Temperature's topped out at a balmy 13 degrees here at Copper Mountain's Superpipe today for day one of the first stop of the U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix series.

The glacial temps haven't stopped the world's halfpipe die-hards from showing up for training every morning at 8 a.m. for the past couple weeks, where team U.S.A. has had private access to the pipe until 10:30 in the morning. In fact, the bluebird skies and high of 13 degrees was welcomed with open arms by the riders after multiple training days of blowing ice, stormy weather and sub-zero temps.

Much of the hype around this first major contest of the winter lies within the upcoming 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Olympic seasons are milestone's every four years for the U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix series, as the five stop tour is the major deciding factor for the United States Olympic Halfpipe team.

That being said, all eyes are on Copper to see who has actually shown up for the first Olympic Selection competition.

The two most notable names not on the starting list as of today are former Olympians Danny Kass (Silver, Salt Lake City 2002, Torino 2006) and Hannah Teter (Gold, Torino 2006). Both are out due to minor injuries.

Danny and Hannah's absence from the first stop of the Grand Prix doesn't eliminate them from their chances for going to Vancouver in February. There are still four more stops and ample room for growth (and mistakes) in these U.S. Halfpipe proving grounds. In fact, Danny domineered both the 2002 and 2006 Olympic Grand Prix series after "leisurely" starts to each of them.

On the other end of that spectrum, of course, is Shaun Roger White. When Shaun took home the Olympic Gold in 2006 he had "The Perfect Year". He literally won every single professional competition including all of the Grand Prix's and both the slopestyle and pipe comp's at both the X Games and the Burton U.S. Open, an impossible feat.

And, judging by the way Shaun's been riding here in Copper during training, he could very well be on his way to his second perfect season. It's no secret after his showing at this summer's New Zealand Burton Open that Shaun has set the bar when it comes to halfpipe riding. Any competitor will tell you that he's had a one-up with closed night-time resort access and secret backcountry halfpipe sessions, but that doesn't change the fact that Shaun's riding abilities are noticeably pushing the progression of the sport daily.

Bottom line, the man to beat this weekend is Shaun.

And of course the trick the do that is everyone's favorite new variety of trick, the double-cork. Shaun's got them (back to back), Louie Vito has them, Luke Mitrani, Danny Davis, Kevin Pearce, Greg Bretz, Matt Ladley, the list grows longer every day.

Friday morning will be the first chance for the boys to throw down, and it will be our first chance to see who really has what it takes to win with the pressure of an Olympic year bearing down on them. Stay tuned...

We don't know who's going yet... but we know what they'll be wearing.

Burton just unveiled the new 2010 U.S. Snowboard Team Uniform. Check it out. Thoughts?



Here's the official word on them from the big B.

After much anticipation, Burton unveils today the US Snowboard Team Uniforms for the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics. This February, as the US Snowboard Team steps onto the World's stage in Vancouver, they will look and feel unmatched with designs that speak to both individuality and heritage, key hallmarks of the Burton brand and the snowboard culture. Building on their long-standing relationship with Gore, Burton has enhanced their own unique designs with the Gore-Tex brand.



The Olympic uniforms feature a fresh and progressive style while also managing to pay tribute to more classic Americana fashion staples. The pants seamlessly integrate the look of real, worn, vintage denim, and the jackets feature preppy plaids adorned with leather patches and chenille crests with both pieces incorporating the performance benefits of Gore-Tex fabric. All product development at Burton is rider driven and this Olympic outerwear is no exception. Burton held a roundtable discussion with top pro-snowboarders and Olympic hopefuls Elena Hight, Mason Aguirre, Danny Davis, Kevin Pearce, Jack Mitrani, Luke Mitrani, Steve Fisher, Scotty Lago, and Louie Vito to review design concepts for the outerwear before arriving at the final creation.



"Since its inception, Burton has been a rider driven company," said Jake Burton, Founder and Chairman of Burton Snowboards. "For the creation of the US Snowboard Team uniform, we listened carefully to the riders' needs and used their input to ensure that the final fit, fabrics and overall design would maximize their performances and take these riders to the podium. It was also absolutely critical to ensure these Olympic uniforms were worthy of bearing the Burton name."



The partnership with the Gore-Tex brand, the official fabric of the 2010 U.S. Snowboarding Team's Olympic outerwear, further enhances the technical designs, enabling riders to compete in a variety of cold weather conditions. Gore-Tex fabrics combat the snow, ice, water and wind, while maintaining breathability, keeping riders drier and more comfortable.



"The Olympic team is made up of the best riders in the world and they demand the best in functionality and performance," says Brad Hill, NA Snowsports Marketing Leader." As the leader in technical fabrics, our number one priority at Gore is to make sure our products are best in class. By blending Burton's unique style with the unbeatable comfort and protection found in Gore-Tex fabric we're confident the uniforms will enable riders to stay focused on the challenges of the event itself, and not on the distractions bad weather can bring."



Providing support for riders worldwide, Burton is supplying the official uniforms for the Chinese and Finnish snowboarding teams for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
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Photos courtesy of Dez Price/Shreducation

Ahhhh....

Life is back to normal now.

Resorts are open and it's snowed almost everywhere, everywhere it should be snowing at least. As usual, Whistler and Silverton are having opening day powder turns, the East Coast has squeaked open some of it's icy runs to the die-hard edge-friendly crowd, and of course Summit County is chalk full of pro's and immaculately shaped parks.

Yes, our world is back to normal once again.

But, most importantly in our little snow-globe of a world... Copper has opened it's halfpipe.

Of course we know this is "a pipe year", with the Olympics and all that jazz right around the corner. And yes, we will be hearing an earful about halfpipe's.

Undeniably the terms "double-cork" and "Shaun White" will be overused. Mass media will come in and (for three weeks only) they will be "super stoked" on our "rad" sport. All of a sudden midwestern mother's in aprons will be bringing up "the flying tomato" at family dinner, and proud bar-going, beer-guzzling American's will be boasting and making bets on our All American Snowboard team bringing home another US of A podium sweep.

Oh yes, history has a way of repeating itself, and this 2010 Olympic year will be much like the last. Of course, we will be pepper-ing in the important stuff (backcountry and park) in the midst of all this hoop-la, but we might as well dig into the pipe scene since it is this year's place to be seen.

First off, Copper Mountain rules. Consistently for the past few years they have unveiled one of the best shaped U-tubes a pipe-jock could ask for. Of course we have Frank Wells and SnowPark Technologies behind the scenes to also thank for this blessing, but first and foremost it's Copper Mountain Resort coming thru for the homies and supporting the sport.

And it has payed off. A plethora of pro's have graced Copper with their presence. Everyone from the Japanese snowboard team to our own spunky dancing star, *Louie Vito, has descended upon the Rocky Mountain Resort- and they aren't holding back. (Yes, Shaun is here too- see the video.)

*Side note: As much as we loved the off-season entertainment, it is good to see Vito off the ballroom floor and back on snow.

Scope out a sneak peak of the tricks being thrown down and perfected as these guys gear up for next weeks first stop of the Grand Prix at Copper, the first USA Olympic Selection contest of the year. It's anyone's guess as to who will make the select few spots to represent the red, white and blue in Vancouver- but you can be damn well sure (and proud) that America's talent pool runs deep and thick.

Canada... here we come.

It was a good run while it lasted for snowboarding's prancing celebrity, Louie Vito. Seven weeks and making it to the halfway mark of the competition on "Dancing With the Stars" is no small feat. (Although at 5'5", Louie probably does have some small feet. Ba-dum-ching, bad joke.) Sadly, this week will be the last we'll see of Louie and Chelsie on prime-time television.

It all started on Monday night's show when Louie and Chelsie set out to do the Jitterbug. Louie was jitterbugging away when he flipped his partner up in the air and (literally) dropped her on her ass. (Watch the clip below- Louie drops Chelsie around the 2:20 mark, but the intro ABC did of them practicing is good laughs too.)



Don't worry, Chelsie wasn't hurt.

And Louie's jitterbug focus was so intense that he didn't even notice he'd dropped the poor thing on her bum. It was kinda hilarious.

His outfit and unexplainable nerd glasses made it even more hilarious.

Otherwise the dance wasn't that bad. Over the weeks the judges main complaints were that Louie wasn't really dancing per say, that he was more walking thru the steps. It was pretty obvious during last night's jitterbug and tonight's "Dance Off" that Louie was really trying to pep it up.

What is a dance off, you ask? Yes, it sounds like something out of a Ben Stiller movie, and yes, it is for real. According to all the buildup the first 45 minutes of the show, a dance off is taken quite seriously on Dancing With the Stars, although we can't say it without lol'ing.

Tonight's show happened to be a "double elimination", where two couples were eliminated rather than the usual single couple. America voted via text and phone after the celeb's did their thing on Monday night, and then three couples with the lowest amount of votes are singled out.

The lowest score of the three was Melissa Joan Hart. She got the boot right away with no last chance at the dance off. (Louie was definitely a way better dancer then her.)

That left Louie and Chelsie up against NFL star Michael Irvin and his partner Anna Demidova for the dance off (again, lol). Louie and Chelsie did the Jive and Michael and Irvin did a Samba, but this time it was up to the judges to decide who the votes went too.

During his dance off Louie managed not to drop his partner and he kept his energy level up, but he did have quite a few missteps.

Judge Bruno Tonioli voted to keep Louie and Chelsie in (we like that guy) but both judges Len Goodman (old stiff) and Carrie Ann Inaba (loud and obnoxious) voted to keep Michael Irvin on the show.

You gotta hand it to Louie though, he had the best attitude possible throughout his entire run on the show, including his final moment after he got kicked off. He backflipped off the stage (crowd pleaser) and told the show's host, Tom Bergeron, "Every week I was proud of myself just for getting out there... It's harder than it looks". And he said it with what has become his trademark smile that makes middle age women all across America want to pinch his cheeks and wash his hair.

And honestly, snow's a fallin' and it won't be long before a halfpipe opens up somewhere. It's time for Vito to get back to doing what he does best and start gearing up for the Olympic qualifiers.

Big ups to Louie for being a good sport and a great representation for snowboarding. Head on over to Louie's athlete page to check out all the dance vids... and some of him actually riding. Become a fan so you can see Louie's updates as he competes in the Olympic Qualifiers and tries to make the elite U.S. Olympic Snowboard Team for Vancouver this February.

Photos courtesy of Burton.com

It's no secret that Shaun White is about ten steps ahead of his competition right now when it comes to slaying it in the pipe. America has high hopes for the red headed anomaly to bring home the gold in this February's Vancouver Olympics- and with that kind of pressure Shaun's been in extreme training mode for the past year or so. He's had private halfpipe's built, top-secret nighttime training sessions, and even took the summer off from skating vert ramp to concentrate on upping his game.

We've been wondering what kind of physical training he's been up to when he's not on the hill. We stumbled across this blog from our friends over at Burton and perhaps this is his Shaun's secret...


Olympic Halfpipe coach Bud Keene analyzing Shaun's "Batsman" technique on the "Pitch"

Ok, so the game of Cricket doesn't have a damn thing to do Snowboarding... but at least Shaun and the crew are having fun in New Zealand during their down time. Check out the full blog here over at Burton.com- there's more hilarious photo's. While you're at it cruise around in their News and Events blog. They've always got tasty nuggets of internet content to keep you entertained.


Just look at the intensity of Coach Keene's pitch...