The Superpipe

I was fortunate enough to witness the 2010 Snowboarding Grand Prix at Park City Mountain Resort on Saturday, January 22. The Park City event was the last before three male and three female snowboarders proceeded to Vancouver to represent the United States in the 2010 Winter Olympics. The snowboarders were competing specifically in the Superpipe competition. The Superpipe is a 400-550 foot-long (depending on venue) half-pipe which slopes downhill, made for snowboarders to ride down, switching from side to side of the pipe, trying to do tricks as they crest the edge of the pipe, otherwise known as a “hit.”
I arrived early enough to procure a spot next to the Superpipe, right where the snowboarders would generally reach their second hit. With each hit the competitors in the Superpipe contest attempt to throw out the craziest moves imaginable: corkscrews, flips, 1080s or just big air while grabbing their boards. The snowboarders can reach heights of 10 to 15 feet easy. The judges at the bottom of the pipe assess how loco each snowboarder is and collectively give him or her a score from 0 to 50. A score above 35 is good, but a score above 45 means the snowboarder should probably be taken to the psych ward.
My younger brother practices the art of photography and he is, I must admit, quite talented at capturing the excitement and beauty of whatever it is he finds in his viewfinder. He stood next to me as we spectated as good spectators do; he was snapping action photos and I was gathering material for this week’s column. After each snowboarder would pass us, I would watch until he or she reached the bottom of the pipe, and then quickly turn my attention to my brother’s camera. The camera could take multiple action photos within seconds, and watching him review the pictures was like watching the action in slow motion. The weather was playing along beautifully too, allowing snow to grace the scene. Each and every photograph showed a snowboarder flying through the beautiful snow in various poses. Some of the other spectators around us made comments like, “Oooh. You could sell that picture to (insert snowboard company name here).”
It was amazing to watch as the boarders showed their physical control as they gripped their boards and flipped on their way down the pipe. It reminded me of my first time snowboarding, except for I had no control as I flipped down the mountain. I must say that I was able to pick snowboarding up easier than skiing, but I’m a skier at heart and will probably always prefer skiing. One big reason I will stick with skiing is that skis come loose (as long as you’re not using leather straps instead of ski brakes) when you wreck. A snowboard stays attached to both your feet and you generally end up hitting your knees or rump pretty hard when you wreck. Snowboarding is definitely not for those who want to continue using their knees and backside later in life.
There were some big snowboarding names at the competition, like Shaun White and Danny Cass. Shaun White ended up receiving a score of 49.5 and a ticket to Vancouver as well as Scotty Lago and Sandy, Utah resident Louie Vito. The women’s snowboarding team will be made up of Kelley Clark, Hannah Teter and Gretchen Blier. These are just a few of the athletes that will be competing in the upcoming Olympics, and I look forward to watching every competitor from around the world excel in reaching for new athletic achievements. The Olympics will run February 12-28th. Go world.