We admit it–we didn’t stay up all night to watch the Burton European Open last night and now we’re kind of bummed. Not because there were any big surprises (Jamie Anderson won again), but because it looks like it was a pretty epic day in LAAX. From the sounds of it no one was more stoked than men’s slopetyle winner Alek Ostreng.
“I haven’t realized that I won yet. It’s a super good feeling being on the podium for the first time in a 6 Star TTR event. I landed everything in the second run, so I tried to step it up in the third, and it worked out!” The Finnish squad followed with last year’s BEO winner Roope Tonteri taking second place and Peetu Piiroinen taking third place. Peetu had a theory why the podium was in Northern Europe’s hands, “I like the dominance of the Scandinavian and Finnish riders…maybe it’s because of the food.”
Yeah, must be all the fish. . . For the complete results, podium shots, and official word from Burton follow the jump. [click to continue…]
We began getting emails yesterday morning (February 29, 2012) saying that California’s Mammoth Mountain had cut a large portion of their full-time staff. Some were saying 75 full-time employees were cut after having already taken 10 percent pay cuts. Now, the details have been confirmed by Mammoth CEO Rusty Gregory in a Mike Lewis story on TransworldBusiness.com.
Twenty percent of the mountain’s full-time employees have been laid off and most of them were from senior management, admin, accounting, IT, and maintenance. Gregory blamed it on a really bad season.
“It was clear things weren’t going to change dramatically. If we can’t pay our bills, everyone loses their jobs,” says Gregory, who has been CEO since ’95. “This was one of the most heart-wrenching decisions I’ve ever made. These people are part of the community. Our kids all go to school together.” Gregory adds that while the decision was hard on him, it “was a million times harder for those that lost their jobs.”
Yeah, we bet. Luckily, the lifts are still running and there is snow. We know, we just tasted some. And who knows if things get too bad maybe Vail Resorts will swoop in and snap up another legendary California resort.
Leap day (February 29, 2012) signals the end to the waiting period for the Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau. Aside from the breath of relief likely heard around the Quiksilver Board of Diectors table we’re bummed we didn’t get to see things get massive at Waimea Bay.
“As much as we’d like to see this dedication run every year, the event is committed to meeting the criteria of 20 feet,” said contest director George Downing. . . “Those special winters of Eddie-sized waves seem to only come around every three to five years, so a season like this is to be expected. . . “On behalf of the Aikau family, we sincerely thank this year’s Invitees, Alternates, Quiksilver and the organizing team who remained dedicated and enthusiastic throughout the holding period. We would also like to thank the Hawaii Tourism Authority and the City & County of Honolulu for their special efforts to make this an enjoyable event for all.”
Guess we’ll just have to wait until next year and let Greg Long hang onto that 2009-10 title for one more year. Follow the jump for the official word. [click to continue…]
Spy announced today that they’ve added surfer/shaper Ryan Burch and surfer Jared Mell as “multidimensional surf-sojourning brand ambassadors” for the eyewear company’s new Crosstown Collection.
“Ryan and Jared are super talented and respected at the creative forefront of contemporary surf culture, and they also have classic vibes in what they do that really resonate with what’s happening with SPY now,” says Devon Howard, SPY Marketing Director. “Ryan is a craftsman with a penchant for innovation, tempered by a deep reverence of classic surfing style applied to his board designs inspired by shaping pioneers like Bob Simmons and Carl Ekstrom. With Jared, his approach to nose riding and what he does with his clothing line at Insight are similarly progressive, hedged with deep roots. We’re really stoked to have these guys rounding-out an already stellar team of incredibly creative surfers backing Crosstown.”
The Crosstown Collection is billed as a “limited-edition line of vintage-inspired, handcrafted sunglasses” which sounds like a great market for Spy to paddle into. For the official word, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
Tomorrow night (March 1, 2012), at select theaters across the nation Vans is presenting Stacy Peralta’s Warped Tour documentary No Room For Rockstars.
Directed by Parris Patton (Amazing Journey: The Story of the WHO) and produced by Stacy Peralta and the team that brought you Dogtown & Z-boys, No Room For Rockstars is a feature documentary culled from more than 300 hours of film shot on the 2010 Vans Warped Tour. . . No Room For Rockstars depicts the true stories of modern era rock and roll from the kids in the van playing parking lots hoping to be discovered, to the veteran stage manager whose life was saved by the tour, to the musician who crosses over to mainstream success while on the road.
If you can make it to Santa Monica’s Laemmle’s Monica 4-plex, you’ll get the chance to see Stacy Peralta and hear the band Suicide Silence live. For the complete list of cities, theaters, showtimes and to purchase tickets for No Room For Rockstars, check out: www.noroomforrockstars.com.
If you missed the Burton European Open Slopestyle semi-finals today from LAAX, Switzerland you can watch a complete replay right here. As for the rest of the live online webcasts films for Feb. 29 – March 3, 2012 in the US, Central Europe, New Zealand and Japan follow the jump. And yes, West Coast US, to watch it live you’re going to need to stay up late. [click to continue…]
For the complete schedule of events, follow the jump. And if you can, you should come up and watch it live. Seriously. Oh, today’s practice (February 28, 2012) has been cancelled. Bet it’s a bit windy at Mammoth right now. [click to continue…]
It’s a little rough, there’s snow on the lens, and some of shots are questionable, but it February, the sun is out and there is no denying that Joey is having some fun at Bear Mountain.
![Beo12 Ssfm Aleksander Ostreng Mlp (3)[1]](http://www.boardistan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/BEO12_SSFM_Aleksander_Ostreng_MLP-31.jpg)
