Wrapping up Saturday, March 12th: Events, Events, Events!

The Helly Hansen Big Mountain Battle 2011

Helly Hansen's 2011 Big Mountain Battle came to Stevens Pass last weekend after having already visited Taos, Fernie, Park City, Keystone, Squaw Valley and Revelstoke. This internationally renowned event series involves teams of two travelling around the resort together, hiking up and across jagged ridgelines in search of several GPS checkpoints. The event course also required participants to ride some advanced, and at time variable terrain.

This year's Big Mountain Battle drew more than 100 competitors, making up 52 two-person teams, of which 42 completed the course. Many of the competitors were returning participants as well, having run the course at last year's event. All who entered recieved a Helly Hansen base-layer and a one-year subscription to Powder Magazine! The winning team would take home $2000 worth of Helly Hansen Gear as well as qualifying for the event finale in Aspen, CO later this month.

(Right) Matthew Kuharic and Peter Westman, members of team "3Peter 4 Matt," accepting their prizes after taking 1st Place in the event for the third year in a row.  

This years winning team was familiar to the podium, having won the event for the third straight year. Their fine-tuned strategy, specific to the course here at Stevens Pass, allowed them the victory by a comfortable margin. The 2nd Place team was Team "Hot Lava," composed of local shredders Ian Wood (who came in 2nd here at Stevens last year as well) and Ryan Waiste. Rounding out the top three were Jackson Dove and Don Brockett. Dove and Brockett made up Team "Gnarwhal;" one the many colorful team names we saw this year. 

We here at Stevens Pass would like to thank everyone who came out, participants and spectators alike. Congratulations to our winners and the best of luck to them on March 28th, in the bowls of Aspen!

For complete results and statistics from this event, CLICK HERE!

 Snowskate Roundup 2011

Snowskaters made a triumphant return to Stevens Pass last weekend as the Snowskate Roundup took place. The scene brought to mind the early days of snowboarding, as a motley crew of competitors, old and young, battled it out in a jam style format. The event drew a crowd of avid supporters, mixed with curious onlookers as the best snowskaters in the Pacific Northwest put on quite the show. Also featuring a live DJ, the Snowskate Roundup garnered a noticeable media presence, shining a spotlight on this growing sport and nudging it closer to the mainstream. With skate V.I.P. Steve Frink on hand as a guest judge, professional snowskater Jake Tomlinson put on an impressive show and took the win. Prizes were numerous enough that all of the competitors, as well as many of the spectators, were able to walk (or skate) away with some shwag. 

The 2011 Snowskate Roundup was a blast, and we here at Stevens Pass look forward to offering future support to this growing sport. After all, we all love these mountains. Everyone deserves their place in the snow.

Take a moment to check out these photos from last Saturday's Snowskate Roundup!

 

(Above) No bindings = more risk, more reward. (Below) Would it be redundant to mention the risk factor again?

(Below Left) Bindings or not; one perdy Method.. (Below Right) Snowskaters head towards the top of the Terrain Park                     as the time neared for award announcements.

 

This alpine ski-racing competition showcases top the top 10-12 year old slalom racers from throughout our region. This year, the event drew 255 boys and girls representing 23 different ski clubs from Washington,  Oregon and Idaho. The Buddy Werner Championship is the largest race of its kind in the United States and is sanctioned by USSA for youth ski racers. Many past Buddy Werner participants have ultimately become members of the US Ski Team and even Olympic medalists.

The event this year consisted of three days of activity, beginning with an opening ceremony on Friday, March 11th. Saturday's festivities featured an appearance by World Cup U.S. ski team member, Libby Ludlow. Ludlow, originally of Bellevue, WA, is a former winner of the BWC (1994) and went on to ski for the U.S. in the 2006 Olympic Games in Torino, Italy. The races themselves  featured both Giant Slalom and Slalom events for the youngsters, and were accessed via Kehr's Chair. The racers were also availed a banquet and "dance-party" as part of the three-day festivities.

Mens:

Slalom

Giant Slalom

Womens: 

Slalom

Giant Slalom

As originally published on: www.ridestevenspass.com