Empire Freeride!

As the days get longer starts to corn up, the need to be up for that first chair diminishes and the snooze button becomes a familiar friend. The ten o’clock start turns into a spring standard and one might pass on the long hikes for the convenience of that comfy chairlift. Back and fourth to the top of your favorite in bounds jib runs. Park landings and pipe trannies start to soften in the afternoon sunshine and it’s about time to get to that trick you’ve been wanting all season. The slush invites buttering everything and stomps come around so naturally. The spring season is here!

Last weekend a crew assembled with members from Jackson to Idaho Falls and took to the hill for the first ever Empire Spring Session. A casual morning of inspection served as a good warm up for an afternoon of sunny shredding.
Tunes blaring, strapping in, clicking out, sliding, spinning, switch-ups, sit-downs, and stomps started the sesh. Hiking and lapping turned our teenage crew into terrain park team and gathered the applause of many curious passerby's. Of those were pro riders Kina Pickett and Dylan Hood joined by Tate McDowell and Chris Bezmatt of Teton Gravity Research.

Together we scouted nearby log slides and tested our fate on the challenges of nature. Pressed for time, no one was able to clean either feature but payback was scheduled for the following day. A last lap at the bell brought us to a hidden quarterpipe that kept us occupied until the ski patrol forced us to go.

After a big breakfast the next morning the day started with sweet revenge on the Sacajewea lift-line logs. This followed with a terrain park session with more greasing than a pan of bacon. Riders prepared for the afternoon contest with a full park run to showcase their style. A mixture of courage, creativity, originality, and individual talent were rewarded heavily with swag from DaKine, Sierra Trading Post, Habitat, and Purl wax. With an epic season littered with pow dumps it was fun to celebrate it’s end with a few spring days at the Ghee.

Get registered for the Empire Golden Ticket sweepstakes if you have not already. One lucky winner will receive a Free Full Session on the Beartooth Pass this summer. The second and third place winners will receive a swag package with goodies from Da Kine, Sierra Trading Post, Purl, Volkl, Backcountry Access, Booster strap, and more…

To Register log on to http://www.tetongravity.com/td/tdSweepstakes-Empire.aspx  Sign up now, the drawing will be held May 15^th!