BURTON HIGH FIVES – Ice and wind won’t stop them
Kyle Mack is a young rider (only 15) who is one to watch, at so young, he already has triples in the bag Image:: Moran
ED: We know how much fun the High Fives event can be, with a combination of off and on-snow activities, we decided to send ex-pat Australian journalist Caitlin Reid to sample the action…
Mountainwatch | Caitlin Reid
Burton knows snowboarding is as much about fun, friends and a great vibe as it is about…um…what else is there? oh yeah, competition. Some of the world’s best slopestyle and halfpipe riders were in Wanaka, New Zealand for the Burton High Five’s competition this week. Not purely about snowboarding, the event’s main sponsor treated all the riders to an incredible week of off-snow events. The activities kept everyone entertained, but the $80,000 USD of prize money kept the competitive spirit alive.
First up, the fun stuff. MINI treated all eligible riders to driving challenges, from slalom to slippery Skid Panning in the Cooper S. Going fast is nothing new for these riders, but car handling came easier to some, the best twelve earnt captain positions for all team events. Perhaps an at-home advantage ensured Kiwi Shelly Gotlieb ranked first in the driving challenges. Go girl! Onward to Segway races, games and clay pigeon shooting, and the riders were ready for New Zealand’s world famous past time – sheep herding.
Mini sacrificed a few cars for the teams to do their worst on the skid pan Image:: Moran
Forget the sheep! Snowboarding is what it’s about! And Cardrona was the place.This 5 star competition on the World Snowboard Tour was an important event for Olympic hopefuls craving a trip to Sochi. From halfpipe heavyweights Danny Davis and Ellery Hollingsworth, to slopestylers Torstein Horgmo and Aussie Jess Rich, big names were out in force.
Thursday’s slopestyle final saw tricky conditions, with heavy winds and previous rainy days creating ultra slick run-ins, and slippery landings. A huge rainbow rail carefully arched over a real life MINI was an intimidating third feature of a gnarly course.
Jamie Anderson looking very comfortable on the super-high rainbow Image:: Moran
New Zealand’s snow in the past week unfortunately disrupted some riders’ training. Sadly, a concussion doing a cab five in high winds five days before the competition meant Burton rider and Wanaka local Christy Prior was medically unable to compete. Bummed out at being unable to ride, but a keen advocate for Cardrona, Christy said “it’s a great course. Lots of varied hits and well-maintained features. The conditions in the wind are hard today though, and it’s super icy.” Windy was an understatement, as one sideline official was literally blown over in a powerful gust!
Japanese ninja Yuki Kadono is only 17 years old. And he shreds Image:: Moran
But the riders battled on! Charles Reid, from Mount Tremblant, Canada, was the first rider to elevate the men’s slopestyle competition with a double backflip on the first jump. His incredible run kicked off the real show stoppers of the day, with the guys previously riding 720s on the first kicker turning it up to stomp huge 1080s, and 900 double corks. Norwegian Stale Sandbech had the winning run, with classic boardslide 270s, cab 1260 stale, and a backside 1080 double cork stale. The girls were equally impressive, with Tahoe local Jamie Anderson winning the women’s event. A fall in her first run meant more determination for her second, choosing to 50/50 the huge rainbow rail, a feature most riders bypassed in favour of the flat bar leading into a close out.
How was the halfpipe? Thirteen year old rider, Chloe Kim, thrilled crowds with an amazing 85.8 point run, earning her a well-deserved second place. Halfpipe veteran Kelly Clark won with huge amplitude and impressive tricks on her second run. In the men’s competition, Burton rider Taku Hiraoka blasted into podium position with massive tricks including huge 1080 double corks. Overcast skies? No worries. All the riders rode hard, stomping high amplitude, exceptionally difficult tricks and spins despite the weather.
Burton High Fives incorporates incredible snowboarding with random games to bond international athletes before the looming Olympics. Tricks are getting faster, higher and bigger, with Kelly Clark almost stomping her first Cab 10 in competition, a trick yet to be seen in the girls’ halfpipe. Who knows what riders will be landing next!
Click on any image to open a gallery from the event.
Cardrona forecasts,
snow reports and
live snow cams.
