Plenty of options to send it on the far-left side of the Ultra Natural course.
New Format: Less Riders, less runs, better course conditions
Last year the 18 invited riders got two runs, and the top nine guys got a third run with the best run counting. As Travis and Liam reviewed the footage and scores from last year it became clear that the best riding happened in the first and second runs when the light and snow were best. This year the 16 riders get two runs each with the best run counting. With the event held two weeks later than last year, there’s a better light window on the slope and, barring weather rolling in, should mean good light and snow for all 32 runs.
“Originally I wanted people to have more runs but watching last year hardly anything changed from the first two runs,” Travis says. “The first two runs are basically where everything is going to happen.”
Judge Change Ups
There were no major complaints about the judging format at Supernatural so this year it stays the same although some of the judges will change up. Tom Burt returns as the head judge along with Andy Hetzel and Temple Cummins. New this year to panel is Jamie Lynn and Peter Line. Legendary lineup.
Course Conditions
“Aside from the big slide on December 18 and some moderate instability mid-January, things have been pretty stable,” Liam Griffin says. “We’ve been working pretty steadily on course since January 2. Snow levels in some spots are way higher than last year due to where that slide deposited material on the slope, and some other zones are a bit thinner. The long range forecast looks okay right now. We’ll be keeping an eye on things as we get closer to the event window to see how things shape up.”
A look back at what went down at Supernatural last year.
Devun Walsh doesn't exactly like contests but since this was more like a day filming in the backcountry he came through. He was, of course, smooth on both runs, but fell on a frontside 3 into a chute on his first. He likely just missed the top nine since he opted to send a Cab 3 and switch backside 5 on the cross-court booter instead of the main booter for each run. One of the highlights of the day was his backside 3 nosebonk on the lower tower. Pure style. Run One score: 47.20; Run Two: 68.80. Place: 10th.
Ultra Natural airs on NBC March 30. Stay tuned to TWSNOW.com for full event coverage as it happens.
Watch the recap of Supernatural here: snowboarding.transworld.net/1000170698/featuresobf/travis-rice-red-bull-supernatural-video-2012/
More on the official Ultra Natural site: redbull.com/ultranatural
TAGS: Baldface Lodge, featured videos, Red Bull Supernatural, Red Bull Ultra Natural, supernatural, travis rice, Ultra Natural
