Tag Archives: burton

Throwback Thursday – Be Ready for Anything. Jake Burton Carpenter

Posted on by
Reply
Jake Burton Carpenter, Photo: Hubert Schriebl

One of the things you quickly learn about snowboarding (or heck, doing just about anything) in Vermont is that the weather can change at a moment’s notice, and it often does. Being ready to jump on your board when Mother Nature gives the green light is the key to experiencing the best riding this fine state has to offer. Some seasons we get more green lights than others and sometimes (like this year) it’s gridlock or constant detours and delays. Point is, on and off the mountain, the way of Vermont is to always be prepared.

In 1989, you just never knew when a set of gates would be available to throw down. Likewise, a lot of riders understood a pair of gloves with padding up the forearm for proper bashing, were nice to have on hand. And in the event Vermont’s leash law was being enforced, it was good to know you were covered there, too. Jake Burton Carpenter, ready for either.

Each Thursday we present a photo from the annals of snowboarding history in Vermont.

Shaun White and Elena Hight Win 2012 Burton US Open Halfpipe Finals, Vermonters Take Silver and Bronze

Posted on by
Reply

It’s cliche, but “all good things come to a close” and today it was Kelly Clark’s unprecedented 16-straight winning streak that reached its final stop. Kelly’s riding was, as always, a thrill to watch with massive air and stylish flow throughout her runs, but it was South Lake Tahoe’s Elena Hight who managed to squeeze an extra .31 points out of the judges and come out on top with a score of 86.50. Kelly held on to the second place position and twenty-year-old Ellery Hollingsworth followed in third.

Hot on their heels was 15 year old, Arielle Gold of Steamboat Springs, who took 4th and was also awarded the Nokia Newcomer Award. While she may be young, today this girl proved she can shred, so watch out ladies.

Elena Hight unseated reigning champ Kelly Clark, the first to do so since Fall 2010.

Kelly Clark took home second place.

Ellery Hollingsworth picked up third.

By the time the men stepped up, the sun was on full alert beaming down on the pipe and softening the pipe walls and slipping out riders left and right. Despite the changing conditions, Shaun White put down a solid first run of 90.44 that secured him the first place position. Louie Vito followed in second and local boy Benji Farrow, out of Ludlow, VT brought up third.

Shaun White had no problem clearing the 20 foot mark out of the pipe.

Louie Vito landed second place.

Benji Farrow of Ludlow, VT took home the bronze medal.

In traditional Open fashion, pipe poachers kept the crowd stoked up between runs, airing out with huge methods. Gotta love it. Here’s to another 30 years.

Even the dudes poaching were going HUGE!

Jamie Anderson Wins 2012 Burton US Open Women’s Slopestyle

Posted on by
Reply

South Lake Tahoe’s Jamie Anderson dominated the women’s slopestyle field once again at the 2012 Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships, scoring a 90.10. US Open mainstay Kjersti Buass, of Norway, took second place while Finland’s Enni Rukajarvi, who won the 2011 slopestyle comp, took third.

Slopestyle winner Jamie Anderson on course.

Jamie Anderson.

New Zealander Shelly Gotlieb took 5th place.

Canadian Spence O'Brien took 8th.

Throwback Thursday – 30 Years of US Open Snowboarding. Stratton, VT.

Posted on by
Reply

Ross Powers sending it at the 1999 US Open at Stratton. Photo: Jeff Curtes/Burton Snowboards.

It may seem like today’s snowboarding competitions are all about how many back-to-back flips or 1080s a rider can throw, but style points haven’t completely gone away. Used to be that just straight airing it with a hearty, tweeked grab could land the top qualifier spot or even a medal. (Unlikely we’ll see that at the 30th Anniversary Burton US Open finals this weekend, but you never know.)

In 2002 at the Salt Lake City Olympic Games, Vermont’s own Ross Powers threw a method on the first wall of the halfpipe that secured a position in snowboarding lore. Three years before that, however, he was showing his home crowd what was to come with this method en route to his first US Open Halfpipe Championship in 1999.

If we’re lucky, maybe Ross will make his way down south for the Washed Up Cup and duke it out for the biggest method with his fellow Open veterans.

Each Thursday we present a photo from the annals of snowboarding history in Vermont.

Watch the US Open Live on the Interwebz

Posted on by
Reply

When I was a kid growing up (yep, in Vermont) we’d be lucky if we could get the fuzz on the TV clear enough to watch our Saturday morning cartoons on a “local” station out of Maine. Nowadays, thanks to the advent of the world wide web, we can watch just about anything we want instantly and in crystal-clear high definition. And for us snowboarding bums stuck at work this week, it means we can check in on the Burton US Open action LIVE from our desks, with no bunny-ear tuning necessary.

If you didn’t get to tune in today, (or make it to the mountain… where it was a sun-drenched 50 degrees) the men and women’s slopestyle semi-finals were packed with monstrous runs on this year’s beastly course, crafted by the snow wizards known as Snow Park Technologies.

This ain't your grandma's backyard park. Photo Courtesy of Stratton Mountain Resort.

The Night Jam cometh. OOOAAAHHH! Photo Courtesy of Stratton Mountain Resort.

The Mini feature is mini by no means. Photo Courtesy of Stratton Mountain Resort.

There’s a lot left of the 30th Anniversary Burton US Open at Stratton Mountain and the good folks over at Red Bull TV are streaming it live for you at www.redbull.com/snowboarding-live during the following days/times:

LIVE WEBCASTS: U.S. Time Zones (EST)
Halfpipe Semi-Finals, Thursday, March 8 — 9:15 am
Slopestyle Finals, Friday, March 9 — 9:15 am
Halfpipe Finals, Saturday, March 10 — 9:15 am
Night Jam, Saturday, March 10 — 6:45pm

So when you get to work tomorrow, open up an extra window, turn the volume down and keep an eye on Louie Vito, Shaun White, Kelly Clark while you finish up those TPS reports for Friday.

The US Open, Snowboarding’s Premiere Event, Hits Stratton March 5 – 11.

Posted on by
Reply

It’s hard to believe, but the Burton Snowboards US Open Snowboarding Championships turns 30 this year. Officially kicking off on Monday, March 5th and running through Sunday, March 11, the event will once again take over the Sun Bowl area of Stratton Mountain.

So what’s on deck? The best halfpipe and slopestyle snowboarders in the world have confirmed they’ll be competing, including Shaun White (who missed last year’s US Open), Kazuhiro Kokubo (last year’s men’s pipe winner), Iouri Podladtchikov, Louie Vito, Mark McMorris, Danny Davis, Scotty Lago, Sebastian Toutant, Kelly Clark (last year’s women’s pipe winner), Hannah Teter, Enni Rukajarvi, Jamie Anderson and Gretchen Bleiler, to name a few. Check out a full schedule of all the events.

Secondly, in honor of the 30th anniversary, the Burton US Open has stepped up its late-night entertainment to a whole new level. Headlining live acts include popular mash-up artist dream team, Super Mash Bros, performing Friday at the Burton x Mountain Dew Party. And Saturday night, hip-hop superstars Method Man (of Wu-Tang Clan) and Redman (of Def Squad) will perform at the ‘30th Love’ party.

The best part? It’s all FREE. The competition, the live music, the free swag being tossed out by vendors — it’s all at no charge. Thanks, Burton.

Slopestyle finals go down during the day on Friday, March 9th, followed by a retro-themed ‘slingshot’ race for legendary Open competitors called ‘The Washed Up Cup’ taking place on Friday night. On Saturday, the signature US Open halfpipe finals go down, followed by an invitational ‘Night Jam’ being held under the lights on Saturday night. All free.

Can’t make it to Stratton to experience the 30th anniversary of the US Open in person? Tune in to the internets for live webcasting on Redbull.tv. Men’s and women’s finals will also air live on good ol’ fashioned TV on Friday and Saturday on Universal Sports. After the event is over, highlights of winning runs and full webcasts will also be available for on-demand viewing at www.redbull.com/snowboarding-live

For classic US Open photos, event highlights, quotes from the legends, and the boards beneath the riders, go ‘head and download the US Open History iPad App.

Complete event details, including schedules and spectator info are at opensnowboarding.com.

Kelly Clark on Unprecedented Win Streak in Lead Up to Burton US Open

Posted on by
Reply

Photo compliments of Burton Snowboards.

To say that Kelly Clark is on a hot streak is an understatement. She has placed first in every single one of the last 15 competitions she has entered. X Games, Dew Tour, Burton US Open, Grand Prix… you name it, she slays it. She hasn’t lost since 2010.

Clark, who grew up riding Mount Snow in West Dover, Vermont, is riding yet another wave of success in her long and storied career. Since becoming the first female to land a 1080 in the pipe last season, she has perfected the trick, adding enough amplitude to make it look easy. No other woman comes close to landing the trick with such grace.

Let’s not forget that Kelly Clark is 28 years old, a veritable veteran in the pro snowboard circuit. She won her first X Games gold a decade ago, and got her first taste of Olympic glory when she was just 18.

Still, Clark says, she’s riding better than she ever has.

With the 2012 Burton US Open less than a month away, be sure to queue up a good spectator spot on the halfpipe at Stratton Mountain. We suggest a spot on the fence about halfway down the pipe, where you’ve got the best chance of catching her massive 1080 up close.

Burton US Open
March 7 – 11, 2012
Stratton Mountain, VT
Women’s Halfpipe Finals: Saturday, March 10, 9:45 – 11am

Throwback Thursday – Sometime in the Late 70s. Stratton Mountain.

Posted on by
Reply

Jake Burton at Stratton, late 70s.

Someday soon, we’ll be telling our grand children about the days when snowboarders were banned from Vermont’s ski slopes. It’ll be our version of the classic “When I was your age, I hiked 20 miles to school, in the snow, uphill!” adage that old timers like to toss around.

“When I was your age, I had to hike up the mountain to snowboard. There was no high speed gondola like that fancy thing they got at Stowe!”

Before resorts allowed snowboards on the lift, anything with an incline had to do. Jake Burton, pictured here at the Stratton Dump in the late 1970s, was known to hike whatever he could find to get turns, especially during the development of the Burton Backhill. Often referred to as the BB1, the board pictured was Burton’s first and manufactured in Londonderry, VT. This photo is one of the earliest Burton shots on record.

Each Thursday we present a photo from the annals of snowboarding history in Vermont.