Boreal Expression Sessions 2

On Friday, February 10, Boreal hosted the second installment of its popular four-part Expression Sessions series. For anyone that has attended more than a handful of rail jams in their life, Boreal’s homegrown Expression Sessions are a refreshing and welcome change. This year’s theme – Junkyard Jams – means each feature has been recycled from a past life off the snow and modified for our shredding pleasure.

This event introduced a 10-foot tall spool that at one point had been used to transport the wire for Boreal’s Castle Peak lift. In conjunction with Red Bull, the giant spool was given a few modifications, including a shiny new Red Bull blue paint job before it was plastered with the Red Bull logo and deemed fit to ride.  “This is definitely one of our more unique features,” said Lane Knaack, Boreal’s Terrain Park Manager. “There are a million different ways to approach it; the possibilities are endless.”


During the week leading up to the event, Boreal hosted a Facebook contest challenging its fans to come up with a creative nickname for the new feature.  The eventual winner, ‘Shred Bull,’ was selected from more than 100 entries.  Other finalists included “God’s Dumbbell,” “High Spool Dropout,” and “The Wheel of Steel.” Naturally, the winning submission was rewarded with a free case of Red Bull.


The first Expression Session, which went down on January 13th, drew almost 90 competitors and broke an Expression Session record that was 15 years in the making. “The last Expression Session caught us off guard - we were honestly expecting around 40 competitors but over 80 turned out,” said Anders Isaacson, Boreal’s Marketing Coordinator. “We were a little overwhelmed.” As a result, Boreal made several changes for the second event. The most obvious of these changes being a new location on the mountain for the venue, a music DJ bumping beats and a new, more organized format for the competition. “In the past we just had an open jam format where everyone was grouped into one heat, but this time we had separate heats for skiers and snowboarders,” added Isaacson. “It was a lot easier on the judges this way.” Another change for this event was the addition of several smaller features for those that weren’t comfortable hitting the Shred Bull. These features included a doghouse rail, a pole jam and a garbage can bonk. “We really want the Expression Sessions to be fun for everyone, regardless of age or ability level,” said Jon Slaughter, Boreal’s Marketing Director.


By the time the second Expression Session kicked off at 6:30pm, over 65 people had registered, including men and women of all ages, and a healthy mix of skiers, snowboarders and even a few snowskaters. The snowboarders were given the first heat – a 45-minute open jam session – before the skiers had their shot at taming the Shred Bull. Each heat started off somewhat slow as the competitors racked their brains to figure out what exactly they were going to do with the feature. However by the time each heat ended the spectators in attendance were treated to a variety of approach angles, bonks, slides, inverts, spins and even a few epic crashes. 


In the end, the all-star cast of judges were able to identify first, second and third place finishers for all six divisions. Podium winners were given their moment in the spotlight and showered with prizes during a pizza feed/award ceremony that took place in the warmth of the Boreal lodge. Prizes ranged from new snowboards to helmets, outerwear, gift cards and tons of other swag provided by the killer list of Expression Session sponsors. Pete Arneson not only found himself on the Expression Session podium again, but was able to repeat with another first place performance in Men’s Ski.


With yet another successful Expression Session in the books, it’s back to the drawing board for Boreal as they begin preparing a ‘new’ junkyard feature for the next Expression Session on March 9, 2012. The next junkyard feature will be unveiled during the week leading up to the event. In the meantime, you can shred the Shred Bull in Boreal’s Core Park seven days a week from 9am - 9pm.

For more information about Boreal Mountain Resort, visit www.rideboreal.com or www.facebook.com/borealmtn, and to read all about Woodward Tahoe (which is opening in June 2012) check out www.woodwardtahoe.com.