This past Sunday, Vancouver’s only ski comp of the season, Orage March Madness, went down at Seymour. It was a perfect sunny day for a perfect comp. Unlike typical slopestyle format, 2 runs take your best score, this contest went down in jam fashion. Riders were assigned to categories and when your category was called you had 20 minutes to session anything on course on try to impress the judges. Good fun was had by all and in the end last year’s winner, Todd Loukras out of Rossland ended up reclaiming top spot with Peter Hunter, who had a, shall we say, different run coming in second and ex-Grouse local/now Whistler kid, James Anderson bringing up third place. Shout out to another ex-Grouse local, Liam Casey for claiming the best trick of the day and a new pair of boots with a lip-270 onto the down-flat-down handrail. Killing it.
As always, I had my camera out in full force, trying to get some shots. Not everything turned out the way I wanted, but here’s what I came up with.
Ryan Allan with a flat 540 over the jump
Liam Casey on attempt one of the lip-270 on. Ended up tacoing.
Peter Hunter on the closeout portion of the Vermont Double Set.
This video may seem kind of random because of all the things that have been happening in Vancouver and Whistler lately (i.e. the Red Ledge, the Olympics coming up, strange snow patterns etc, etc). However, I have been watching this video over and over for the past 24 hours because I can’t get over how great it is. It must have been impossible to pick a winner because all of these riders threw down so hard. This is the video from the Olympic Heritage contest in Tahoe. I can almost guarantee you will enjoy it as much as I do!
There are a lot of urban rails that are seen time and time again in movies. Probably one of the most famous rails is The Red Ledge in Quebec. Ever since JP Auclair hit is some 10 years ago (don’t quote me on this, only a guess) it has been a relic for many film crews. Today, Mount Seymour played host to a rail jam on a re-made version of the infamous urban feature. It was my first day shooting with my remote flash set-up and unfortunately, due to weather, I was having a few issues. Here is what came out of it.
Front board
Seymour Park Crew with a switch on tips over the ledge
One last thing, to the commentator who kindly said “I better not see some gay blog about this,” I dedicate this one to you.
What is beef? According to deceased rapper Biggie Smalls, beef is when you need two gats to go to sleep. By that definition, it would appear that there is no such beef between the parks at Grouse Mountain and Mount Seymour. Most likely because we’re not located in east Brooklyn. In any case, any one who knows anything about the local scene is well aware that there is, unfortunately, beef between the two mountains.
It’s not intermountain beef either. It’s strictly park related. Maybe I’m just old fashioned, but when I was growing up riding, I enjoyed both Grouse and Seymour. Yea, I went to Grouse way more often, but I got up to Seymour every now and then. I was just stoked to ride, didn’t matter where, didn’t matter who had more snow, or who had a better park, or how much the food was, or whether you had to drive up or not. A day on the hill was a day on the hill. Now, it seems like people want to talk shit more than they want to ride. Listening to all the drama that’s going on within the local scene is like reading a script off Peak Season or the OC. It’s absolutely ridiculous.
I’ve heard people say “Why doesn’t Grouse put in some corrugated pipe?” Why does every park have to have the same features? Seymour has corrugated piping set up and yes, it’s super fun. BUT! Grouse has an S-rail, and that’s fun too. They’ve got Nike as a park sponsor, we’ve got Quiksilver. In the end though, who cares? It’s so frustrating, having to deal with all the road blocks that this situation throws up when it comes to the two parks. You go to Seymour as a Grouse rider, you get called out. Why? That’s absolutely retarded. It happens at Grouse too, so don’t get too smug. Moreover, it has nothing to do with the management at either mountain. Have you ever talked to the powers at either mountain? Nicest people ever! It’s just skewed attitudes and ignorance of the riders that ride at either mountain that lead to more drama than all of Shakespeare’s plays put together.
So here’s the deal. Big props to both crews, they’ve both killed it this season. Instead of talking shit, go to one of the local parks, strap in, and get creative on what’s there. There was a time, not too long ago, when having a box and a flat bar was a huge thing. It’s not about who has the most legit handrail, or the most pristine jump. It’s about doing what we do best, and that isn’t dishing beef. It’s riding. If you’ve forgotten what having fun and just riding looks like, here are a few videos to refresh your memory.
Thank you Crapneto, for keeping the fun in snowboarfunding.
As fun as Grouse has been the last little while, something I am always appreciative of is a change of scenery. Living on the North Shore, I’m lucky enough to get that change with very little travel time. Last Friday, along with Shayan and Spencer, I headed up to Seymour to check out the scene there. Here are a few pictures from the day. Enjoy.
