I awoke early on the morning of the 21st (5:45am) realizing that I was

probably going to be a little late to the Annual GTS Big Air hosted by

Sierra-At-Tahoe. As a sponsor of the event I needed to be there by 8am

to get our tent and other gear up to the competition area. This is a

great event, held in memory of Greg Smith who was victim of a horrible

accident. The event is heavily attended by both competitors and

spectators alike. Scott Nikkel and Dylan Curry had decided the day

before that they wanted to come and compete, so we headed down in

Dubs-T's GnarVan. Please note the exposed wiring and obvious couch in

the cargo area below -

    As we headed south to Carson City it

became obvious that breakfast was definitely a priority, a quick stop

at MickeyD's and we were back on the road.

   

    We arrived at Sierra just past 8am

and discovered that the snow-cat bringing all the tents, gear, etc...

had already left for the Alley (trail the competition was being held

on). No worries! Thats why ski resorts have those people-movers that

suspend you from the air on a metal chair attached to a long cable. By

9am I had the tent up, skis displayed and could fit a few laps in after

snapping some pictures.</p>

    Competitors were lapping the course

from the minute the lifts started cranking. The course started off with

a tall flat bar with 450's off being the stock trick to through, into

two of the bigger jumps i've seen in an amateur comp in the Tahoe area.

Needless to say, everyone entered was stoked off the set up, and after

a short riders meeting a massive train was held down the jump

line.</p>

    Snow conditions were variable at

best, going from sun to overcast to flurries of snow, then repeating.

Straight-lining between features was mandatory for all, but it didn't

keep most of the competitors from knuckling the second jump. The always

changing weather also made shooting this event extremely difficult, I

was tempted to switch to the "auto" setting but I resisted. Jason Arens

probably took more laps through the course than anyone, getting in as

many practice runs as possible to perfect his run of switch rodeo 5 off

the first to flat 5 off the second jump. Other notable tricks included

Dylan Curry's extremely stomped 630 off, Kyle Smaines switch

360-screamin', and Ty's double backflip off the first jump.

    After an intense throwdown sesh, it

was time for the raffle and the awards ceremony. Big thanks goes out to

all the sponsors and to Sierra At Tahoe for continuing to put on this

great event! Ty Daybarry took home the big prize and 1st for men, Jason

Arens placed 2nd, and Kyle Smaine rounded out the podium in

3rd.