Board Stiff Wrap-Up
by Larry Moller

Bands, big air, lots of free give-a-ways, and top name pro's were promised by OnBoard Entertainment, the promoters of Board Stiff. They offered a good time to any who were brave enough to drive to the top of Snoqualmie Pass, Washington. Firing up the old Subaru, legions of snow-clad, board toting, goggle wearing snow rats arrived ready to party. The air was charged with the heady scents of a festival and the event goers walked about in masses looking for free product.

Judging by the size of the crowd there's some free handouts being distributed.

The sky was filled with a hazy gray that let the sun poke through for brief minutes of warm breezes. The event slopes were large enough to keep the six thousand plus crowd thin. On the snow the options were many. One could ride the over-vert half-pipe that harbored a few good hits. There were also many lips and wall to fling one-self off and if watching was more to style then an observer could cruise over the big air contest to watch the pro's huck themselves off the super kicker. The super kicker was large and boasted a gap of about ten feet to clear. After clearing the gap the rider had to ace the landing, which was often filled with the pockmarks of the previous, unsuccessful air cowboy. During practice Tahoe rider Trevor Snowden landed wrong. He was taken to the hospital and it was discovered that he had broken his back.

In the semi-finals Jamie Lynn went off in an edge grinding sweep, for a sideways 720, and stuck the landing. People were flying at least fifty feet up and off, sometimes reaching fifteen feet in height off the slope.

The live music could be heard from anywhere at the site and the whole thing was kept pretty low key. There were people rocking in ski-boots as well as snowboard boots. During The Mighty Mighty Boss-Tone's set, people were jumping up on stage and dancing with them. They were just jamming and enjoying the set. The music was super cool and the crowd writhed while other's floating above them on a sea of arms.

From the big air jump the event looked like a circus had come and squatted on Snoqualmie's flat expanses. Stacks of speakers pumped the tunes to the rows of company demo shacks. Airwalk, K2, Rusty, Sims and so many others offered boards to ride for anybody with a license. Tony Hawk and other skaters pumped over and over on the twelve foot vert ramp and mountain bike riders charged down a banked slalom of snow. Elbow to elbow, in the midst of a product hungry crowd, I had a vision of what snowboarding is coming to be and the mini evolutions each new wave of youth bring. Today the groms, tomorrow the rulers; that is youth.

The snow was good, the tapes were free, the airs were large, the music was pumping and the kids were supervised. Board Stiff delivered what it promised and if Trevor Snowden hadn't been injured it would have been a perfect day in the snow.

See More Photos: He/She Big Air | Tony Hawk

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