They came from all over, from Blue Mountain, Ontario and Gillette, Wyoming to remote and unpronounceable corners of Sweden and France. Regional qualifiers from Volcom’s Peanut Butter and Rail Jam tour descended on Mammoth Mountain for the same reasons; to be crowned champions. In the end, like a street ball hustler who knows every crack in the court and bounce on the backboard, it was the Mammoth locals who stole the show. Mammoth Mountain setup a fun and technical rail course that was slaughtered under blazing sun and scorching temperatures by the jib hungry competitors. Announcers Dingo and BJ Leines pointed out every bonk, slide and switch up while the Volcom judging crew composed of Eric Leines, Curtis Czyzek and Chris Demolski attentively critiqued every competitor.
Mammoth Mountain setup a magic carpet to the top of the course to ensure the athletes saved their legs for riding not hiking. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were available although most competitors choose the delicious fajita feast complements of Volcom.
In the end, too many tricks were thrown just to mention a couple. The world’s best amateur jibbers did their best to impress the judging panel. Men’s Open, the most coveted category was won by born and raised Mammoth local Greg Bretz who took home $5,000. The women’s category was won by another Mammoth local, young, teen heartthrob Bryn Valaika. The Under 15 category was won by Justin Mullen who edged out Mammoth Team Rider Trevor Jacob and the Over 15 category was won by Scott Prown who has nothing to do with Mammoth.
Check out http://volcom.com/news/article.asp?sid=&articleID=1880 for the complete list of final results.
Big props to everyone involved with this event. All the hard working, snow loving staff at Volcom, especially Jeff Arnold, Ryan Boyes and Billy Anderson. Mammoth Mountain staff spared no expense to give the best jib experience possible. Thanks to Big Al Bretz for the magic carpet. Couldn’t of done it without Unbound’s Oren Tanzer, who led his troops into battle along with park builder extraordinaire Mike Gerstner and Unbound Staff Mark Ankenbauer and Taylor Guccione.
