LNP, Will Lavigne, Louif Paradis, Alex Canton and Nic Sauve have (successfully) infiltrated Breckenridge's crispy altitude and haughty attitude.

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.

Chug dropped season two's premier. Get in there and check it out while the gettin's good.

It is raunchy. You've been warned.

This is a must see folks. If you didn't think Norm McDonald was a little bit weird before this... you will now. Props to Gretchen for holding her own even with Norm trying to snake the show.

Friends, family and fans of Jeff Anderson gathered this past weekend in Mammoth during the Grand Opening of the resort for the "I Am Snowboarding" Tribute Art Show.

Jeff passed away tragically in 2003 at the height of his snowboarding career. This month, 2009, would have marked his 30th birthday.

Photographers, artists and friends of Jeff were asked to create pieces with the Jeff as an inspiration. The pieces were auctioned off this past weekend to support the JLA Memorial Fund. The collection opened to the public this past Monday, November 14th at the Village at Mammoth and will stay open to be viewed for the next two weeks.

If you can't make it out to Mammoth in the next few days, take a quick peek at this video of some of the art generated by Jeff's peers.