Shaun White Wins Intelligent Design at Park City
lgallagher
- March 07 2009
- 56 comments
White Wins Park City’s Inaugural Intelligent Design
Words: Jen Sherowski Photos: Liam Gallagher
Pipe riders haul ass up icy 22-foot walls, rail kids dull their edges and 270 in, kicker killers point it and send it—but it’s all just snowboarding, right? That’s roughly the idea behind Park City’s all new Intelligent Design competition, featuring a grab bag of all of the above in one course at the base of Utah’s most park-friendly resort. Starting off with a 60-foot kicker into a unique step-up hip jump, jib section, Superpipe, and finally a massive quarterpipe to finish things off—this outside-the-box contest venue makes being an all around snowboarder a total pre-requisite.
Up until the last minute, the event had commitment from a wide range of top riders—from Marc Frank Montoya and Mason Aguirre to Torstein Horgmo and Andreas Wiig—but at the very last minute the roster thinned out savagely. It seems that there were some end-of-season injuries (Aguirre broke his rib etc.), but evidently some folks just couldn’t wrap their head around the concept. Says event mastermind Jim Mangan, Park City’s Director of Action Sports Marketing, “There were some riders who said to me, ‘Jim, it’s just too much,’ but you know we’re pushing things and this is what needs to happen for the sport.”
Of course, every pro snowboarder isn’t an all-around attacker, but it was still a surprise that more riders didn’t come out for the event—especially considering how many pros clamor from all ends of the earth to ride in commercial, non-endemic-generated events like the Dew Tour. I know how it is, though—“Show me the money!”, right? Still, “I wish we could’ve had more support,” says Mangan. “We worked our asses off and we’re really doing something different here.”
However, that’s not to say that no one showed up (Shaun White, Luke Mitrani, Wyatt Caldwell were there, etc. etc.), and it’s definitely not to say that no ripping went down (sweet airs, a backside 1260 on the kicker, and a double backy in the halfpipe!). The morning’s qualifiers started off crisp and sunny with the likes of Joe Eddy, Sebastien Toutant, and Tim Humphries slaying the kicker-tranny-rail combo course while many others excelled at one element and struggled with another. It’s like I said, the Intelligent Design is all about being all around—and it was impressive to see the younger guns adapting.
Since Shaun White was pre-qualified into the finals, no one got a real taste of his all-terrain mastery until finals practice time—and I gotta say it: After Shaun’s first practice run it was obvious that he had the thing won. But I’m getting ahead of myself. The finals was best of three runs, and a young Charles Reid had three pretty flawless runs—a front 1080 off the kicker into a backside rodeo on the hip followed by a savage inverted frontside 900 in the halfpipe. And actually, Reid stepped up that nine in the pipe to 1080 on his last run—totally solidifying his number-two position on the podium. Let’s see, what else? Norwegian Gjermund Braaten spun a backside 1260 on the top kicker so fast that announcer The Dingo called it a 1080, and Luke Mitrani launched straight from the back of the pack into third place with an explosive last run that included a frontside 900 on the kicker, back to back sevens in the pipe, and—you ready for this?—a switch double back flip at the bottom of the pipe. The crowd was stoked! However, sixteen-year-old Sebastien Toutant couldn’t find the clean, killer runs that won him the morning’s qualifiers, and Tim Humphreys battled consistency issues, too.
So what did Shaun do to win yet another title at his home resort of Park City? Well, after working his way down the kicker line with flawless spin maneuvers, he headed into the Superpipe and did this: backside 900, frontside 7, and Cab 1080—then on to the QP to loft a nice big backside rodeo 5. Yep, Shaun’s consistency and his otherworldly ability to slay anything he points his snowboard at made him a total shoe-in for the gold medal today. Not showing up would’ve been like turning down $20,000 for him—and not even Shaun is rich enough to do that, right?
Results
1. Shaun White
2. Charles Reid
3. Luke Mitrani
4. Gjermund Braaten
5. Wyatt Caldwell
6. Joe Eddy
7. Sage Kotsenburg
8. Tim Humphries
9. Sebastien Toutant
10. Louie Vito
»
March 7th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
agreed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAQ3DHvC1KM
March 7th, 2009 at 10:42 pm
ball sweat
March 7th, 2009 at 11:13 pm
Its true, shaun white has sold out.
but at the same time, i can tell he enjoys the lifestyle and hes throwing it down everyday.
Which is what its all about right?
March 7th, 2009 at 11:26 pm
Anyone that says Shaun White is a sellout really needs to look at it from his point of view.. who would turn down any of the offers he received? I know if I were as good as him, I would “sell out” right away. If you saw a pile of money sitting right in front of you, you can’t say you wouldn’t take it either. More money = more riding, because let’s face it, the snowboarding lifestyle can be an expensive lifestyle.
He came at the right time, and he’s one of the best riders out there. He may not be my personal favorite, but I have respect for him. I was at the contest today, and he was the only one throwing down consistently. He made it look easier than everyone else.
March 7th, 2009 at 11:42 pm
no… shaun white is not a sell out. he has never had anything to sell out to. he’s always been a red headed piece of poop that hasnt seen anything other than park.
March 8th, 2009 at 3:21 am
before commenting on whether or not shaun white is a sellout you should all listen to Clancy’s 120 Saturdays. it really shed some light on what contests, and filming, are all about.
March 8th, 2009 at 8:38 am
Anyone who consistently puts their body on the line hucking and winning deserves some dough. The jumps he spins and gets inverted on are probably bigger than most will even think about hitting.
It takes balls.
March 8th, 2009 at 10:19 am
comps are how you make it in snowboarding dumbass
March 8th, 2009 at 10:21 am
agreed, he was a prodigy as a child and has grown up to be a pretty killer snowboarder, i expect that over time as he grows older he’ll move into the backcountry and away from the contest scene like alot of now older riders have done
March 8th, 2009 at 11:18 am
Nice photos Liam!!
March 8th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
and shaun white didn’t do any rails. he can’t. he can only do jumps and pipe. people hate on him because like in the article, they say “Yep, Shaun’s consistency and his otherworldly ability to slay anything he points his snowboard” which is total shit cause he can’t ride rails at all. he would probably cry if the cops came to kick them out of a spot. little red headed bitch
March 8th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
thats why there are sponsors dumbass. they give you free shit. how is that expensive?
March 8th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Yeah Sage! way to go!
March 8th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
I was up there yesterday and this course was too sick. If only they left this up all year. I feel this is the direction snowboarding should be headed. Too bad other big names didn’t recognize the originality, the dew tour gets so monotonous. All they need now is to open up some cliff lines before the tables and we could see who REALLY is the best all around. . .
March 8th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
Fuck… I mean seriously Fuck. I don’t like Shaun White that much. But I sure as Fuck don’t hate him. He’s doing what he wants. You all know we’d like to ride all the time like him. Fuck. Peace is where it’s at Goddamitt. Fuck. Thats all I have to say. I still don’t like Shaun White though.
March 8th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
White rips, heard he’s a crybaby and a sore loser though. Not a dude i’d want to hang out with is what it comes down to
March 8th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
he does same shit every comp
March 8th, 2009 at 8:21 pm
Im sick and tired of reading the headline “Shaun White wins again”
yea, im def hating on the dude bc hes good, but alos bc he really is annoying, winning every comp across the globe…idk…dude needs to give up and let the competition playing field be lowered a little bit…its like watching Lance Armstrong win the Tour 6 or 7 consecutive years, but we watch him cuz he had cancer…shaun is the cancer of snowboarding…hes eating it away very slowly by keeping the athleticism so damn high…he is another breed of athlete and needs to sell-out and buy up companies like the rest of the veterans (JP and Pete)
whatever…the snow is melting.
March 8th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
thats funny cause in the x games i saw him do a front and back 270 gap onto the rails but your right he sucks we can all do that right
March 8th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
sponsers dont make you the money to buy sick houses and cars retard sellin out can get you everything money can buy
March 8th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
yeah ben. how can you hate on shaun white and then post that vid. you’re not bad but the biggest spin you got is a front 3 over a 15 footer. come on dude.
March 8th, 2009 at 11:02 pm
he gaps over the kinks because he cant make it through the kinks. gaps like that are wayyy easier than actually trying to ride the whole rail. and if he tried to do a kink his burton would prolly snap anyway
March 9th, 2009 at 12:09 am
i probably dislike white as much as the next person but you have to give him some credit, yeah he probably is a douche and definitely a sellout, but he has skill, park and competitions are all he does so he is in his element, hes bound to do well
but danny kass said it himself that its hard to turn down someone offering you a bunch of money just to slap a few stickers on your board
March 9th, 2009 at 12:53 am
Shaun kills it and you all know it! He’s been so good for so long its not a fluke. Anyone here would trade places with him in a second if you had the chance. WTF?! Who at 18, 19, 20 or whatever would pass-up tens of thousands of sponsorship dollars just to keep there street cred, You’d be a complete moron! Not only that, he’s actually a cool humble dude and genuinely a nice guy.
Here’s a pretty funny interview IMO.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSAllvjJ5og
March 9th, 2009 at 2:37 am
Check out the Intelligent Design action here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-KHiyFPL4o
March 9th, 2009 at 3:04 am
agreed- sweet style
March 9th, 2009 at 7:37 am
maybe no one saw the european open? this course lay out is not that ground breaking.
March 9th, 2009 at 8:33 am
pretty much everyone gaps over the kink in the x-games, otherwise they wouldn’t have speed to hit the jumps
March 9th, 2009 at 8:36 am
ha i bet when he started shredding when he was like 5 or something he wasn’t thinking about endorsements from target or anything. everyone here hates too much on people that kill it. what happened to just snowboarding and having fun?
March 9th, 2009 at 11:29 am
DONT EVER POST LINKS TO YOUR FUCKING VIDEOS ON TRANSWORLD. LOOK WHAT HAPPENED TO PETE WAST.
March 9th, 2009 at 11:34 am
SHAUN WHITE HAS THE WORST STYLE I HAVE EVER SEEN. HE DOESNT EVEN HAVE FUN WHEN HE SNOWBOARDS HES JUST OUT THERE TO “BEAT” EVERYONE. ITS TRUE. AND HIS STYLE IS BUTT. HE HAS TERRIBLE SPORTSMANSHIP AS WELL.
March 9th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
Wow what a bunch of haters!!! White has skills and that’s all there is to it. How many of the pro’s who’s jocks you guys are swinging from can constantly win like White? He dominates and that’s all there is too it. I’m guessing if any of you posers er I mean posters were old enough to spell when Palmer was dominating you would hate on him too. Sure he was a sore winner that talked a lot of shit, but he also could back it up. In my opinion White is very humble for how dominant he is. Oh and one last thing… have you ever seen him skate? Yeah that’s what I thought. Alright back to your hating kids.
March 9th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
I’m the editor of Powder Rush (powderrush.com) and Shaun White at the ID was so cool with everyone, as he ALWAYS is, you can read the “inside story” stuff (like about the swiped glove)on Powder Rush. When reporters interview him, he always tries to bring other riders into the interview and photos. He has earned the right to be a jerk, but he’s not, he is so humble and down to earth that it’s incredible. So all you haters, cool your jealousy and just accept it. The guy is a physical genius.
March 9th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
its funny the hatred dude…ok show of hands:
How many can gap 270 a legit down flat down?
How many can actually do anything sick on a legit down flat down? Not those east coast mellow kinked crap either.
How many can throw all 4 1080’s?
How many can back rodeo 5 off a pole jam?
I know I can shoot, hence why I am the worlds best, no.
Some guys things are film, others contests.
Chill. Just because he isn’t in dub x’s and talks like Lucas Magoon doesn’t mean he isn’t one of the sickest riders out there.
March 9th, 2009 at 4:53 pm
this is the worst comment chain i have ever seen. cant believe i am wasting my work day reading this shit. you all should go snowboard and quit hating.. Cause Shaun is probably out riding right now, progressing and doing shit that you all just sit around and bitch about. This post reminds me of The View or something, bunch of clacking hens. weak
March 9th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
you’re really not that good, don’t post a video like that where your doing a bunch of tiny rails and hitting small jumps and hate on shaun white at the same time
March 9th, 2009 at 7:23 pm
i remember the first handrail shaun white did was some 20+ stair rail and he backlipped it first try….im not gonna say he’s the next jeremy jones it’s fairly obvious that he doesn’t go out of his way to do rails but he’s better than most of you idiots at rails and whoever said that because he gaps over the kinks he can’t do them is a retard cause i’ve seen him slide through street kinks which are 10x harder than park kinks…besides he even said that park isn’t what he’s good at his real specialty is in the pipe
March 9th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
sellin out is when you pick up as many sponsors as you can including those who don’t really give two shits about the actual sport you’re repping
tiger woods made millions when he signed with Nike….how do you think these contest monkeys get the big houses and nice cars and loads of money….its from sponsors like Amp, or Monster, or Red Bull etc etc
March 9th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
its still a dope layout though
March 9th, 2009 at 10:53 pm
it is hard to pass up oppertunities like that especially when you come from a lifestyle of not really having any money
you can’t discredit the talent any pro has though they’re all dope and can basically do anything on a snowboard, dont let their lives off the snow mess up who they are when they’re strapped in since thats all that really matters in the first place
March 10th, 2009 at 9:25 am
grow the fuck up- until your name is as big as shaun’s you can’t really say shit. Don’t hate the player…….
March 10th, 2009 at 10:39 am
gr8 resrch bro
March 10th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
I enjoy changing edges at high speed, jibbing and buttering down the mountain throwing a shaka to my bros as we make our way to the lift. Going up the lift talking about lines, what to hit next. Certainly not talking shit about pros… probably giving a hoot to some body on there way down the mountain who is enjoying a carve or gapping a switchback. Don’t forget how fun it is to be out in the cold enjoying nature while you sit in a hot chair, staring at a hot screen, face all hot with envy. I don’t want to 1260, probably can’t if I tried, but that doesn’t mean I would pretend to be too cool to respect someone who can. Haters do not make sense, as fun as it is to read their zany comments.
March 10th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
thank you at least someone on this site has a brain
fuck haters kids need to learn
March 11th, 2009 at 10:23 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHTWYhRS9iM
I SAY: let Shaun KILL IT, and hope that someone comes along while he is still young to “dethrown” him.
can you imagine the riding that we would al get to witness at that point?
March 12th, 2009 at 5:40 pm
luckily for shaun, contests aren’t judged on style and he can just huck himself and win no matter how shitty it looks
March 15th, 2009 at 10:36 pm
sponsors are how you get your money, idiots. they match what you win in contests. so if you win 10,000 they either match it or sometimes give you have of what you win. so imagine if you had 10 sponsors? yeah. think about it. that is how you win money snowboarding.
March 17th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
Shaun wins another one… who woulda thunk???
April 1st, 2009 at 8:18 am
White kills it. End of story. So he does the same shit every comp? I would to if I won everytime. Plus you can’tgo to much bigger than 12s. And hucking park jumps takes balls cause you get mopped real easy in the park than over a backcountry booter. And shitty style? Let’s be thankful he’s not as “gangster” as the majority of the snowboard population. He is a flawless rider with extreme consistency. Just cause he’s not your favorite rider doesn’t mean he sucks. He’s obviously doing something right cause he makes more money than any other pros. Plus he focuses half his time on skating which he kills at too.
May 18th, 2009 at 11:54 am
Sounds like a few of you boys need some mouthwash and a lesson in basic English so we can understand what you’re sayin’. Wow!
I, too, was there. It was a beautiful day. Could not have better; EXCEPT this: the venue may have been good for the riders, but for watchin’, it stunk! You could not see both bumps at the same time, and if you got to a spot where you could watch the high flying there, you did not get a look at the rails or pipes. It was terribly laid out for viewing. We did however get some up close pix of the first kicker. Sweet!
I voiced my opinion to the reps there and was told they had heard it from others as well. Good thing it didn’t cost me a penny, or they’d have never seen another one from me.
Also: agree with Wina about Shaun’s likability. From a dad who doesn’t really care much about the rider’s personalities, he was cool with everyone who ‘wasn’t someone’. That goes miles for ones rep. Our kids got some up close photos of him without a problem, and in fact he was apologetic that he had to get on the lift so soon and couldn’t give them more time.
So quit your jealous whining and get a real job!
Out.
October 29th, 2009 at 1:38 am
Off-Piste skiing now matches on piste skiing in popularity