Westbound Boarder

After a a rough round of first runs with multiple gnarly crashes, there really was no telling who was going to take home the prize in the womens halfpipe this evening. But the results are in and even though Westbound was holding out for an all USA podium, we are still pleased that the USA dominated it taking home Silver and Bronze. USA rider Hannah Teter led the pack at the end of the first round as most of the top contenders, including Gretchen Bleiler (USA), Elena Height (USA), Torah Bright (AUS) and Kelly Clark (USA) all crashed their first runs. This lead to some intense final runs as the girls really had to step it up if they wanted to take home a medal.

Unfortunately the crash course continued as both USA competitors Bleiler tumbled on her cab 720 and Height fell on her second run as well; eliminating their chances for any medal. Clark had a solid second run with a 42.2. As Bright had also fallen her first run, the pressure was really on. Although from Bright herself, “I like to think I’m pretty laid back. It’s not the end of the world. I fell. It happens. I had to go out and have a bit of fun with it. I’m just so excited I was able to put down that second run tonight.” And that is exactly what she did. Her run consisted of a backside 360, a switch backside 720, backside 540 an Air to Fakie and cab 720. Wow.

After her second run, Bright impatiently waited at the bottom of the pipe as the other ladies gave it their all. It finally all came down to the defending gold medalist… who threw down a backside air, frontside 900, backside 540, a sketchy frontside 360 and a cab 720. Unfortunately Teter’s feat was not good enough and at the end of her run, the recognition of the loss was on her face.

Teter was disappointed that she didn’t take home the back to back gold (as was I!) but admitted that, “Torah’s run was super motivating.”  Teter said, “Her run was exceptional. You wanted to go super big and try to catch her, but I couldn’t catch her. She was on fire.”

And clearly she was. Bright had the run of the night and now has the gold to prove it. And to my disappointment, that brings the Olympic halfpipe competitions to an end. Well, for 4 years at least. What will the 2014 halfpipe in Russia bring us? I seriously can’t wait. Great job ladies, each and everyone of you are such an inspiration!

Torah Bright (AUS) 45.0

Hannah Teter (USA) 42.4

Kelly Clark (USA) 42.2

Well, the news is officially out there; Australian snowboarder Torah Bright is taking home the Gold from tonight’s women’s halfpipe competition, earning a score of 45.0.  US rider (and defending Gold medalist from Torino) Hannah Teter came in second with a score of 42.4, while Kelly Clark, also from the US team, came in third with a 42.2.  Clark, who has pretty much scored first consistently throughout all US team qualifying rounds, was overshadowed by Teter by mere fraction-points; but that’s the way it goes.  More to come, but just wanted t share the great news!

It is the infamous trick that has been all the rage this Olympic season – the double cork 1080.  And with a successful two days of snowboardcross behind us, it is the trick everyone will be watching out for over the next two days.  Today, the men’s Olympic halfpipe competition is scheduled to go down … hopefully, if Canada can get its pipe in order!  Vancouver and Cypress Mountain, the resort playing host to this year’s halfpipe comp., have been seeing dismal weather the past couple of days, as it rained all day yesterday and continued through the night.  Obviously, not ideal conditions for a halfpipe competition.  As of now, the men’s halfpipe prelim round, which was originally set to commence at 1:05p.m. PT, is being rescheduled in hopes that better pipe conditions are on the near horizon.  The women’s pip comp. is still scheduled for tomorrow.  But enough about event timing; we’re talking double corks!

A double cork, first performed and perfected by snowboard icon Shaun White, is somewhat similar to a backflip in theory, however, to the viewer, the similarities are slim.  A trick is deemed a double cork 1080 when a rider completes two off-axis backflip rotations, throwing the shoulder down and tucking, while also doing three and a half rotations.  The double cork is a true testiment to how far the sport of snowboarding has come since the Olympic Games just four years ago.

The double cork is also one of the most dangerous tricks on the roster today.  Unlike spins or grabs, or even backflips and mistys, the double cork is unforgiving, and if you make one small error in your landing or over/under-rotate the slightest bit, the landing is not fun.  And the double cork has already developed somewhat of a dangerous reputation, as Burton rider and Olympic hopeful Kevin Pearce was hospitalized back in December attempting to perfect the trick in practice.

US Olympians like Shaun White (seriously, what can’t he do?) and Louie Vito (perhaps his summer perfecting pirouettes paid off?) have the double cork down pretty solid, and have even been throwing back-to-back double corks into their routines.  Though the double cork is rumored to be the “must have” trick today, I don’t think it will completely break anyone’s run, as long as they’re going really big and have a solid, near perfect run otherwise.

On the women’s side of things, though, no woman has yet to throw down a double cork in competition, but rumors are circulating the web that Australian snowboard superstar Torah Bright just might be the first female to attempt it.  If, in fact, she does, and successfully lands, it would be safe to say that she could almost guarentee herself a shiny Gold to take home to fans.  Though she has yet to throw the trick in competition, personally, I think if anyone can do it, Torah can.

The double cork is really one of those “seeing is believing” tricks, though.  Watch the double cork in action below, as Shaun White performs the holy grail of tricks seamlessly and effortlessly, to really get a sense of its full effect.  Maybe this video will demonstrate why there’s so much hype around the double cork this season.  Or you can watch them live today during the men’s Olympic halfpipe event!

Once again, our favorite “must reads” from around the Web.  Make sure you check out the ESPN X Games going on right now and through the weekend in Aspen!  Oh, and if you haven’t already entered our socks giveaway, make sure you do so!

• 15-Year-Old Snowboarder Named to Austrailian Olympic Team: I love seeing and meeting young shredders, but this is unreal!  In Austrailia, a 15-year-old snowboarder was named to the Aussie Olympic Team.  Rad!
• Teter for Haiti: We all know Hannah Teter is an awesome snowboarder, but she’s also an awesome person.  She typically donates all of her prize money to a clean water charity, however, this year she donated her winnings from the US Snowboarding Grand Prix to Haiti.
• Preparation is key to ski trip success: Great advice from the New York Times on taking family ski trips.  Key theme?  Efficiency!
• Snowboarding Postage Stamp Revealed: Wow.  You know snowboarding has made an impact when they release a postage stamp with a snowboarder on the face.  Very cool!  Bummer that it is only available at Park City post office locations, though.
• Will Bright be the First Female to Crack The Double Cork Code? Well, I can’t exactly answer that question, but she sure does hope so!  FYI, love her training schedule – eat, sleep, and snowboard.

If you look back through snowboard history, females have come a long way from where they were even ten years ago to where they are today, constantly pushing the envelope and upping the caliber of competition.  Recently, Stan Evans (Producer) and Jeremy Miller (Director/Editor) released a snowboard film featuring an all girl cast.  The film highlights the progression of female riding, taking the talents of several different women and combining them into a series of segments to create a powerful story; a story they call “Stance.”

Though I downloaded and wrote about the film a few weeks ago, I finally got around to watching Stance in it’s entirety this past weekend.  With an all-star cast that includes the likes of Gretchen Bleiler, Jamie Anderson and Torah Bright, I knew the film would be good, but I was even surprised at how good some of the riding was.

The film opens with Gretchen recanting her tragic experience at the X-games a few years ago, where one minor fall cost her the title but how she learned that snowboarding is more about “being in the moment” than about winning.  Throughout the rest of Stance, the film makers portray just that – a group of pro riders “being in the moment” and living their dreams.

The film is a really nice mix of backcountry riding and jumps and pipe.  Obviously I was impressed by the usual pros who continue to claim title after title, but my favorite sequence was the second with Kimmy Fasani – her smooth style riding really stood out and she did a phenomenal job filming the part.

Aside from the riding presented in the film, I also really enjoyed the cinematography and editing of the film.  The makers did a really nice job keeping the film fun but also serious and motivational.  The music was great, and the technique was truly amazing.

The film’s full cast included Gretchen Bleiler, Hana Beaman, Jamie Anderson, Kimmy Fasani, Lisa Filzmoser, Jenny Jones, Torah Bright, Raewyn Reid, Molly Aguirre, Gabi Viteri and other riders, and more info. can be found at Stance’s Web site.  Props to all involved, and I hope there are more all female films to come!

On September 30, a new snowboard film “Stance,” produced by Mills Entertainment, will be offering free downloads; one day only (tip from HUCK Magazine).  Stance features an all-female cast of pro riders, including Gretchen Bleiler, Haha Beaman, Kimmy Fasani, Lisa Filzmoser, Jenny Jones, Torah Bright, Raewy Nreid, Gabi Viteri, Jamie Anderson and Molly Aguirre.  Judging by the cast alone, the film is sure to be awesome, but more importantly it portrays the progression of female riding and shows how far women have come in the sport.  Check out the trailer below, but if you want to see the full thing make sure you download on September 30.

It’s Friiiday!  And you know what that means; one day closer to the weekend!  Here’s a few links to surf this week, highlighting some of our favorite stuff from around the Web.  Also, if you haven’t entered Westbound Boarder’s headphone giveaway yet, make sure you do so today; deadline to enter is Sunday night!

• Art Show at Hurley HQ (Costa Mesa) Tonight: If you’re looking for something to do tonight (and you live in SoCal), head on over to the Hurley headquarters from 6 – 10 to check out the Greg Weaver Art Show – art, food, friends; sounds perfect to me!
• Ever seen a skateboarding bear? This week, Bordistan reports (via 9news.com) that a Bear was seen prowling the Snowmass skatepark.  When it was found Tuesday morning, the bear looked as if it had been there all night, so authorities on the scene dropped a ladder into the skatepark to give it a way to climb out.
• Transworld Catches Up with Torah Bright: As one of the most recognized female snowboarders right now, Torah’s well on her way to the 2010 Olympics.  This week, Transworld interviewed her on what she’s been up to and where she’s headed, as well as her new Roxy clothing line launching this fall.
• KFC Now Sells Marijuana, You Say? Yeah, you heard me right.  LA Weekly’s “Squid Ink” blog reports that an abandoned Kentucky Fried Chicken in Palms has been turned into a pot shop.  Though they took down the “official” logo, the name remains in tact (ah, but it now stands for “Kind for Cures”)  Thanks @nickmendoza for the tip on this one!  Gotta love LA…