Getting Utarded in the LCC

I got to hang out in SLC for a week while Jess was working at the Outdoor Retailer trade show. Unfortunately I didn't get to see too much of the trade show because the Cottonwood Canyon's above SLC happened to be getting hammered with heavy snow every day, so obviously snowboarding was higher priority than wandering around a maze of retail booths.

I spent every day up at Snowbird preparing myself for the big mountain snowboarding competition that was taking place over the weekend at Snowbird. The competition was the first of three stops in The North Face Masters of snowboarding.

Utah has had a really scrappy ski season much like Steamboat, the day I arrived Snowbird had a 45" base. Snow conditions were not looking very good in the competition venues but luckily it started snowing and didn't let up until after the competition was over. By then Snowbird was reporting a 7 foot storm total and a 96" base.

I had an unforgettable week of exploring the mountain and finding sweet zones to ride. I got more core shots and face shots on my first day at Snowbird than I got all season at Steamboat.

It was both inspiring and intimidating to be surrounded by total badasses that intentionally go looking for trouble out on the hill. These people put off an amazing vibe and you can really feel the community spirit among the weekday rippers.

The phrase "don't go if you don't know" took on a whole new meaning for me as I blindly poked around off-piste in the white out conditions all week. I ended up doing alright out there in the fog based on the fact that I never had to backtrack or wish I had rappelling gear.

I focused my efforts on riding the venues and trying to link up lines for the competition. Although I was having a great time and enjoying my vacation, I could never get over the feeling that I was supposed to be focusing on getting ready for the competition.

The Masters comp. ended up being delayed for 2 days due to weather. The organizers changed the format to a 1 run final and were able to get all the riders through on the weather contingency day. I held my own out there and feel like I deserved to wear my Masters bib. I placed 43rd out of 75 in the men's field with a score of 67.5, hopefully it would have been a high enough score to place me in the semi-finals if the event had gone as planned.

Trip Report from the competition will be posted shortly along with a bunch of low-quality, non-action photos from my trip.

Overall it was an amazing experience and I cant wait for my next big mountain comp and another snowboarding trip to Utah.