Is it the end of the millenium that's making people crazy? After nearly getting clocked in the head by a flying beer bottle, I carefully negotiated my way through the crowd, dodging the crossfire of rock-hard snowballs while trying not to trip over the multitude of crushed empty cans that littered the ground. There was an impending sense of pandemonium that seemed to mount throughout the day, with more underage drinkers per capita than a Phish show. A careful ear and a watchful eye indicated the rowdiness of this crowd probably had something to do with the fact that 90 percent of them were kids from the tri-state area-we're talking New York, Jersey and Connecticut.

That's not to say there wasn't a reason to celebrate. The halfpipe finals go off every year, but the energy that made a mountain out of Stratton today was unprecedented. And rightly so-some of the sickest snowboarding performances to date were witnessed by the thousands that gathered at the very place where snowboarding was born, at least on the East Coast. Not to mention that it was actually sunny and warm-a rare and appreciated occurrence for the typically gnarly, icy hills of Vermont. The warmer temperatures made the pipe soft enough for riders to feel comfortable going as big as they pleased, but there were still complaints among the ranks about a few kinks that were throwing people out and on to the deck.

The Wizard of Oz: Always down-to-earth, Jake Burton presents the awards at the winner's podium. You gotta wonder what it's like to be in his shoes-witnessing an event and a sport that you essentially created. And why is it that he never looks like he's getting any older?

I can vouch for that because Terje almost landed on my head. I was perched precariously on the side of the deck where all the bro looking photographers acted like they were getting the best angle. So I pulled out my point-and-shoot digi with the hopes that I might push the button at the right time, and the next thing I know I'm about five inches from the P-Tex and razor sharp edges of a snowboarding legend. His arms were flapping wildly about, and when he landed in the flat bottom, he turned around and looked up at me, like, directly in the eye. I crouched behind someone because I felt like I should hide. "Was he mad at me?" I asked the guy to my left. "No, I think he said 'sorry.'" Can you imagine? "Ex-TWS Editor Killed By Terje At US Open." Jesus Christ, talk about occupational hazards!

As far as the contest goes, here's what people were talking about:

Everyone seemed stoked on the new jam format. General consensus is that it's like surfing, and surfing has always been rad, so snowboarding should copy it. The riders got 25 minutes to do as many runs as they wanted, the judges taking an average of the best three. It was obvious that some of the competitors had it pretty well figured out, like Ross "The Boss" Powers, who took three solid runs and called it quits, and some didn't, like Shannon Dunn who had maybe seven runs and stuck some of the most solid-looking tricks of the day, but landed in third because she crashed in almost every run. There was also a question over whether or not there were enough riders in each heat, with the occasional downtime while riders were getting shuttled up and down the pipe. "They definitely should have had more people in each heat, especially for the girls," said Natasza Zurek, who got knocked out in the semi [CK] final. I kind of felt like there was less suspense than when they run 'em one rider at a time because I lost track of who fell or who had a good run or what.

I had the unique experience of hosting Mammoth pro-rider and Grand Prix commentator Matt Cass at my house for the week. Accustomed to the rigors of commentary and more than familiar with all the riders and their styles, Matt made a few key observations that he was kind of enough to point out to me (I might've missed a few things when I went into the lodge for a chicken sandwich). "If I were gonna write a story, I'd talk about the changing of the guards," he said, noting that the top three finalists, Ross, Xander, and Tommy were young, progressive, and throwing bigger, harder tricks at a pace that even some of the good ol' boys couldn't keep up with.

Which reminds me: What's Todd Richard's story these days? I was hanging out on the deck (the same one where Terje almost killed me) during Todd's run and all these kids standing behind me were booing him, yelling profanities, talking about what an asshole he is. They cheered when he fell, yelling, "Yeah, you failed!" I also happened to be sitting behind him and Barrett at the bottom of the pipe after his run, and he was crouched over in pain, looking defeated. "I feel like my head is gonna blow up," Richards said, complaining that he rung his bell pretty good when he crashed. He just lay there and that was it for him. Maybe the snowboarding can be almost as hard as skateboarding sometimes? I think the Olympics took the fun away for him. Maybe he should try riding some powder. And just for the record, the dyed-black hair doesn't really cut it. He looks way cuter with blonde hair.

Matt and I also agreed that the women's competition was kind of disappointing. "The girls who were really going off didn't make it into the finals because they fell," he said. Most notably, Tara Dakides, winner of the Best Freestyle Rider of the Year in the 1999 TransWorld Rider Poll Awards, was throwing alley-oop McTwist 720s and didn't even make it into the finals. The jam format was obviously an advantage for veterans like Byrnes, Taggart, and Dunn who do the same run over and over and have it totally dialed, whereas riders willing to take risks get shut out. "Shannon is so perfect in competition. She knows how to shut everything out and just do what she has to do," says Zurek. "I'm totally jealous. I wish I knew how to do that." I'm claiming it won't be too long until there's a changing of the guard on the women's side of things, too.

Despite the obvious epic riding by the top five guys, I was the most impressed with Mike Michalchuk. During practice, I saw him throw a massive double back flip five or six feet out and stomped the shit out it. Sure, he was doing them last year, too but not nearly as big and not nearly as clean. I saw him after the event signing autographs and getting his photo taken with fans, so clearly I'm not the only one

The Media: Aren't television people so cheesy? Some ESPN guy interviews Ross after his victory.

who's watching. It would be good to see him make a podium win at the Open one of these days.

Shit, gotta go, I'm missing the boardercross!

Stay tuned for more quality journalism from former TWS editor Ali Berkley was told she would get 75 cents for each story she wrote at the Open.