Copper Pipe Day 2

SPENCER SHAW ALLY OOP


It was another sunny day at Copper. Sunscreen and dark lenses were a must. The one difference today was the presence of even more top pros. Shauwn White, Danny Davis, Ellery Hollingsworth and Louie Vito were just a few in attendance. That certainly doesn't phase my crew. They politely push up front and throw down focused runs. The crew all chose a trick or combo to work on and they all succeeded. Tierney, Wood and Spencer all got their front to cab 720s back. It was Randall's first day in pipe so he focused on amplitude and style, and developed them both in 4 runs. Mike Perle attempted back 900s but came up a bit short. James chose front 1080s and while he might be tough on himself for a minor hand out, I'm calling two makes. Just like that, 3 hours on snow and 90% of all goals accomplished. These guys are on point!

DIDN'T KNOW WHICH MIKE PERLE SHOT LOOKED BETTER, YOU CHOOSE

Grand Prix Halfpipe Opens

I have to apologize again today for not having photos of the day's action. This shot of Pro/Am Coach Scotty and Daniel Landy is nice though right?
The halfpipe for the first Olympic qualifier GP opened today. The US team had it for the first 2 hours, leaving us to patiently watch from the coffee shop below. At 10am sharp we rolled into the pipe and it was much like the Breck jump line day. Lots of riders, many pro, and the Elite Team pushing its way up front and throwing down for all to see. The crew was happy to start slow, building amplitude and feeling out the tranny's. They kept it safe all day, but I had to marvel at what a mellow day is for these guys. 5s, 7s and 9s were the tricks thrown with ease and style on the first day of pipe training in 2010. With skills like that in Nov, the season looks good. James and Spencer stomped front 9s and Spencer rivaled the amplitude of anyone in the pipe.
After watching the riding and feeling out weak areas, I held a meeting with the Elite men to determine the next steps and directions. They all have goals that are attainable in a few days. This looks to be a great fall camp.

Woodward Rail Jam

Woodward at Copper held a free Yam Jam (rail comp) today. The announcer was none other than Rick Shimpeno, so you know tricks were called right and laughs were had by all. We have been training rails daily and it showed, as Randall Stacy, Connor Hudson, Mike Perle and Eric Beauchemin all made finals. They only took 10 to finals, otherwise James Haffner, Tierney and Spencer would have been in the race. I was also impressed by JAMIE CHARRON who had the eye of the tiger, hiked his butt off and landed most of his tricks with style. This kid is driven. Kyle Dorfman was also all business and landed some great tricks too. These two will soon be recognized for their skill and hard work. In the end it was Eric Beauchemin who walked away with the win, beating out a few of Coppers ripping locals. That's two wins in two days (Rumble in the Railgarden being #1), and he is off to the Rome Rail Jam at Loveland tomorrow.
Speaking of tomorrow, one of the best pipe's in snowboarding's history will open to us at 10am. The Elite Team and Orin Pearce are amped and getting a good night's sleep in preparation for an epic session. Should be some good photos.
As I type I am awaiting the arrival of DAVE REDDEN, Phoebe Novello and Kylie Kennedy. They should be full of fresh energy, and they are showing up at a great time. This means that you will be treated to some Redden blogs over the next few days, and we all love those!

Holiday Rumble in the Railgarden

HEAVYWEIGHT CONTENDERS


A Happy Thanksgivng to all my blog followers. For those missing their kids on this family holiday, know that they spent the day doing what makes them happy, shredding in the sun. It was another clear and warm day, conducive to enjoyable progression. Crowds were minimal as most normal persons are at home preparing for stomach stuffing.
The halfpipe is coming along nicely, but will not be open til Saturday. That left us to another day of rail training, which my crew is only too happy to endure. The day's mission was a game of Follow the Leader in the railgardens. Each rider chose a trick on a rail and was awarded a point for landing the trick. If said rider landed his trick, the others had to attempt the same trick and scored a point for completion. The idea behind the game was to get the guys to try tricks they would not normally think of. While a cautious approach could guarantee easy points, the riders went for the throat on each attempt. Again I was reminded that I'm with the Elite Crew now, and these guys don't hold back. The tricks were difficult and creative, and when a hard trick was copied the crowd went wild.
As two rounds neared completion it was SPENCER SHAW and ERIC BEAUCHEMIN who were left to determine the day's champ.

Spencer was one point behind and was the last to go. He landed his trick, a risky 50-50 back 360 off the a rainbow box. This tied him with Eric who was the last to attempt the trick. What a way to end the game! It all came down to one difficult trick. Well I can't say I didn't suspect that Eric would stomp it, and stomp it he did, riding away with a holiday victory. His win granted him Ranking Officer Status on the Elite Team until our next challenge.
Credit goes to all riders as each had at least one amazing trick or follow up.

AND YOUR WINNER IN TWO ROUNDS, ERIC BEAUCHEMIN

Reunited WIth Shimp

JAMES HAFFNER DON'T NEED NO STINKING LONGSLEEVE


SPENCER SHAW BOOSTS INTO FOAM

Today we stayed off snow, but had some of the best training possible at Woodward Copper. There is no doubt that this place is the future of snowboard training. The trampoline and dry snowboarding set-ups are exactly what aspiring riders need. To see James throwing back rodeos and Randall sending double backflips fully convinced me of the legitimacy of foam pits.
Our guide for the day was none other than RICK SHIMPENO. We were so glad to see him again, just an encounter would have been enough. It was great to see Rick in his new element and he gave us a great intro course. This was followed by a long-awaited skate session. In 30 minutes the mini-ramp was scorched by SHIMP, HUNTER WOOD, JAMES HAFFNER, CONNOR HUDSON, CHRIS TIERNEY, IAN KIRK AND RANDALL STACY. Randall blew my mind by landing all his difficult tricks in his first run. The kid has not skated in weeks, yet stepped to it like he had been skating all day. The skate session flew by, but the good feeling of reuniting with Shimp is still felt.
Yesterday Serena Shaw took a good slam and messed up her hip and ankle a bit, but its hard to tell by looking at this photo. She insists on chilling with the team and will not be kept off snow for long!
DOES THIS LOOK LIKE AN INJURED ATHLETE?

UNLEASHED

Breck has had a triple jump line open for the last 3 weeks, and the kids knew it. We choose to get passes at Copper because they will have the first pipe open and the first Grand Prix. While we stand by this choice, its hard to ride there before they have features, knowing there is a jump line miles away. The team has been patient, polite and positive, but I have knew they were chomping at the bit to get to Breck. It hasn't helped to have other riders tell us daily how sick Breck is. Today we decided to hit Breck up before the pipe opens at Copper. The team was excited, but even I was fooled by the true level of said excitement.
Being in charge of the Elite Team is still new to me. I am used to weeks of prep and development when the season begins. I now have a crew of budding professional riders whose skills are honed. Giddy was the word of the day and I could truly feel electricity in the air on the first painfully slow lift ride to the park. I gave them the speech about starting slow, riding smart and staying together. Upon unloading the lift I felt like I was holding the reins to a dogsled whose 8 full grown dogs had a rabbit pass by. It was all I could do to keep up.
This sport is still growing and its followers getting more enthusiastic by the day. Having the only jump line open in the US made for a mob scene at the drop in zone. The pad was packed with some of todays top riders, which can be intimidating to many. The Elite Crew pushed right up front, run after run and threw down with style for 3 hours straight. These guys deserve naming again. SPENCER SHAW. HUNTER WOOD. CHRIS TIERNEY. JAMES HAFFNER. RANDALL STACY. JOE MENSCH, MIKE PERLE. ERIC BEAUCHEMIN. They dropped in line and it made my mind spin to look down the slope and see trick after trick popping off at the same time.
I have been especially pleased to see how Perle and Tierney have developed as riders and personas. These guys have been quiet around me in the past, but we now chat the day away. I really look forward to the next few years with these guys. Mike Perle has the nastiest BACKSIDE 720 (pictured) which he lands on command. Tierney's style and character are a pleasure to witness.
MIKE PERLE

Below the jump line was a creative jib park that the crew also devoured. Randall Stacy stepped right to this area with his signature steeze, as you can see in the FRONT BOARD TRANSFER shot below.

RANDALL STACY

We rode right through lunch, and when my crew was somewhat tired, I was able to look around at what else was going on. DANIEL LANDY was spinning frontside 540s off the third jump and I saw a dirty rail combo out of JAMIE CHARRON. I think it was frontside 180 on to switch front board 270, but Im not sure. It could have been half-cab on.
One of the amazing things about the SMS life is our interactions with past graduates. If you've watched SMS Cribs you see that we have space for visitors and we have enjoyed visits from KEVIN MATTICE, THOMAS TIKOS-KADJI and LIZZY BEERMAN. Today on the hill we also were warmly welcomed by the legend CHRIS WAKER and our only PG, CHRISTIAN CONNORS. Its an honor to have these heavy hitters rush to greet us and visit our house.
Tomorrow we take a day off snow and will visit Rick Shimpeno for a Woodward tramp and skate session. Then an SMS Thanksgiving which I will try to document on film!

2010 Elite Team on Fire

We were greeted by a few inches of fresh CO snow today which got our already amped crew even more ravenous to ride. And ride we did! My thesis for todays blog is the superiority of the SMS 2010 Elite Crew. Even our first warm up run was mind-blowing. These guys have come up in the ranks and know the basics which means even their cruising skills are noteworthy. Ripping down a long rolling cruiser run with Spencer, Hunter, James, Tierney, Mikey, Eric, Joe, and Randall was a trip. Style and control were the words of the day.
There is no jump line up yet, which gives us a chance to work on the second half of slopestyle, rails. The mission today was to choose a trick on two rail features, land it, and mimic it switch. The tricks these guys chose were creative and challenging (for example, James Haffner nollie tailslide 270s and the mirror fakie tailslide 270). Trust me, the USSA judges would miscall that one. By lunchtime the mission was accomplished, not George Bush style, Elite Team style. Team rookies Chris Tierney and Mike Perle kept right up and chose killer tricks. These two ooooozze style and are the future of this program.
At one rail we caught up with the Pro/Ams and in the short time we shared I was impressed with Kyle Dorfman's trick choices and Dan Landy's unbeatable character. Few want to ride a snowboard more than Dan Landy and his attitude and exuberance are very James Haffner-esque. Did not have time to shoot many photos, but trust me the tricks were worthy. This poorly shot pic of James is all I came up with, but you can see some style.

As fun as the riding was, the Elite Team workout session topped it for laughs. After a good workout, Hunter Wood purchased a women's one-piece swimsuit and hit the crowded swimming pool. Jaws dropped and one High School girl's ski team will never be the same. Hunter blew our minds and cramped our stomachs with laughter. Start to finish today, the thought that dominated my mind was, I love my Team.