BEST TITLE FOR CONTEST
"Slippery When Wet" was chosen due to all the skating
that happened on wet wood and asphalt. On the very morn-
ing of skate Sunday there was a visible half-inch layer of snow
blanketing the uncovered wood skating surface. Other titles
bandied about included "Freezer Burn" in reference to the
bone chilling icy blasts that blew through the pass. "Donner
Party" was rejected because of the morbid reference to the
historic westward-ho Sierra crossing in which hundreds of set-
tlers were caught in a fierce blizzard while crossing the pass
and, as the story goes, resorted to cannibalism to survive the
winter. That title did, however, get good marks for describing
the nightlife around Donner Lake where many boarder/skater
types ride out the winters in condos and shacks. Yes, some
do still live like cannibals.
MOST VALIANT CONSTRUCTION EFFORT
Jake the Ruler, Rick the Doctor and KT the Editor in caravan
with Sacto Steve-O Brockway and his sidekick the other Steve,
followed contest promoter, unofficial social director of Auburn,
CA, and hostel host, Richard "Scooter" Scott, into the vast
Boreal ski area parking lot at 3:00 p.m. Friday afternoon. They
immediately circled the wagons. Construction of the street
course had to be delayed due to a light snowfall mixed with blowing sleet
and rain. Not ideal conditions for skating, or even snowboarding, and
especially not recommended for weilding 110-volt powered circular saws
while standing in an inch of water watching lightning flash in the distance.
Even so, a lean-to tent-type structure was improvised out of the two ready-
made quarter-pipes that were brought up on a flatbed truck. The temporary
shelter and woodshop made it possible to start on the rest of the planned
street obstacles and slowly the soggy plywood and two-bys started to take
shape in the form of mellow banks, hips and spines. Waiting out the storm
became the norm as cold grey skies decided to make the mountains their
home for the weekend.
MOST REPEATED PHRASE ALL WEEKEND
"Ahh...this is going to blow over."
PREFERRED GATHERING AND MEETING SITE
Boreal's lodge, lounge, cafeteria complex. Conditions were so miserable
much of the time that you couldn't just stand around doing nothing. It was
either snowboard, skate, or repair to the lodge to refuel and dry out. Food
critics Tommy Guerrero and Jim Thiebaud raved about the sausage
McDogs, Danish swirls and the nachos. The coffee flowed unchecked.
CHEAPEST ACCOMMODATIONS
1988 Honda Accord slept in by Prosenko and Conroy, although the Chevy
Suburban inhabited by Mikey Carrol and his buddy ran a close second.
BEST BARGING
Up on the snow, skaters Shawn Martin, Noah Peacock, Justin Girard,
Jay West and Corey got so fired up after seeing Danny Way float a big
backside method air out of the snowpipe that they grabbed the nearest
cue handy, which happen to be a wheel-less, truckless skate deck, and
trudged up the mountain to apply the theory of ultimate skate crossover.
Taking turns slipping down the hill via a little trail that was eventually carved
out of the late afternoon ice pack, they were soon whistled off the mountain
by a ski patrol.
Meanwhile, over on the asphalt and wood, just about everyone who
wasn't entered in the contest but was there with a skate barged and flailed.
This illustrious cast included the Sacto damage crew led by Ricky Windsor
BEST FIRST RUN BY A SKATER ON A SNOWBOARD
Brandon Chapman, taking a full hour from top to bottom of hill, as
witnessed by snowboard critics Tommy and Jim from the cockpit of their
vehicle (with the heater on).
WINNER OF SNOWBOARDING EVENT
Because the conditions were so dadburn awful and the halfpipe so
sparsely covered, the snowpipe event was more of a sideshow to the
general snowsticking that was going on all over the mountain. Scooter
Scott, CEO of the California State Snowboard Series, likes to keep his
events "simple and stupid." By taking all the competitors and running them
together for two runs, then breaking down the categories into pro, am,
womens pro, am, novice, etc., there is much less pressure and the feeling
is more like a friendly session than a contest. As the competitors worked
their way down the sticky, snow-covered ditch, Scooter's voice rang out
across the mountain, "Heeyyyyyyy, hey there goes Damian, lookout
belowwww, aalllright!" Ace Andy Brewer from Salt Lake City, Utah, crept
Clockwise from Left: Avid Sesame Street
watcher Riky Barnes takes an Oscar-the-
Grouch approach to his run. Sporting
much linen, Lucero attempts to placate
an angst-ridden Duane Peters. No way.
man, Brennand Schoeffel just ollied from
bank-to-feeble-to-bank! As his crafty car
assault indicates, Ed Templeton wasn't
listening when his mom told him to stop
picking his nose. Tommy G. redefines
high altitude training with a lofty stale
grab olie air.