The 2006 Chevrolet Grand Prix Blog

Dec 17 2006 / Breckenridge, CO
Update: Saturday, December 16, 2006

Exhaust and Exhibitions

When I heard that Paul Mitchell Progression Session was a quarterpipe competition, rather than a rail jam as I had expected, I was definitely excited. Honestly, I’ve never been a huge fan of rail jams and the carnage that ensues, but the big air and technical tricks on the quarterpipe are always exciting, no matter how cold it is at night in Breckenridge!

Of course when I saw the course, a solitary quarterpipe in the middle of a flat parking lot, I was a little concerned. This set up would require riders to be towed in with snowmobiles, and well, in my opinion, they might as well be wakeboarding. But once I actually layered up and went out to watch, it turned out to be pretty darn cool. I mean, exhaust fumes aside.

The exhibition gave the highly acclaimed Scotty Lago a chance to redeem himself after all the hype and his disappointing runs today. He nailed a huge backside 900 as well as a frontside 1080. Today’s winner Danny Davis also threw down a 1080, giving Lago a serious run for his money. But Lago managed to ride away with the best trick award and some cash for his efforts. Taking the win and 5k was Breck local Steven Fischer, and another newcomer, Kevin Pearce took second.

As it turns out, even with the snowmobiles and the similarities to wakeboarding, the Progression Session was definitely a highlight of the weekend.

--Brooke Geery


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December 16, 2006

Return of the Old Skool

I took a run with Snowboarder Magazine editor Pat Bridges. I have often joked that Pat Bridges invented snowboarding, although earlier this weekend, he assured me he did not. Anyway, he was riding a 1993 Jeff Brushie pro model, and spent the entire run down doing tail blocks on the sides of the jumps in the park.

I giggled at Bridges’ set up, but it’s actually quite fitting. It seems like this season in snowboarding, it’s all about remembering where we came from. A few years ago, Airblaster brought back leashes, and now its cool to rock them, even though it’s rarely required. I may have made fun of the Lat34 producer for still rocking a normal one this morning. He assured me that “on the east coast they are still required,” but he probably had no idea that he was actually being quite hip, in spite of himself.

That also goes for tricks. In today’s pipe competition there was no shortage of nose grabs, stiffys and even a seatbelt or two. Apparently, after years of being embarrassed about our baggy-pant wearing, chain-wallet having, weird-tweaking past, snowboarders are ready to embrace it. Let’s just hope baseless bindings stay a part of history and nothing else.

--Brooke Geery


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Friday, December 15, 2006


Usher is my co-pilot

The start of the snowboard season is always exciting. I have managed to forget that snowboarding makes my feet hurt, and that it’s cold out, and am just excited to dust off my gear and shred. And the first contest of the season always adds a little extra excitement, since it means seeing old friends who haven’t surfaced since last season. All this excitement may have made me giddy my first day riding at Breckenridge this season. I think that would explain why I decided to be talkative, and get the life story of every random I encountered. (Usually I rock headphones and my hood to avoid talking to people.)

Anyway, I rode the chairlift with a kid named Henry. He told me he went to Mt. Snow Academy in Vermont, but had been riding Breckenridge for a few weeks “training” for the event. He was bummed he had to go home and go back to school, but luckily, it was only for a week, and then he had Christmas vacation. Rough life, right? But it was fun, I liked finding out a little bit about him, and I am always amazed at how small the world is (I too am from Vermont.) We’ll see how long my friendliness lasts though, I figure soon enough I will be back to riding solo, with only the picture of Usher on my snowboard to talk to. I am stoked I get to head back up to the sunny Colorado slopes tomorrow. It should be a good contest, since everyone I’ve run into seems to share my good mood.

--Brooke Geery

 

Results From the Men's Halfpipe Qualifier

1. Tommy Czeschin, Mammoth Lakes, CA, 45.6
2. Mason Aguirre, Mammoth Lakes, CA, 45.3
3. Scotty Lago, Seabrook, NH, 45.1
4. Steve Fisher, Breckenridge, CO, 44.6
5. Crispin Lipscomb, Canada, 43.6
6. Brad Martin, Canada, 43.3
7. Giacomo Kratter, Italy, 42.6
8. Danny Davis, Highland, MI, 41.6
9. Michael Goldschmidt, Stratton Mountain, VT, 41.4
10. Christoph Schmidt, Germany, 41.1
11. Jack Mitrani, Mammoth Lakes, CA, 40.2
12. Justin Lamoureux, Canada, 40.1
13. Louie Vito, Bellefontaine, OH, 40.0
14. Luke Wynen, Mammoth Lakes, CA, 39.8
15. Kevin Pearce, Norwich, VT, 39.5
16. Rob Kingwill, Jackson Hole, WY, 39.3
17. Xaver Hoffman, Germany, 39.2
18. Tyler Emond, Truckee, CA, 38.6
19. Ross Powers, Stratton Mountain, VT, 38.0
20. JJ Thomas, Golden, CO, 37.9