NS Clothing riders obliterated the competition this weekend at the Coors

Light Triple Challenge at Blue Mountain, Ontario.

When the Newschoolers crew arrived at Blue Mountain on Friday night, the

air was heavy, the snow was wet, and the clouds were ominous. We got word

that the rail jam held hours earlier went off, with skiers throwing

misties and other flippy spinny things off the up-kink box, and people

spinning off the banked U rail. We were sorry we missed it, but busily

prepared for the following day's slopestyle competition.

When we awoke at 8:00am on Saturday, the heavy air and wet snow had

turned into a torrential down pour. Winds tore through the chalet like a

pack of raging bulls. This sure wasn't the Blue Mountain it was

yesterday. We headed down to the course anyway, with my down jacket

screaming for mercy, and my grease-stained pants laughing at my wet legs.

Despite the horrific weather, the terrain park staff at Blue had set up a

sick course. At the top was an urban jib set up in the most urban of

style (amazingly low take off and wooden stairs). After that was a choice

between the down kink and an interesting 15 foot table with a take off

just shy of a quarter pipe. After that was a 48 foot flat rail, a rainbow

rail, a 40-50 foot table, and then a choice of a 20 or 35 foot table at

the bottom to finish off the run.

The slopestyle competition went on through most of the afternoon while

spectators took refuge under a rain shelter at the bottom. NS Clothing

rider Dave Bishop stole the show with a backside lip to 270 off on the

urban, switch 270 onto the kink, and lots of spins and flips off the

jumps. One rider commented after Dave's run, "we should all just ski to

the bottom because he just won." Other noteable performances were Dave

Pauls' steezy switch flatspin 7s, and Charles Grant's switch

Crichton-esque spins. When all was said and done, Dave Bishop took first,

Charles Grant took second, and Andy Stewart took third.

As if planned, the moment the last rider finished his slopestyle run, the

rain stopped, the clouds broke, and mr. sunshine rained down upon us. The

riders and media grabbed food, beer, and sleep, then headed back to the

course for the main event: The Bigair!

And what an event it was. A precisely measured 65 foot jump with a 13

foot take off sat waiting for the invited, and slopestyle-qualified

athletes. The sun set, the lights came on, the park staff meticulously

detailed the take off, and the riders dropped in.

The moment the first skier hit the jump, the memories of the cold, wet

slopestyle competition were forgotten. Crowds gathered on the sidelines,

Coors Light flowed like water, and the jam format kept riders dropping in

one after the other without delay. It didn't take long for the athletes

to step it up. Dave Bishop threw switch rodeo 7s and 9s, Charles Grant

killed it with his massive rodeos and switch hits, Dave Pauls threw some

of the most stylish switch flatspins I've ever seen, Andy Stewart threw

down with huge zero spins, and the rest of the bunch didn't lag far

behind.

The bigair lasted for over an hour and a half, with each rider getting as

many hits as he wanted. The camera flashes dazzled in the warm air, and

the video cameras rolled, capturing everything that went down. The final

results put Andy Stewart in third ($500), Charles Grant in second

($1,000), and Dave Bishop in first ($2,000), fending off the competition

to win his second straight Coors Light Triple Challenge Big Air title.

With $3500 given out at one time, everyone knew what that meant right

away: the 10% rule! And needless to say, it was a sloppy night. Once

Maestro Fresh Wes commanded his DJ to drop the needle, it was all over.

With the bigair behind us, the beer still eating at us, and sleep nowhere

to be found, the Sunday morning pipe comp rolled around far too early. I

can't really say too much about it since I was still in bed, but this is

what I'm told:

There was a good 20cm of fresh powder in the tranny of the pipe which was

amazingly raked out by park staff. The guys were going off, and Denise

Jaworsky won the women's comp with a broken collarbone. The whole thing

was wrapped up in about half an hour, and large bags of prizes were

handed out to winners.

We stuck around Sunday afternoon to ski the now empty park. The winds

were again howling, the snow was falling, and everyone was in bed. We

took full advantage however, doing an interview for the TV show Ride

Guide. We'll give you a heads up when that episode airs with a six minute

profile about your favourite website.

On Sunday night, we made the 7 hour trek back to Montreal, after a

stomach filling turkey dinner prepared by CK's ever-hospitable parents.

The conversation on the ride home surrounded the big air comp, which

totally stole the weekend. I can definitely say it was one of the most

enjoyable competitions I have ever attended, and as always, the NS crew

was made to feel welcome by the epic scene that has flourished at Blue

Mountain.

Huge shout to Jodi Cooke for making this event happen. As well to the

Blue Mountain park staff who just killed it all weekend.

WATCH

THE VIDEO

Slopestyle

Men's

1. Dave Bishop (NSC)

2. Charles Grant (NSC)

3. Andy Stewart

Women's

1. Alaina Lorriman

2. Ariane Hanemaayer

3. Kacie Mactavish

 

Bigair

Men's

1. Dave Bishop (NSC)

2. Charles Grant (NSC)

3. Andy Stewart

 

Halfpipe

Men's

Coming soon..

Women's

1. Denise Jaworksy (NSC)

2. Alaina Lorriman

3. Kacie Mactavish

Credits

Photos

From top to bottom:

1. Doug Bishop by Mauii

2. Peter Maclachlan by Mauii

3. Doug Bishop by Harvey

4. Charles Grant by Mauii

5. Joe Sovei by Mauii

6. Dave Bishop by Harvey

7. Dave, Charles, Andy by Mauii

8. Denise Jaworsky by Mauii

Video

Filmed and edited byCK O'Connell

Article

Matt Harvey