by Shanti Sosienski

The only thing missing today from the second annual Vegetate, a benefit for the native wildflowers at Mt. Hood Meadows in Oregon, was Grateful Dead music blaring from the speakers. Instead a mixture of techno and ska pumped up the competitors all day while the first day's event, a slopestyle contest, took place. But the spirit of the Dead were there in the mellow sunshining day.

"I don't get the whole story," said Santa Cruz pro Josh Vert jokingly. "Are the flowers extinct or what?"

"I know what it's about," said first place winner Hillary Maybery from the top of the course before her winning run. "I saw the wildflowers on the side of the road. This is a good contest though. It's mellow and super fun, and I don't do many contests. I'm having a good time."

The competition got off to a late start, beginning at about 11, but no one seemed to concerned. The nearly 200 competitors, both men and women spent the morning riding the course to figure out the best line. There were thirteen table tops, with the possibility of hitting six at the most. It was announced early on that back and front flips were a no-no, but you know that when snowboarders hear "no" they think yes. At one point during the competition Lizzy Walker pulled some kind of rodeo-type upside down flip, bringing a nice round of applause from the audience.

For the contest, riders were given two runs each and the best score of both was taken to determine a winner. The runs seemed to be stronger in the beginning of the day when the snow was harder, but everyone still seemed to have a good time. Both pros and ams were run together in the same category which is rare in contests these days. A lot of people seemed pretty stoked that the contest was run this way as it relieved a lot of the official contest pressure.

In the end everyone met outside the lodge for beers, bonding, and a trophy ceremony. Sunburns were a plenty, smiles were big, and tomorrow will be another day. Stay tuned for the boardercross qualifier results tomorrow.

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