The Red Bull Buttercup and some Halfpipe shredding

 

At 9:30 in the morning the halfpipe is near perfect. My dad and I went up on the morning of friday the 9th, and took some pictures at the halfpipe in my new Roxy outerwear. The halfpipe is not my strong point necessarily, but after riding it more this past season, and getting comfortable in it, I would like to pursue it a little more. We shot for about 3 hours, while I took laps on 3 kings lift.

After re-situating to a couple of different angles we got a couple of really nice shots. We also we able to critique ourselves, and figure out what we can do better next time. It was lots of fun, and very mellow to shoot with my dad.  

We headed back down to Salt Lake around 12:30 and I had enough time to take a short nap. When I woke up Garrett had just got home from work, and it was time to head up to Brighton for the Red Bull Buttercup. After registering, we made our way to Brighton's upper lodge. Garrett was kind enough to sit down there for 3 hours while I competed! He bought me a single ride ticket for $12, and I went up to the course.

I was so happy when I arrived. The setup looked inviting, they had good music, and there were a lot of other girls there!
We had about 30 minutes to practice on the course which included two butter box options; an up-flat-whoop box, and an up-flat-down box with a single barrel rail in the middle of that and another flat box. The course was perfectly maintained and they kept it that way the whole time. Way to go guys thanks!
When it was time to start the competition, we were all eager to get our butters' on. They grouped the womens' division with the 14 and under boys, and we were given 20 minutes to jam.

That was plenty of time. I started off with some nice buttery frontside 270's on and off the up-flat-whoop box. Mixing it up a little bit I also played around on the other setup. I ended with some solid cab 270's on and off the up-flat-whoop box. With a huge smile on my face I felt really confident about my performance, and waited patientally through the rest of the competition.
To my even greater satisfaction, they didn't make the girls do finals, and they judged us on our 20 minute heats. When it was all said and done I walked away with 1st place. I'm stoked on a very successful day!
Redbull did a great job with this event as did Brighton. The setup was awesome, the park crew kept it nice, and everyone had a great time.

Queens Cup Open 2010

My friend and event director of the Queens Cup asked me to come be a coach this year, I happily accepted and was eager to see what that event is like from another perspective. Thanks Anna!
Saturday March 27th marked the 5th annual Queens Cup Open. Anna has been putting this event on at Park City the past 5 years, and it just gets better, and better. I walked into the registration room to be greeted by Anna, her mom, and Michelle Parker at the registration table. Everyone was really anxious to get things going, so we waited for the rest of the girls to show up, then we started practice. 

My team consisted of some awesome shredder girls including; Melissa Riitano, Leah Klein, Alice Gong, and Michelle Zeller. I was thrilled to be the coach of such a strong team and practicing with them was a blast. By the time that the event was ready to start, my team was a ready to go. 
Our team was dropping last, so we had some time to ride the halfpipe a little in between the heats. Spring riding is so much fun! The halfpipe has been amazing the past week, perfect amount of slush. When it came time for us to drop, we all met at the start gate at the top of the course. The course was on pick and shovel and in it it had; your choice of a butter box, a down rail, or a bonk, into 2 jumps, another rail option, and into the 3rd jump. We were having too much fun practicing and I was ready to watch my team kill it!
No one on my team stomped their first run like they wanted to, and I know how that feels. I told them to make sure they were having fun, and to visualize. I think that worked out for them. When I got to the bottom after my second run, my team was waiting with huge grins on their faces. All the girls did so well! Everyone stomped a good trick off the bottom jump and I got to see Melissa do a sick backside 360 off a rail! 
With the combination of smooth rail tricks, and good airs, Melissa won the Queens Cup! Congrats Melissa! You deserved it! The awards were short and sweet, and Anna did a great job getting legitimate prize packages together for all of the winners. But even if you didn't win, you never feel left out at the Queens Cup- Anna had enough prizes for everyone to get a little something! 
This competition is so unique, and such a fun opportunity to get to know some of your fellow athletes. Whether they ski or snowboard, there is a lot of talent here. It was so fun to be a coach, and I hope I can do it again next year! Thanks again everyone for another successful QUEENS CUP OPEN.