P: courtesy of ESPN.com

The first-ever Ride Shakedown on U.S. soil went down (check the video) this past weekend at Summit at Snoqualmie and it was a hit sans the dumping snow that began pretty much at the beginning of the three hour semi finals. Pretty sure mother nature didn't realize she was dealing with rail lovers instead of tree hugging, powder slashing hippies. Anyways, the riders trucked through it, all of them after the cold hard cash. Semi's ended at sun down and the finals kicked off under the night sky.

Matts Kulesik took first place for the little boys and hometown hero, Megan Ginter got the win for the ladies; something about competing on the hill she learned to snowboard on amped her up for the contest. Ya think?

Here are the rest of the details:

Men

1. Matts Kulesik
2. Manuel Diaz
3. E-man Anderson

Ladies

1. Megan Ginter
2. Hana Beaman
3. Megan Whiteside

Be sure to keep up with the next Ride Shakedown that's kicking off April 2nd.


P: ESPN.com

P: Courtesy of Ride Snowboards

Canada's most popular and most nutty event, the Ride Shakedown put on by Ride Snowboards, will be cruising south of the border for the first time to Summit at Snoqualmie in Seattle, Washington. The event starts March 12 - read the press release below and peep the event page HERE.


SEATTLE (Feb. 22, 2010) - Snowboarding is riding a global high this season with the introduction of awe-inducing tricks in the park and half pipe and extensive media coverage. The action continues with the RIDE Shakedown, annually Canada's largest and most popular snowboard event, that will debut in the U.S. at Washington State's Summit-at-Snoqualmie (Summit West), March 12-13. FUEL.tv will air a live webcast of the event on March 13 beginning at 2 p.m. Now in its ninth season in Canada, the jam-style event which has drawn upwards of 20,000 spectators, is recognized for its spectacular urban rail features and 50-foot jump that is only unveiled to the athletes the day of the competition. The RIDE Shakedown is the only major snowboarding event that features a big air jump followed by a rail set up, in addition to the popular "Jam Format" competition.

Top pros, including Seattle's-own Austin Hironaka, Darrell Mathes,teen phenom and two-time Shakedown champion Seb Toutant, Hana Beaman,who won Shakedown's first women's edition last year, and Leanne Pelosi, will showcase their abilities in the event's signature thrill-a-minute format. With $35,000 in cash prizes for the top performers, the U.S. stop looks to continue the trend while putting a unique Northwest spin to it.

Spectator events begin at 10 a.m., March 12, with amateur qualifications, followed by Rail Jam qualifications at 4 p.m. and the Rail Jam main event at 6:30 p.m. Festivities begin at noon on March 13 with the Snowboarder Magazine pro athlete autograph session, semi finals in the afternoon, and a pro skateboard half-time show, then end with the Big Air finals from 8-9:30 p.m. The RIDE Shakedown after party, presented by SKDW MFG, will be held at Hard Rock Cafe in Seattle both nights with doors opening at 9 p.m. (21 and over).


RIDE Shakedown Schedule:

(free admission)

March 12, 2010

10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Amateur qualification

4 p.m.-6 p.m. Rail Jam qualifications

6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. Rail Jam

9 p.m. SKDW MFG presents the RIDE Shakedown after party

Hard Rock, Seattle, $10 in advance, $15 at the door (21-and-over)

March 13, 2010

Noon-1 p.m. Snowboarder Magazine autograph session
with the pros

2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. RIDE Shakedown semi-finals

6 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. Halftime show (pro skateboard session on the
snowboard rail set up)

7:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Warm up for RIDE Shakedown finals

8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. RIDE Shakedown finals and awards

9 p.m. SKDW MFG presents the RIDE Shakedown
afterparty

Hard Rock, Seattle, $10 in advance, $15 at the door (21-and-over)

RIDE Shakedown is the creation of Canadian's Brendan O'Dowd and Patryck Bernier who nine years ago set out to create a snowboarding event that would be more fun for both athletes and spectators. Annually, the festival's unique format and terrain park features take the world's top snowboarders to the brink of their abilities, which makes it extra entertaining for the audience, according to O'Dowd.


"The event is a spectacle," he said. "It's fun for everyone whether or not you're a core snowboarder or just want to experience the culture. We involve spectators throughout the event. Everything is close-in and the pros are accessible to anyone who comes up to the Summit at Snoqualmie."