No doubt one of the best and most progressive Big Air Comps went down this past Sunday, January 22 at ATP.
Somewhat foggy and drizzly weather was forecasted for event day – not ideal conditions for a Big Air. Luckily Mother Nature kept the SFTC in her thoughts, and the fog, although present in the early morning, lifted just enough to provide riders with great visibility for the jumps.
One thing that Shred for the Cup aims to do is get riders from all ability levels involved, and this year’s setup was created with progression in mind for beginner, intermediate, women, and advanced categories. The Appal Jam Terrain Park was host to some of the nicest jumps ever pushed at ATP, with 2 of the longest landings the slope has seen.
Chillin’ out by the Slopeside Grill during warm-ups
The marginal weather forecast didn’t stop the mass of anxious riders who came out with their game faces on for the event! Over 70 skiers and snowboarders showed up and immediately began going at it – getting lots of warm-up laps before the 12 o’clock start. Beginners, Intermediate Riders, and Women were given two drops on their respective jumps with the single best run counting as their final score. Advanced Riders were given a small warm-up after the other categories, and 3 drops with their best run counting as their final score. From the start of the event, it was clear that the jump riding at ATP is quickly evolving across the board. Clean spins with grabs and switch takeoffs were the norm in the beginner categories. The ladies were grabbing and spinning to win. Intermediates were stomping clean 3’s 5’s, and 7’s(what?!) – with grabs; no big deal.
Luke Winklemann mid 720 on the Intermediate Jump
Up @ the Drop-In
The advanced categories raised the bar once again for riding in the region. The large jump measured in at around 50 feet with a nice smooth takeoff that gave riders plenty of loft for all sorts of tricks. Snowboarders charged hard from the get-go; highlights include double flip attempts, one-footers, floaty rodeos, and super smooth corked spins. Alec Simpson snagged the bronze with a grabbed & stomped Backside 5. Zane Yates claimed second place with a clean BS Rodeo 5, and the man himself, Kris Jones (who might have slept 2 hours the night of the event because he was making sure the course was groomed to perfection) claimed the top spot with a casual backside 9.
Zane Yates
Kris Jones
The advanced ski competition was no doubt the most competitive division – shredders from Maine, Virginia, and all over the region stepped up and set a new standard. Tricks that would have made podium in last year’s SFTC Big Air now were placing riders near the bottom of the field! Cork 7’s & 9’s, switch 10’s with tweaaaked grabs, switch rodeos and plenty more tricks were tossed around all morning long like it was nothing. 14 year old Connor Tatom from VA took home third place, and his brother, Austin took the second place spot with a switch misty 9. The day, however, belonged to ATP local Berkley Wilcox, who, on his last run of the day, stomped the area’s first switch double rodeo 10, and made it look easy. No hand dragged landing, no wash-out, stomped. He said he had tried the trick a couple years ago into an airbag, never on the snow.
Jonathan Steltzer
Berkley Wilcox
A huge thanks goes to Salomon, who hooked both Kris and Berkley up with some dope 2012 equipment. A Salomon Grom Snowboard was also up for grabs to the lil’ shredder that could run up to the top of Appal Jam and claim it after the awards were given out! Congrats to Zeb Powell who powered through and barely snagged the board before anyone else.
Shred for the Cup Big Air Final Results:
Advanced Snowboard:
1) Kris Jones
2) Zane Yates
3) Alec Simpson
Advanced Ski:
1) Berkley Wilcox
2) Austin Tatom
3) Connor Tatom
Men’s Intermediate Snowboard:
1) Luke Winklemann
2) Zeb Powell
3) Cam McClean
Men’s Intermediate Ski:
1) Will King
2) David Stanley
3) Carson Isaacs
Women’s Snowboard:
1) Carmen Schatte
2) Emma Balbier
3) Holly Reid
Beginner Snowboard
1) Zachary Hasseler
2) Gannon Fitzgerald
3) Brandon Tetter
Beginner Ski
1) Drew Baker
2) Chelsea Zacher
3) Thomas Miller
Thanks to Recess Ride Shop as well for their support and contribution to the series, as well as all of the event sponsors – Salomon, Spyder, Canvassed Apparel, Neff, SPY, POW, and more.
Also, thanks to Josua Easterling Photography for the photos! You can view literally thousands of photos from the event HERE
If the Big Air is any indicator – big things are coming for the Rail Jam (Feb 11 @ night), and the Slopestyle Finals (Feb 26). Don’t miss out on the action, its going to be another awesome series!
SFTC Current Points Standing:
Mens Advanced Snowboard Points
1 Kris Jones 300
2 Zane Yates 280
3 Alec Simpson 260
4 Andrew Sanchez 240
5 TJ Kern 220
6 Garrett Okun 200
7 Cameron Smith 180
8 Matthew Sutton 160
9 Bret Kline 140
10 Thomas Graham 120
11 Jason Hanson 100
12 Scott McConnell 100
13 Sean Mitchell 100
Mens Advanced Ski
1 Berkley Wilcox 300
2 Austin Tatom 280
3 Connor Tatom 260
4 Tanner Sinclair 240
5 Jonathan Steltzer 220
6 Barrett Williams 200
7 Cameron Sinclair 180
8 Ben Crawford 160
9 Ben Beason 140
10 Audie Bartlett 120
11 Kellan Baker 100
12 Thomas Cline 100
13 Ethan Suddreth 100
14 Tyler McCullough 100
15 Tanner Pardue 100
16 Ross Rowan 100
Mens Intermediate Snowboard
1 Luke Winklemann 300
2 Zeb Powell 280
3 Cam McClean 260
4 Ethan Peverall 240
5 Chaz Branson 220
6 Sean O’Loughlin 200
7 Cory Haberstock 180
8 Reilly Tardiff 160
9 Nick Murphy 140
10 Dillon Fitzgerald 120
11 Jack Wierback 100
Mens Intermediate Ski
1 Will King 300
2 David Stanley 280
3 Carson Isaacs 260
4 Tanner Cindric 240
5 Nick Lyle 220
6 Jesse Wise 200
7 Jack Greene 180
8 Bradley Hardwick 160
9 Phillip Corley 140
10 Clay Burchell 120
Womens Snowboard
1 Carmen Schatte 300
2 Emma Balbier 280
3 Holly Reid 260
Mens Beginner Snowboard
1 Zachary Hasseler 300
2 Gannon Fitzgerald 280
3 Brandon Tetter 260
4 Jacob Ellison 240
5 Zack Cole 220
6 Chase Cornelius 200
7 Sam Gramer 180
8 Dylan Pate-Moore 160
9 Ezequiel Oruez 140
10 Graham Browning 120
11 Logan Meyer 100
Mens Beginner Ski
1 Drew Baker 300
2 Chelsea Zacher 280
3 Thomas Miller 260
4 Taylor Moser 240
5 Zach Styron 220
6 Dargan Powers 200
7 Nick Stanbury 180
8 Zach Ayotte 160
9 Kevin Kapral 140