Transworld TransAm Keystone
russellkaczmar
- February 24 2009
- 8,177 views
- 39 comments
Spencer Clark making his presence known while the competition looks on. Photo: Jeff Potto
Words by Adam Kisiel
Some might confuse Colorado with huge mountains, sweet vacation destinations, thin clean air, perfectly sculpted parks, cold fluffy snow, and so many mountains connected that buying a pass gets you into more than just one of them. Little is said about what lies behind all that awesomeness, it is the friendships that hold Colorado up. Stay a short time in the Rockies and I guarantee that you won’t be able to go shredding without running into someone you know or just met. Sooner or later you find yourself yelling from the lifts, throwing high fives, and sharing several laughs with friends while ripping around the mountain.
Jason and the Keystone Park Crew set the stage for friendships to be fused for a lifetime and so many memorable moments to be had at the TransWorld SNOWboarding TransAm. The event had more kids with perma grin than a Phish concert. The difference was that they weren’t stoked on what they just got handed by some longhaired hippie named Sunshine, but were pumped on what was laid out in front of them. The creative Keystone mini park started off with the Oakley Shark Pit that had rippers gapping the bloodthirsty sharks propelling themselves into the air thanks to the diving board rail over the tank. After Bouncing over the shark infested waters, riders set up for the log jib out over the High Cascade Snowboard Camp Marshmallow. The Marshmallow was hugged, jibbed, bonked, rodeo’d, and spun enough to make spectators puke with joy while craving more from the white gooey little guy. Those two features alone were enough to make all the kids smile and get excited, paired with a sunny warm bluebird day, it was a recipe for instant friends. Just add the super fun, hour long, Traffic Jam format that gave riders tons of time to have fun not just a lame two runs, and you will get the best of everyone involved. Two of the best, Emily Blewitt and Eli Weiner, were both walking on Colorado Sunshine. Emily was bonking over the Zumiez couch and rail combo to endless options into the Keystone mini jib mountain of an up box, drainage pipes, and transition on each side. Eli was setting the Dakine Paper Shreds on Fire with the 270’s he was throwing down the Dakine down rail stair set. Of the 130 riders in the Traffic Jam, Courtney Cox, Jessie Sutton, Spencer Clark, and Erik Ludwig were focusing on top honors. They were not only slaying the pole jam to Ride Snowboards Slime Wall, but also holding their own on the Keystone stop sign. Forty riders were picked by the esteemed Colorado judging panel to be in the Ultimate Final. Ten minute jam in each line of the park had new friends and old friends talking trick combinations and sharing stories of the crazy Traffic Jam on their way to the Final.
Those that didn’t make it to the final stayed to cheer on their besties and watch as the final forty gave their all. Was it Jake Larue that never seemed to stay upright, winning himself Best Trick/Most Inverted or Julie Stromwall, who took a banger of a crash for Best Fall and still came back to ride the park again that day? It was the day from start to finish that made so many kids happy friends so far up in the sky. Every ingredient of the day, topped off with a pizza party and huge giveaway at the end made the TransAm an everlasting memory.
Winners got awesome Dakine TransAm custom backpacks stuffed with prizes from High Cascade, Oakley, TransWorld SNOWboarding, Ride Snowboards, and Zumiez. The 1st place winners received TransAm Trophies, Ride snowboards, Dakine board bags, and Custom Dakine backpacks, along with Nerf guns and My Little Ponies from High Cascade Snowboard Camp.
Sure you can go to Summit County and talk about getting vibed and how everyone thinks they are better than everyone else or you can go to the Rockies and make friends and get better yourself. The TransWorld SNOWboarding TransAm is all about bringing the fun and friendship back into snowboarding. With a park like Keystone’s and over three hundred days of sunshine, making friends just seems easier.
***Check out the Photo Gallery below***
Women
1st Emily Blewitt
2nd Courtney Cox
3rd Jessie Sutton
Men
1st Eli Weiner
2nd Spencer Clark
3rd Erik Ludwig
Best Trick/Most Inverted
Jake Larue
Best Fall
Julie Stromwall
Check out this live link highcascade.com
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February 24th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
First
This park look sick i wished they had this contest at my hill it would be sick
February 24th, 2009 at 4:54 pm
Sick times! Good set up guys! Pic number 8, anyway to get a hold of that? Maybe in an email or even an actual copy of it.. Would like to have the pic of my japan tail over the marshmallow!
February 24th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
photo 22…..idk if thats insane or terrible
February 24th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
oh yea i also have one of those nerf shotguns….they suck despite the fact that they eject the shell casings
February 24th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
Nice work on the story Adam! Good times!
February 24th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
yo emily definatly didnt blowitt
February 24th, 2009 at 6:03 pm
um… you can go to summit county or the rockies. you know keystone is in summit county right? …and there is still vibing there. except it has way more skier features.
February 24th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
Spencer Clark always slaying it. super smooth style.
February 24th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
we only vibe on gapers and texans homie
February 24th, 2009 at 7:27 pm
finally, although she had to go all the way to colorado to do it since she hasn’t been able to win any minnesota comps.
February 24th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
pic 27 of the rock to fakie on the stop sign is so sick
February 24th, 2009 at 8:26 pm
i have the same coat as that first rider
February 24th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
Ya, judging by that picture Joe Mango should’ve won or at least made podium. He got robbed.
February 24th, 2009 at 8:37 pm
P. #25 : 270switchfrontboardfaike, not frontboard
February 24th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
I saw Joe Mango on the stop sign… so sick! but it wasn’t in the comp. it was after it ended.
February 24th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
the guy in the blue and black with the kooky glasses, haha? yeah. that’s dope. good call on that one see squared.
February 24th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
yeah him. I guess it’s 22 or 25 depending on the Flashplayer or the thumbnail image shower.
February 24th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
finally! Trans Am is not at Winter Park! i woulda gone but i got
Grounded! ahh i misse dout
February 24th, 2009 at 10:41 pm
na she went to colorado cuz she’d already won all the mn comps. ya emily!
February 25th, 2009 at 3:31 am
yo thats not a Japan grab bud. thats a almost nosegrab. Japan is on the toe side, and you gotta tweak them way nasty. nice shot anyway. you guys are lucky out in CO.
February 25th, 2009 at 3:33 am
first off… pic 19 not a steezy front board i mean maybe for a chick but that shits not legit then 22 WOW sketchy.. other than that dope riding looked like fun
February 25th, 2009 at 9:38 am
it seems like a few good riders got robbed in this comp
February 25th, 2009 at 9:41 am
ha ha well that is what the guy whom took the pic told me it was.. I wasnt really thinking it was Japan either, i usually just like to pull nose or close to and tweak the crap out of it
February 25th, 2009 at 9:51 am
I will second that motion! Seems like Texans and Gapers seem to show up more and more now a days.. Amen for the safety meetings in trees!
February 25th, 2009 at 10:29 am
the winners names are weiner and blewitt. that’s irony right there.
February 25th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
just above the gallery, click on “[ Click here for thumbnail view ]“. it’ll take you to a standard photo gallery - find your thumbnail, click on it, then right click and save as when the full size pic comes up.
February 25th, 2009 at 9:22 pm
why you say sketch?
February 25th, 2009 at 11:03 pm
Damn pic 17 looks so dope, that kid killed it. Front 5 and front 7 over the tube. So stylish.
February 25th, 2009 at 11:11 pm
Pic #1 is legit. ROWSE is the man. Best steez that side of the rockies!
February 25th, 2009 at 11:52 pm
All day every day
dat kid kills it
February 26th, 2009 at 9:42 am
Thanks! was just curious if i could get an actual “copy” of the pic. but i can find a way to print that out.
February 26th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
his diecuts were sick! i wonder who made them?
February 26th, 2009 at 3:42 pm
That Rowse kid got ripped, saw a perfect back 180 in 180 first try out on the down rail too.
February 26th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
kevin killed it that day, oh and he made those diecuts himself. so sick.
February 26th, 2009 at 11:08 pm
Ha i barely made finals but this was tons o fun. I didn’t get any pics or footy though! bummed
February 27th, 2009 at 1:52 am
Yeah.. Kevin Rowse got ripped hard. He threw down heat all day and did the most tech shit for sure.
March 1st, 2009 at 1:57 am
haha blewitt wiener and cox? thats funny
March 1st, 2009 at 5:06 pm
haha best last names evvva
March 12th, 2009 at 8:02 am
I alike the way you put it. tks for the info…