Click the photo to see how huge Mammoth’s”Super Duper Pipe” really is.
Kevin Pearce may be in critical condition in a Salt Lake City Hospital, but his spirit is hovering like a whisper in everyone’s ear at Mammoth Mountain this week for the the second stop of the US Snowboarding Grand Prix.
Event organizers, riders, and the media are all sending positive energy his way, but at the same time wondering how thoughts of his accident on the double cork are going to affect the riders in the final two open Olympic halfpipe qualifiers.
During the riders’ meeting as the Mammoth Mountain Ski Patrol went over their safety plans all we could really think of was KP. And when the Grand Prix’s Scotty Palmer said that CE certified helmets were required and that while no one checked for CE cert stickers at Copper the technical delegate would be checking inside everyone’s helmets at Mammoth all the coaches in the room seemed to nod, having been reminded again how serious this game is.
“This is probably the first time many of these kids have actually realized that they could die snowboarding,” one event official told us. “It’s heavy.”
Twelve years ago the first US Olympic snowboard team was named at Mammoth and while the team won’t officially be announced here, it could get pretty well sewn up by Saturday. The Olympic team will be chosen based on the best two results from the five US Snowboarding Grand Prix halfpipe events. But there’s a catch. The first three events are the only events that are open. The two halfpipe events coming up in Park City on January 20-23, 2010 are by invitation only. Only those with a statistical chance of making it in to the top four positions in the men’s and women’s fields will be invited.
“This is where we making the cuts,” said US Grand Prix Tour Director Eric Webster. “The Mammoth events are like Friday on the PGA Tour.”
Those who don’t make it into the top four of the standings at Mammoth may not get another chance for Vancouver.
Men’s qualifiers begin tomorrow morning at 9:30 AM (click here for Mens and Women’s official start lists). Stay tuned for complete side-of-the-pipe coverage.
Follow the jump for the full Mammoth event schedule.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
9:30 am – 11:00 am Men’s Heat # 1 Qualifiers
11:30 am – 1:00 pm Men’s Heat # 2 Qualifiers
1:30 pm – 3:00 pm Women’s Half Pipe Qualifiers
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Half Pipe Finals
Awards will be distributed immediately after competition
Thursday, January 7, 2010
8:30 am – 2:30 pm Slopestyle Qualifiers
Friday, January 8, 2010
9:30 am – 11:00 am Men’s Heat # 1 Half Pipe Qualifiers
11:30 am – 1:00 pm Men’s Heat # 2 Half Pipe Qualifiers
1:30 pm – 3:00 pm Women’s Half Pipe Qualifiers
Saturday, January 9, 2010
1:30 pm – 3:00 pm Half Pipe Finals
Awards will be distributed immediately after competition
Sunday, January 10, 2010
11:00 am – 1:00 pm Slopestyle Finals
Awards will be distributed immediately after competition
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