Westbound Boarder

I’m out here in Breckenridge helping out with the first winter Dew Tour stop of the season – its been one heck of a tour so far!  More than 380 riders from 18 different countries are competing in this year’s tour, including Kelly Clark, Elena Hight, JJ Thomas, Scotty Lago, Sage Kostenburg, Mason Aguirre, Jamie Anderson, Chanelle Sladics, and Louie Vito.  This year, the tour opted to follow the new industry standard and debut a 22 foot halfpipe instead of the 18 foot pipe it has used in the past, so we should see some pretty sick tricks over the next couple of days.

Today, Kevin Pearce made a quick appearance in the village (apparently it is one of his first public appearances since his big injury), and he should be all set for an interview with Fuel TV tomorrow afternoon.

Yesterday and today, the tour held qualifying rounds, and the men’s superpipe finals are on deck for tomorrow.  Keep checking back for the latest updates!

To give you a little sneak peak of the slopestyle course, check out the video from Alli below.

Today, Alli announced that Nike 6.0 just signed on as the title sponsor of the Winter Dew Tour season-opener in Breckenridge, Colorado.  In previous years, Nike 6.0 was an associate sponsor.

“Entering its third season, the Winter Dew Tour has established itself as a strong platform for growing winter action sports at all levels,” said Chris Prybylo, General Manager of the Winter Dew Tour. “Having an esteemed brand like Nike 6.0 extend their relationship with us to event title sponsor demonstrates the strength of the property and their brand’s shared commitment to this industry.”   Breckenridge is the first of three stops in the Winter Dew Tour’s line up this year.  Dates and times of stops are as follows:

• Nike 6.0 Open, Dec. 16-19, Breckenridge Ski Resort – Breckenridge, Colo.
• Winter Dew Tour Killington, Jan. 20-23, Killington Resort – Killington, Vt.
• Toyota Championships, Feb. 10-13, Snowbasin Resort – Ogden, Utah

Also interesting, The Dew Tour is following suit of the Olympics and many other major competitions by increasing the size of their halfpipe from 18 feet to 22.  Though it may be hotly debated, history shows that 22 foot pipes are, in fact, safer than their 18 foot cousins because there is more wall to give when riders fall.  But they also allow for more amplitude, so not only do tricks look cooler, but riders actually have time to throw down what they want while still having time to come to a perfect landing, especially as more technical tricks are becoming the industry norm.

This winter’s competitive circuit should be a good one, and I don’t know about you, but I’m stoked!

Another Dew Tour – the second stop this winter, also known as the Wendy’s Invitational – has come and gone at Snowbasin, Utah, and it has been an interesting, jam-packed couple of days of competing.  Several competitors, four awesome days of riding, two courses, one competition.  But the results are in, and Chas Guldemond with a 95.25 and Spencer O’Brien at 91 took first in slopestyle, while Danny Davis and Elena Hight won first in the superpipe.  Check out the highlights below, and be sure to catch the final Winter Dew Tour stop Feb. 4 – 7 at Mount Snow, Vermont.

Found a couple YouTube videos (as promised) highlighting the slopestyle comp. during the Winter Dew Tour this past weekend.  Check ‘em out!
Men’s Ski Slopestyle

Women’s Slopestyle

Men’s Slopestyle