Klassen and Zell: Extreme's Reigning Royal Family
by Dan Caruso

The competitors have mostly been hanging out down in town, catching an ugly case of Val-disease. The only cure for this ugly illness is steep slopes and deep powder, and as soon as this four day storm ends, there will be plenty of that to be had. But not today. The helicopters are on stand-by and the pilot is sitting in the lodge reading a book, drinking black coffee, and shaking his head in disbelief.

It's not going to clear this afternoon, I say as I take the boarders orders for Salmon Burgers and Spinach Nut Burgers. You might as well order a drink and chill. Tomorrow, maybe, and it will be so worth the wait.

Sure enough, Day 4 and still pouring down rain in Valdez. Up here at The Pass, however, things are beginning to break. From the parking lot at the Tsaina Lodge, I see Mount Diamond pointing it's Chamonix-like peak up above the misty clouds. There's two feet of fresh in the parking lot and probably four feet or more up around the peaks. So, Day 1 of The King of the Hill is a go.

The first event is The Downhill. This race is a little different than your typical race. It's basically the high-speed surf run down the steep and deep of The Chugash. There are a few gates to turn around, and some wicked ruts for the later riders to deal with, but the key to winning this thing is just to power arc in the untracked and not to dump any speed until you cross the finish line. The competitors are shipped up to Girls Mountain and the course is set down the three thousand foot face in Bro Bowl.

Stealing the honors for Day 1 is the Cinderella boy from Val d'Isere, France. Antoinin Legerent lets the big dog run and crosses the line in 3:03, almost thirty seconds ahead of last year's King, Steve Klassen. Julie Zell, the two-time Queen, scores the fastest time in the Women's division.

The weather goes totally bluebird and the sunset, at about 8:40, morphs out into a surreal pinkish alpenglow at Thompson Pass. The AWA Airstrip is packed with parties, beers and live music. The contest is a go and there's so much fresh pow up here that everybody's all giddy.

Day 2 starts out early and clear. The contestants show up around 8 am, only to hurry up and wait for the airplanes to take them up to Nick's. Today is the Freestyle day and there's a huge natural halfpipe coming down below Python Peak. Three feet of settled out snow, 40 foot transitions and no rules. It's a freestyle free-for-all. Andy Brewer from Salt Lake City lets it all hang out as he unloads a double-backflip, and then a twenty foot 540 to get the roadside fans screaming. Klassen puts in yet another solid, flawless run and stays in a close second behind the Frenchman, who power-surfs the hanging lips of the huge gully to retain the overall lead after two days of competition. Julie Zell, of course, wins the Womens.

Steve styles out a twenty foot rail-slide layback at high speed, sending a huge rooster tail into the blue sky. JZ throws her first ever 360 and sticks it. Then there's some 30 other riders whom I've never heard of just going off. Helicopters, 540's, backflips, you name it, it is big and sick; freestyle...Alaska style.

Day 3 of the comp is the day that really matters up here, Extreme Day. Happy Top is the peak chosen for this year and there's no easy way down. The North face runs a good 4,000 feet, with a 50 degree headwall leading into a myriad of chutes and cliffs. The judges are looking for fluidity, control, aggressiveness and large air. Klassen shows them how it's done. He drops fall line from the peak and works out riders left. Nonstop and smooth, the defending champ links his turns as he throws a few 20 to 30 foot cliff drops. Steve's run seems to be the plumb line of day, and he now appears to be the man to out-ride today. The Frenchman, Antoinin, rails a clean, fast line right down the gut of Happy Top and gets enough points to maintain second place overall. It's not over yet, though. Miles Burgett, the local hucker from Valdez has a line picked out and he drops in like he's on a mission. He is. Miles nails a 30 footer and high speeds the middle section towards a cliff that leaves us wondering if he knows what is below him.

Obviously, he know exactly where he's headed as he projects out off of a huge cliff. From my angle, it appears to be a solid 80 foot jump, but conferring with one of the Rescue Crew members on the mountain, it is estimated to be more like 100 feet. Regardless of the height, Miles floats a stylish tail-grab and lands the air, straight shotting into the finish area. His father, one of the only parents on hand, gives him a high five and the crowd roars.

Miles gets the high score for the day and is in contention for the crown. Julie Zell picks a sick line from the summit, but somewhere in the face she gets off course and misses the steep chute that she had chosen. She rips the bottom section, but doesn't get the numbers for a sure win. Lori Gibbs, a Winterstick rider from Salt Lake City, chooses the rad line and rails to earn the highest score today on Extreme Day.

So, three sick days of Alaskan snowboarding have come and gone and we're here in the Sugarloaf Saloon in Valdez at the 1996 King of the Hill Snowboard Tournament Awards Ceremony. The all-you-can-eat buffet has everybody stuffed and ready to party as the MC, Nick Perata, takes the stage to announce the King and Queen. The defending champions narrowly escape being dethroned, but pull it off nonetheless. Just like last year, and just like earlier this year in Verbier, Switzerland, Steve Klassen and Julie Zell stand on-stage with their arms raised. Steve is now the two-time King, Julie the three-time Queen.

As the band goes on-stage and the moshing begins, The King and The Queen, fully garbed out in their capes and crowns, raise their mighty swords and open the bar. Free drinks for all the peasants. So, after all the waiting around for the weather, The 1996 King of the Hill delivers what they promised: sick snowboarding and killer parties.