Jnr Snowboard Nationals went down from Mon-Fri at Cardrona with my sister and I having a crack at all 5 comps (GS, Dual GS, BoarderX, Slopestyle, and Halfpipe). The racing was kind of a bit of fun with no race boards or lycra necessary!
Day 1
GS went down with a leg burner of a course. Slope course had softened up by noon so some laps were taken. First hit on the 3rd I managed to send it 3/4 of the way down the landing where I managed to get ice burn on the fore head and completely fll my goggles up with snow! That was with 3 speed checks going in so was a pretty slow 60 footer.
I ended up getting 2nd in the GS. Benji 'Racing Boy' Sutherland took out the win. The man is pretty much unstoppable when it comes to racing.
Day 2
BoarderX was on today in the morning. The early starts can get to ya with practice starting at 8:30 in the am. The U19 division was a bit empty this year with a straight final running after the time trials. I came away with another 2nd again. Another fun day but still amping for Slopestyle tomorrow!
Boarder X final Photo: Andy Woods
But lil' Jess had the chance to throw it all down in the slopestyle today with Girls finals running along with Slope Pre qualifiers. She took the smaller Jib-stacked side of the course while the other girls were busting out straight airs on the big line. The judges saw it straight giving Jess the win! So Stoked for lil Sis! She threw down some SW 50s, half cab, front 1, front lips, and 50-50 front 1s. She just looked like she was chilling. haha.
Jess claiming top spot on podium!
Day 3 = My favourite one!
Slopestyle DAY!
Mute Back 5 on the third table.
The older boys/men got to run in the arvo which was pretty dam good considering the course had barely softened by noon. The goal was to stay on ya feet with cheese grater landings for pretty much the entire day. After some mellow straight airs it was all go. I cranked out my run a few times working on getting the 3rd jump dialed. Back 5's were feeling the most solid with a back 7 to butt not really feeling the money. I was shredding sum laps with Alex Harper. I dropped into the course first for the U19s with a fully stomped run. Jump line was SW bk 5, front 7, back 5. Second run I kept it the same but with a back 9 on the third. Ended up getting a bit lost in the air and scoring a sweet tripod out on the landing. Still managed to score higher than my first run and giving me the WIN! Some Finnish guy took 2nd and he was throwing down some cab 5s and front 7s.
Melon back 9 on the third.
1st place = t shirt + torpedo 7 sticker.
I dont think I have ever been that tired after a comp.... I also dont think I have ever landed that many tricks in a row with two crashes for the whole day. Dad was shouting the beers afterwards......... as he did after pretty much everyday of competition!
Here's a link of an article written on NZsnowboard.com. It was nice to see some coverage of the event.
http://www.nzsnowboard.com/news/1607/international_competitors_put_a_world_perspective_on_junior_kiwi_riders
Day 4:
Double comp day with Parallel GS in the morning and sum superpipe in the arvo.
I felt like I got to experience racing properly for the first time ever. Clipping these little rubber gate markers and sucking up these pro bumps, which actually got me on my first run. The bump ended up claiming a lot of riders.
Superpipe was suprisingly super after riding in a regular sized half pipe for most of the season. I was pretty chill about it as my legs felt like jelly from two many days competing. Some USA riders were ripping with back 2 back 7s, 5s mctwists and cripplers.
I ended up getting 2nd in the PGS and 4th in pipe.
They also awarded the most well-rounded riders with myself getting the award for best male snowboarder. A pretty dam good end to the last Jnr Nats for me and also for Jess who claimed fame in the chicks slopestyle.
Here's another article on NZsnowboard.com of the overall rankings after 4 days of competition.
http://www.nzsnowboard.com/news/1609/riders_finish_season_on_a_high_with_the_junior_nationals
Finally a big shout out to my spono's....... BURTON, ANON, Cheapskates, Mt Hutt, and MUM and DAD for hooking up a roof over our heads for the week as well as petrol, food and generally just being there to cheer Jess and I along!
The following shots are of an approved project for a deserted island in the Caspian sea. They are building 7 buildings that will create a 100% sustainable eco community. The scale of this project is a bit mind boggling so definitely one to google to get your head around it.
The buildings when viewed from a distance are supposed to resemble the seven most important mountain peaks of Azerbaijan. (somewhere between west asia and east europe.)
Just another photo of 'Zira' island. 
Summer awaits us down on the plains. Winter storm finally clears on the drive DOWN the hill.
Blasting Snow Clouds - Shot by Riley Bathurst.