprise with all of Shaun's commercials, TV appearances, video games, a second line for Target, and a $500,000 private halfpipe in the Colorado backcountry. All the bells and whistles are well deserved though, Shaun is about 10 steps ahead of the game with his pipe riding and is as close to a sure bet for going to Vancouver as anyone. Stay tuned to the Grand Prix coverage here on GrindTV.com to see if he makes the cut.


Everyone wants a piece of Mr. White. Photo: www.nateabbott.com

Lindsey Jacobellis-Snowboard
This Boardercross powerhouse was favored to win the 2006 Olympics, but her showboating cost her the gold in Torino. (Who can forget the disastrous method and subsequent crash.) The big hype around Lindsay this year is her chance at redemption. With World Cup titles and X Games Golds over the past four years we're sure she can do it, as long as she doesn't try this again-

Bode Miller- Ski
Bode Miller is no stranger to stealing the spotlight. People have been hyping this dude for years. What do you think of his chances? Search him, and see what eveyone's saying on Yahoo Sports.

Jennifer Heil- Ski
Jennifer Heil is a mogul skier who won the gold in Italy in 2006, and she is favored to win again this year. Follow her twits all the way to the gold- twitter.com/JennHeil



"Heart of Gold" Philanthropy Award:

Louie Vito- Snowboard
Our mainstream media pick also wins for having the biggest heart. Louie Vito has used his new stardom to help those in need. This year he hosted the 6th annual Louie Vito Rail Jam at his home resort- Mad River Mountain. With the help of his family and sponsors, Vito raised money for charity and donated all of the proceeds from the comp to those in need. See pics of Vito giving back here-

Hannah Teter- Snowboard
What do maple syrup, snowboarding, and Africa all have in common? Hannah Teter! Teter has pledged to donate all of her contest earnings to the small village of Kiridon, Africa. Teter has also created a maple syrup business and is donating all the profits to the impoverished village. To get involved check out www.hannahsgold.com

JP Auclair- Ski
JP formed the humanitarian organization called Alpine Initiatives and built an orphanage/school in Kenya for kids. He is a super nice guy, with a really big heart, and we love him for it. See what's he's all about here- www.alpineinitiatives.com

Grete Eliasson-Ski
In 2007, Eliasson donated an entire $25,000 dollar prize purse to charity. Since then Grete continues to help with numerous charities, and plans to donate future winnings to help those in need. Grete also has a sweet blog. Check it out. www.greteeliassen.com



Break out Performances:

Tyler Flanagan- Snowboard
Young gun Tyler Flanagan wins this award for busting-out and breaking-down the competition at the first stop of the Winter Dew Tour in Breck just a few weeks ago. Flanagan stomped his way to 1st place in Slopestyle by getting techy on the rails and staying consistent in the massive triple-line. Big ups to this little guy- and watch out for him in the future. Check his winning run-


Maddie Schaffrick- Snowboard
Miss Maddie Schaffrick is a ripper. At age 15 she's already proven she can hang with the big dogs. Big ups for winning best trick at the Snow Angels contest in Aspen back in April. Keep your eye out for Maddie on top of many podiums in the future.

Dane Tudor- Ski
Dane won male skier of the year at IF3 for his segment in Poor Boyz' film (and could potentially win at the Powder Awards too) and this was his first official year being 'pro.' If that's not breakout, then we don't know what is.

Anna Segal- Ski
Anna won X-Games Slopestyle last February and is paving a new path for the next generation of Women's ski slopestyle.



Best Comeback Shredder:

Ross Powers- Snowboard
You may remember Ross "The Boss" Powers winning the gold medal in Salt Lake, City Olympics for Halfpipe back in 2002. Now the solid shredder is looking to represent the US of A in the Vancouver Olympic games in boardercross. Duel sport Olympian? We're all about it. Here's his podium performance at the recent Telluride World Cup.




Tara Dakides - Snowboard
Known as the first woman pro snowboarder- Dakides flew to stardom with her flawless style and fearless attitude. Now as the young guns slide into the spotlight for freestyle shredding, Dakides is back in action on the boardercross side of things. (Must be a new trend) And of course, Tara still holds it down and is dominating.

TJ Schiller- Ski
TJ Schiller overcame a blown-out knee to come back and win the 2009 Winter X-Games. Impressive to say the least.

Kaya Turski- Ski
After sitting out of skiing for almost two years with injuries, Kaya Turski came back in 2009 and podiumed at every single Slopestyle competition she entered. She won most of them and is the comeback threat of the year in the world of girls freeskiing.



Mega Movie Part Must See:

Jp Walker in "This Video Sucks"- Snowboard
JP Walker's part in StepChild's "This Video Sucks" is super progressive, and really impressive. His entire part is done switch. Crazy, but true- Peep the trailer here.

Jenny Jones in "Stance" -Snowboard
Jenny Jones' part in "Stance" is epic. It's a definite must see for 2009. Jenny makes girls snowboarding fun to watch. Get teased here.

Shane McConkey in MSP's "In Deep"- Ski
It's his final segment. Its more than a must-see, It's a tribute.



Ingrid Backstrom in MSP's "In Deep"- Ski
Ingrid rips big mountain harder than most dudes. Especially in her part in this years "In Deep."



Friendliest Competitor Award:

Chaz Guldemond-Snowboard
Smiling here, and patting the back of his competitors there, Chaz Guildemon easily won our hearts as he is arguably the nicest guy in snowboarding- Keep smiling bud- We love you for it!

Torah Bright- Snowboard
Torah- competitor and comrade. Photo: www.nateabbott.com
The Australian sweetheart Roxy rider is our women's snowboard pick for friendliest competitor. If you've ever glanced her earnest smile or met her in person than you know why. She is always super nice, at least until you pick a fight with her. See what we're talking about here

TJ Schiller- Ski
TJ Schiller is the nicest, most approachable pro in skiing. Seems like Schiller is always grinning. Just look at his sweet baby face!

Sarah Burke- Ski
This was an easy pick. Sarah's been the queen bee of the ski girls for years and all of their biggest inspiration. She's always willing to lend a helping hand or sign an autograph for a young fan.


Best Overall Shred Flick:

Skeleton Crew's "Group Effect" - Snowboard
Dirty, Grimy, Raw, & Radical, pretty much sums up this banger video. Check out the whole thing here. Bingo!


Poor Boyz Productions' "Every Day is a Saturday"- Ski
It's just dayum good. It speaks for itself- be sure to check it out.





Urban Rail Rippers:

LNP- Snowboard
Bursting on the scene with long hair and a beefy beard, Rome's LNP (Laurent Nicolas Paquin) grabbed our attention with his slick style on and off the rails. Watch and learn with his Trick-tip vid (BS 180 to Rail) here



Laura Hadar-Snowboard
Capita's only lady Pro shred wins this award for the simple fact that she destroys it. You just can't deny it. (P.S. She's back from injury this year and on-fire!)

Phil Casabon-Ski
Phil laid down one of the most impressive urban segments of all time in Level 1's Refresh.

Kaya Turski- Ski
In the skiing world Kaya is one of the only girls that goes after the Urban. Get some.



Did That Just Happen? Standout Moments of the Year:


Kevin Pearce-Snowboard
Remember back in January when Kevin almost beat Shaun in halfpipe during Winter X? It was super close, but Shaun ended up with the controversial win. We all know KP has the skills to take down Shaun, so will 2010 be his lucky year? Time will only tell. (Ed update: Kevin was seriously hurt on New Years Eve while training pipe in Park City. GrindTV.com will be updating his recovery.)


Kevin Pearce going HUGE at the 2009 Winter X Games where he barely missed taking the Gold. Photo: www.nateabbott.com

Gretchen Belier- Snowboard
Aspen's home town hero was expected to throw down at this year's X-games, but a buckle on the lip made GB crash to the flats. The fall was brutal and took Gretchen out of the contest- check out the harrowing fall that shocked us all-




Gretchen being helped up after her crash at the 2009 Winter X Games. Photo: www.nateabbot.com

Tom Wallisch- Ski
Tom has the best style in skiing. He standouts every run, just because his style makes it look so fun.

Ingrid Backstrom- Ski
Ingrid wins this award for her balls to the walls shredding of big AK lines. Again, check out "In Deep". The proof is in the pudding.


Well, there you have it. Congrats to the winners and bring on 2010!

Happy New Year everyone. With love, The GrindTV Editorial Crew.

Tyler Flanagan Photo Courtesy of Alli Sports

The Winter Dew Tour men's snowboard slopestyle finals were swept by some young Americans this weekend with all top three places being taken by riders from California, Utah, and Colorado. Mammoth Lakes native Tyler Flanagan took the top spot on the podium at only 16 years old with a score of 93.00 after originally being in the seventh place spot. He showed up with a Cab 900, massive back to back 1080's, and a clean set of rail tricks. Sage Kotsenburg hailing from Park City, UT came in second earning a 90.00 with a 900, a 1080 and a doublecork 1080 over the triple jump line followed by Breckenridge's Eric Willett with a final score of 87.50. Willett earned his spot with a huge doublecork 1080 and technical rail jibs.



Snowboarding's golden girl, Jamie Anderson, once again blew us away and came out on top of the podium. The South Lake Tahoe local earned a 92.00 which more than doubled half of her fellow competitor's scores. Jamie clinched first place by being the only female to land a full run with a backside 180, a switch backside 540, and a frontside 360. Her second run was about to top that with back to back 540's however, she slipped out on a 720 attempt. The battle for first was between her and Czech Republic's Sarka Panc, who ended up trailing after a run filled with boardslides, presses, a backside 540, and a switch backside 180. Who knows what would have happened if she had landed her smooth 720 over the third jump. Her score of an 80.25 put her in the number two spot. Coming in third place was Jenny Jones with a 67.50 even with falls on both runs.



Men's Snowboard Slopestyle Finals

1. Tyler Flanagan Mammoth Lakes, CA 93.00
2. Sage Kotsenburg Park City, UT 90.00
3. Eric Willett Breckrenridge, CO 87.50

Women's Snowboard Slopestyle Finals

1. Jamie Anderson South Lake Tahoe, CA 92.00
2. Sarka Panc Uh.Brod, CZE 80.25
3. Jenny Jones Bristol, GBR 67.50


Women's Slopestyle Podium Photo Courtesy of Alli Sports

Groms Invade Keystone for Snowboarder Magazine's The Launch presented by Nike 6.0

Last year Snowboarder Magazine established The Launch as a literal launching pad for snowboarding's next super stars at Northstar-at-Tahoe with the support of Nike 6.0. This year's event is hosted by Keystone Resort in Colorado with the continued support of Nike 6.0. However, the out-of-the-box nature of the first Launch caught the attention of Red Bull, who has come on board as a co-sponsor this year. The event kicks off today and will run through Sun., April 12.

The Launch has its roots in the tradition of Snowboarder's Superpark, but instead of featuring the traditional who's-who of professional snowboarding; The Launch invitees represent 50 of the world's best 13-17 year olds. "With the launch, Snowboarder is providing the next generation of standout riders with next level terrain," says Snowboarder Editor, Pat Bridges. "Just because they aren't old enough to have a driver's license, doesn't mean they don't know how to put it into high gear and drive the sport in new directions."

Snowboarder has earned itself a reputation for recognizing emerging talent and The Launch is the venue they offer to give promising groms the boost they need to progress their riding, get to know some of their fellow athletes in a non-competitive environment and ultimately launch a professional career all while having a little fun. Bridges emphasizes that, "beyond the riding, the launch also strives to help these up and comers connect with their peers and get to know them as more than just a bib number."

Onsite and ready to capture the action of riders like Trevor Jacob, Tyler Flanagan, Greg Bretz, Scotty James and Matt Ladley are renowned photographers Espen Lystad and Aaron Dodds. Standard Films will also be on-site taking footage for upcoming films and television shows. Providing these kids with editorial exposure is another unique aspect to The Launch, however, "it is not only about the best emerging young talent, but also about creativity in snowboarding," says Snowboarder Publisher, Chris Engelsman. "Jason George and the rest of the Keystone Park Staff have gone above and beyond creating a truly unique park. I can't wait to see what the kids do!"
The results of this editorial park shoot will be featured in the September issue of the magazine, however daily recaps, images and more will be available at: www.snowboardermag.com/superpark.

"The Launch isn't a contest," Bridges points out, "if these riders leave keystone as better snowboarders and better friends, then everyone is a winner."