Andy Stewart takes the Inaugural Jibtest

Andy Stewart takes the Inaugural Jibtest

Words by Joel Prentice

Video by Cam Truemner

Comp photos by Nick Iwanyshyn

Party photos by Laura Mitchell

Click here for the Video!

Straight up, Jibtest went off on April 1st, much to the delight of those involved in the Ottawa ski and snowboard scene.

I, and a few others were awakened by the rain pelting away at our winshield, with the van parked beside an enormous scaffolding setup that was to host the days festivities. As we yawned and stretched, fresh off of maybe 2 hours of sleep, we began to realize how much of the snow that we had transported to the field had melted, and the morale of everyone fell to an all-time low. But a large amount of volunteers miraculously appeared and worked through the morning as the rain subsided, allowing the setup to take shape.

The contest involved a 15 foot drop in, straight into a brand new 24 foot double kink handrail. The landing was a skinny patch of white snow, flanked on each side by thick, gooey mud, which was to provide plenty of entertainment during the comp. We had NS’s own Cam on the mic mc’ing all day, along with Carleton student David, and grad Mike Crichton grading the 25 skiers.

Initially, the rail proved to be awkward for most, as it was quite kinked, and speed was more than plentiful. Many were bucked off of the kink, and sent into the snow or mud below. But as the afternoon progressed, the brightest of rail scholars shone through, landed their tricks, and were given a spot in the finals.

Under the lights, the final 10 skiers and snowboarders had three runs to nail their best trick. Highlights of the final included switchups of every which way, one footed grabbed disaster attempts (by a snowboarder, for all you haters), a near 360 switchup/near 450 out depending on how you saw it, and all sorts of delicious butters, bagels and pretzels in and out of the dub kink. But in the end, Andy Stewart’s massive 270 disasters prevailed, and he took home a large bundle of gear for his efforts. Congratulations, Andy.

And after all was said and done, the afterparty at Oliver’s pub allowed us all to relax and let loose. Many more prizes were given away, including literally thousands of dollars worth of gear from Mountain Masters, and a pimp cruiser from Joe Mammas. Add to the mix a free Jager bomb for everyone at once, courtesy of the nice people from Red Bull, and the night proved to not be memorable for most, at all.