Author: Dee

Dave Zook is a sponsored Alta Snowboard Team Rider.  Dave was kind enough to share his experiences at the first Masters of Snowboarding event held at Alpine Meadows, California on February 14th, 2013.  Dave finished 26th in a field of 54 competitors.

Author:Dave Zook

Photos: Dee

To me the Masters is about having fun and pushing my abilities amidst a group of talented riders. I have done a few competitions in years past with limited success, but have an underlying confidence that on the right day I can hang with the big kids. I was hoping Tahoe would be that day.

On the first day at Alpine I had my inner amp-up reserves stored up for a 20-foot rock with a firm but acceptably steep landing. The goal was to stay conservative through the top section and cap the run off with a sizeable air, staying fluid throughout.

I dropped into the upper ice apron and squiggled and squirmed over the wind-scoured month-old snow. I found air 1, a four-foot drop to slick runout.

A four-foot air is admittedly small, but I have no trouble conceding that for me it was difficult to land any air on that steep of a venue and control the speed afterward. The difficulty lay in not simply landing the air but regaining composure without throwing the board on the heel edge and sliding for awhile, as doing so is not smooth, and runs the risk of washing out. Though the announcers kept saying “railing out” when this happened, which channeled my inner eighth-grader and made me giggle.

I dropped the first air and rode out, sliding but a little on my heel. I weaved over to air 2 which was about a foot bigger than air 1st. The same tactic here yielded the same result. While I could feel I wasn’t rocketing through the course like some (Matt Carter!), control was a nice thing to be able to fall back on to justify lack of berserk speed.

But one big rock still lay between myself and a cold beer. The in-run had a smoothed out and perfectly horizontal takeoff zone from everyone scraping it the day before. That’s nice, I thought, as I closed in on the lip. I remember wanting to drift from rider’s left to right in the air, so I could find the optimal transition, and not go too far and land in Nick Perata’s lap in the announcing booth.

The plan almost worked. My speed felt good, I found the grab and looked at the impending landing coming straight to the bottom of my feet. Only a few centimeters of board, a sturdy pair of boots and a pair of thin socks insulated my feet from the ruggedly firm snow. If memory serves me, which it probably doesn’t when trying to recollect thoughts from a free-fall, I was positioned to land on the mental X I had mapped out.

But, I came down with a tad too much weight centered over my front foot and tumbled. I’d anticipated the landing to be proper hardpack, but I think the snow gave way just a touch and tripped me up and over the handlebars. I tweaked my ankle and it hurt. I broke my board and that sucked. I didn’t land and wouldn’t get a great score and that pissed me off.

But like anything, perspective is key. It was a beautiful day in Cali, my home state and I was outside, and snowboarding. Friends were watching and supporting me, which counts for everything, more than I can express. In no time I was smiling and cheering on the rest of the riders. I had fun.

Competition season is now in full swing and the Alta Snowboard Team is out on the circuit getting recognition,  having a good time traveling, meeting new friends, and of course snowboarding. Most recently over the President’s Day weekend, events for the Freeride World Qualifier Tour were held at Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley North Lake Tahoe, California. The Alta Snowboard Team athletes were competing against an array of top-notch snowboarders from all over North America in an effort to obtain a position on the Freeride World Tour, where they would be competing internationally.

The Masters of Snowboarding has been a favorite event for big-mountain snowboarders for the past six seasons. The 2012-2013 season has been a bit different for the Masters as the event merged with the Freeride World Tour.   In the past, venues for the Masters were at Crystal Mountain, WA, Kirkwood CA, Girdwood AK, Crested Butte CO, and our favorite Snowbird UT.   This year Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley were chosen as the resorts to host a big-mountain style competition.  These new locations are great, but conditions at these locations not so great.

On Feburary 14th, 2013 Alpine Meadows hosted the opening event for the Masters. This two star event had no prize money, but yet was an opportunity for those who were not qualified to advance to Squaw Valley the four star event the following day. The awards at Squaw Valley were much greater. The winner got 3,000 dollars in prize money and a spot on the international tour.

Utah was well represented in the line-up of competitors.  Five female ladies in a field of eighteen were representing Utah and ten men of fifty-four. Many of the Utah competitors were proud to put the Alta Snowboard Team as one of their sponsors.   The Alta Snowboard Team has been a concept for more than a decade, but in the last year we have organized ourselves into a team of super shredders. We are getting both national and international recognition.

This year at the Masters was different because you weren’t just cheering for your friends you ride with, but rather there was a whole group to support.  The Utah crowd was pumped and cheering for those on the Alta Snowboard Team.  It was pretty cool. Furthermore the AST was getting props from the announcers at the Masters.

We even got a few new members while out in California. Rose Struble rides at Brighton and the Bird and was entering her first Masters. She is now a proud AST member. We also added 20 year old Jordan Nelson to the team. Jordan may be a young buck, but he knows how to ride. Mike Meru was also stoked to join the team. He is a family man, but still makes time to get out in the mountains. He loves splitboarding. Making new friends and spreading the good vibe is what we are about here at the Alta Snowboard Team and the California sun helped us out with that mission.

So where is the AST headed next? Ahhh So glad you asked. Laura Dewey, Shannan Yates and John Rodosky will be competing at the fourth stop of the Swatch Freeride Tour at Kirkwood Ca. Contest starts February 27. There is also a group of AST members going to Taos, New Mexico for the qualifying event February 28 through March 2nd.  That one is called 2013 Salomon Extreme Freeride Championships.  Good Luck to all the athletes.  Both competetions will be skiers and snowboarders. One Love- it is going to be a fun weekend.