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Half-Pipe Mega Air

Saturday, Dec 15th: It was hellishly cold. The wind howling up Peak 8, blowing snow off the high mountain ridges in giant plumes of white. And of course I had forgotten my gloves. Note to self: extreme cold, metallic camera gear, and human epidermis are a satanic mix. Fortunately, the rock ‘n roll pumping out of the speakers on the lip of the half-pipe at Breckenridge during the U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix kept me from degenerating into a quivering ball of jelly, that, and the buzz of trying to freeze frame the human pretzel contortions of the pro snowboarders as they caught huge air so close it felt like I could reach out and touch them. The Flying Tomato, aka Shaun White, won the men’s competition (he’s the flaming red, long haired guy with his own Amex commercial, in which he follows a series of snowstorms from Utah to Canada to Japan to Norway, until finally getting a text msg that the surf’s up in Maui) while Gretchen Bleiler, the silver medalist at the 2006 Turin Olympics, took first on the women’s side.

The high winds and cold were a factor in the performance of the athletes, knocking some off their game, but for the pros, it was all pretty much business as usual as they landed their tricks on the pipe. Shaun, who decided to participate in the Grand Prix at the last minute, added an extra level of excitement to the event due to his star power and talent. The Snowboard Grand Prix is one of the premiere snowboarding events, along with the X Games, the US Open, and the West Coast Invitational, amongst others.

On the men’s side, Shaun White battled for the lead throughout the day Saturday with local Breckenridge pro snowboarder Steve Fisher, a rivalry that reminded everyone of the Winter X Games in Aspen in January, except then Fisher took gold, beating out White. Elijah Teter, another local Breck boarder, was third.

Gretchen Bleiler, one of the most accomplished female snowboarders on the planet, took first place, repeating her 2003 first place finish at the Snowboard Grand Prix. Kelly Clark, who won the Grand Prix last year, was a close second to Bleiler. Clark, who won an Olympic gold medal in 2002 at Salt Lake City, is also one of the top female snowboarders. Hannah Teter finished third.

Shaun White is in some hot water in Breckenridge, according to a Denver Post article, he stands accused of setting off a fire extinguisher in a game room at the River Run resort and his breath “smelled of alcohol”. Say it ain’t so, Shaun! And stop chasing women around with pool cues!

The Flying Tomato is arguably the most famous (and talented) snowboarder in the world, has a long list of corporate sponsors and his own character in the video game Amped 2. He started out skateboarding (he knows Tony Hawk well) and snowboarding at an early age (4 years old) in California. He won Olympic gold in Torino in 2006, has 11 medals from the X Games, and 2 skateboarding medals.