Mt. Baker Banked Slalom Still Rules

 

 

The Mt. Baker Legendary Banked Slalom went off this weekend evoking the soul of snowboarding with riders of all ages taking part in the fun. For the past 20 years, riders have converged on Mt. Baker in mid-February to catch up with old friends, ride the banked slalom course and have an overall good time with good company. With names like Terje Haakonsen, DCP, Travis Rice, Billy Anderson, Shaun Farmer, Jamie Lynn, Temple Cummins, Rob Morrow, Tom Burt and Jason Ford all riding the course, there's no question as to why the event itself is a living legend. The weather was not fully cooperating for the finals with a wintery mix cast down upon the course, but spirits remained high and riders threw some plastic garbage bags over their kits to stay dry.

 

The riders were each given two runs for the finals to try and get the quickest time down the course. For the Pro Men, it was hometown hero and Burton rider, Lucas Debari, who added himself to the list of Baker Banked winners. The crowd erupted when Lucas’ name was called for first place, as he has been dubbed Baker’s next big name to emerge from the area. It was definitely an emotional moment and the crowd was showing the love. Adding to his glory was the fact that Debari beat out Olympic Boarder X athletes Seth Wescott, who claimed second, and Nate Holland, who took third. Seth Wescott had this to say following the ceremony “Its so sick. He has to be the first real Baker local since Craig to win, so it's just super cool. I love coming back here and It was super cool to see both of us step it up with a faster time in the last run and he bested me again. It was rad to see.”

 

In the Pro Women’s heat, it was Maelle Ricker who consistently dominated the women’s event in qualifiers and was able to stay on top in the finals with a few second lead over the rest of the field. Victoria Jealouse, two-time winner of the event, took second place and Gretchen Blieler took a break from the halfpipe contest circuit to nab third. Elena Hight, Kelly Clark and Spencer O’Brien didn’t make it to the podium, but they had a blast riding the course and were stoked to be a part of the event.

 

At the end of the day, the top five pro riders were honored on stage and received an array of creative prizes from the famous duct-tape trophies, to handmade native blankets, custom rodeo belt buckles and surfboards by Northwest shaper, Scott Rowley (who made the podium in the Master’s division). In the end, the event was a great celebration of snowboarding’s roots with good vibes, fun riding and great friends.

 

 

Pro Women’s Results:

1. Maelle Ricker

2. Victoria Jealouse

3. Gretchen Bleiler

4. Stacey Thomas

5. Spencer O’Brien

 

Pro Men Results:

1. Lucas Debari

2. Seth Wescott

3. Nate Holland

4. Josh Dirksen

5. Ludovic Strohl

 

For more news and images go to www.burton.com