[by Natalie Langmann]
Drive
up the Mt. Baker highway for the Legendary Banked Slalom, past the small
shred-town of Glacier, cabins askew with snowboard stickers and banners hanging
haphazardly in the windows, and keep climbing up the snow-covered valley
between canopies of dark green, mossy, thick-branched trees - a true sign of
the Pacific Northwest. Near the top, there is not one over-developed eyesore of
a home in sight, instead a sculpture of a couple of ravens welcoming visitors
to the White Salmon parking lot, full of eclectic means of transport: beat-down
cars, truck with sleds, family-vans to bio-diesel, grease-fueled vehicles. Cell
phones barely get signals, internet is shunned upon, and inside there's an Ipod
hooked up to an eighties-style alarm clock in the restrooms and the piano in
the cafeteria has a dread-headed shredder plunking away Stairway
to Heaven on the keys. But wait, it get cooler: Day two of the LBS,
all tail-gates in the White Salmon area go down, and Mt. Baker staff light up
their parking lot, blazing a massive bonfire, and a salmon bake to feed the
racers and friends of the snowboarding clan.
Hikers
booting it up the Arm above the course. Once you finish your race, start hiking
for pow.
Not unusual to see a Mt. Baker Hard Core, hanging at the start shack
in the midst of a blizzard: Jaime Lynn.
Sweet-tart
candy-coloured day passes read like a twitter updates: Bank Bail Out; Eat
Salmon, Ride Chicken; Got Duct Tape. The lone liftie, baring a strong
resemblance to Tron in Fubar
2, is hyped to speak of the
epic-powder forecast scheduled to come howling in for this weekend, as he
personally checks every rider's jacket for a ticket. Electronic-scanners
haven't come to Mt. Baker yet, but why bother when Tron could probably pick
each pass-holder out of a line-up. Ride up chair 7, take in the views, hear the
sounds of the ravens flying overhead, and then rip down and up chair 5, offload,
and arrive at a start shack of the slalom course to stand amongst legends:
Terje Haakonsen, Lucas Debari, Temple Cummins, Tom Burt, Maelle Ricker,
Gretchen Bleiler, Josh Dirksen, and over a hundred of shredders that have
enough balls to race against the best in the world.
Best book ends on any snowboarder's shelf: prestigious spray-painted,
duct tape trophies.
Mark Fawcett quoted as saying: "Had an amazing Thursday powder day
with Mike Robertson (SBX silver medalist 2010 games) and Travis Hauck from
Whitewater ski area - knee to waist deep, no crowds, fresh all day."
The Legendary Banked
Slalom, held for the past 26 years, is the longest running snowboard contest
after the Open, and the only contest where according to five-time gold
duct-tape recipient Maelle Ricker, getting the opportunity to race is something
you never give up, expressing that 900 people applied to the lottery this year,
and the locals qualifiers filled up in less than 48 hours. The organizers, Gwyn
and Amy Howitt, recognize that Mt. Baker breeds rippers, like ski-patroller and
Milano's Restaurant owner Jeannie Debari's family (Lucas and Maria), mom of two
and hard-core shred Weeg Simmons, and then a whole slew of unknowns, that they
make sure the roster doesn't get congested with only big names. Winning doesn't
add up to oodles of dough at this contest: you walk away with nothing more than
bragging rights, tons of swag, and a roll of gold spray-painted duct tape. If
you win Pro, prizes are priceless: an embroidered Carhartt jacket, a LBS belt
buckle designed by the makers of the American Rodeo Champions buckles, and to
top it all off, you get given "the bird". No, not the finger, but a replica of
the raven sculptures found in both the lodge and the entrance to Baker - rub
the beak, and it brings snow.
Shot through the gates: local Baker Legend: Lucas Debari on course.
Kelowna's Kelsey Galt in the race shack - finished fifth in Women's Pro.
Capita's
Blue Montgomery wanted to go for 15 years and tried to get in for 10, finally
got in this year, placing third in Pro Masters. "It was an honour and really
cool experience to meet, talk with, and race against guys like Tom Burt and
Mark Fawcett; fun to hang with a shit-talker like Sypinewski, who riles
everyone up and has like 20 side bets going at any given time; and just cool to
see old friends like Waylon, Billy, Boyes, Corey. It's part race, part reunion,
and it's so rad to see the little dudes, old dudes, pro dudes, ladies all
ripping so hard."
Gretchen Bleiler hanging at the top of the course.
According
to Nelson, BC's, Mark Fawcett, who first raced in 1991 - the only year it was
part of a tour circuit (Body Glove) and the prize purse was 10K (won by Craig
Kelly) - the race was set a bit straighter and faster than in years past. "I
believe that's good because it added some flow. In 2004, it was so back and
forth across the hill that it was difficult to keep enough speed to actually
carve a turn." Watching Mark Fawcett race, all bets were on him; even after he
fell on his first day, he still placed first in the Men's Pro Masters -
eventually bringing home gold. "I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to
have a competitively fast time on the first day, considering the big screw-up I
made on the fourth bank. I think that I actually bear-hugged the gate to pull
myself up and around it, which fanned my flame a bit, and I charged
exceptionally hard the rest of the way."
Day 1, 2 of race equals beating it down through a blizzard.
Maelle
Ricker took Pro Women for her fifth year (Karleen Jeffries holds the record of
six) with a bum arm and a broken hand. She had come down to Baker on Thursday
to make some turns, and a few slashes deep, she knew she couldn't stay off the
course, and tucked up her arm, coming in two-seconds ahead of Maria Debari in
the finals. As she walked away from the awards ceremony, Howitt on the mic,
added, "Don't forget Maelle, You have a season's pass here," which signifies
how much they love having her on their hill.
Women's Masters winner, Montana girl Tanya Simonson.
But
the perhaps, one of the greatest thing about the LBS this year was watching a
17-year-old from Colorado kick Terje's ass down the hill. "Racing against guys
like Temple and Terje is really incredible," says Harry Kearney, who's been
racing in the Pro Category since he was 15, and the Juniors since he was 12.
"I've been watching them in videos since I was seven-years-old and saw them in
all the mags over the years. Those guys are such forces in the snowboarding
world, its an honour just to stand next to them, let alone race with them." As
far as getting nervous though, I wasn't so much going into it; I'd been racing
with them for two years prior. But when I started posting some good times is
when I knew they were right behind me; then I started feeling it a bit. But
mostly I just went with it, rode like I had been all weekend." Right now
Kearney is going to see if he can get in the Salomon Freeride Championships in
Taos, New Mexico, but this time at Baker is truly unforgettable. "I'll be
riding this high for a while," he says, "probably the biggest thing to happen
to me in Snowboarding."
It's going to take a lot more than a broken hand and a bum shoulder
from keeping Maelle Ricker out of kicking ass at the LBS.
Click here for the official results.
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Related:
4-Year Bragging Rights: Maelle Ricker
Baker Banked Slalom: Results (2010)
Maelle Stays Gold: Wins LBS With One Hand