from freeskier.com.....
Loveland Vert Alert Coverage!
By Matt Harvey, yesterday
After traveling to all of the major competitions this season, I forgot how fun a small local jam can really be. I also seem to have forgotten how to write a story without dropping names. TJ Schiller and Peter Olenick didn't come. There, now I feel better.
Yesterday, Loveland Ski Area threw their second Vert Alert comp (the first being on April 2nd). The event was comprised of a slopestyle in the morning and a rail jam in the afternoon.
About 120 people showed up for the slopestyle, a bit more than half being snowboarders. Each athlete had two runs (with maybe one run practice) which meant about 3 hours of sessioning. Although that broke down to an hour and a half between runs, the vibe was great as competitors cheered each other on in typical Loveland fashion. Whoever named the resort would've been proud.
The field wasn't divided into heats, so the job on the judges was borderline impossible. It was pretty funny to look at how the scores played out at the end but no one really cared cause really, it was just about jamming with friends in the spring conditions. With all the other big resorts in Summit County closed, it was much needed.
The lunch break was epic: free Wahoo's Fish Tacos!
The afternoon continued with a rail jam. Loveland was clever enough to split the 100+ people into three heats. The judges were very happy people.
Five skiers made it into the one-run finals. The best run of qualifiers was by Bryan Gallant who did a 270 on, switch up, up-hill 270 off. Other people qual'd with disasters and other such trickster maneuvers. Good times. Good music. Good people. Great clichés!
The finals mirrored the WSI slopestyle finals (except the tricks weren't exactly as good). Four people fell (or equivalent/more or less), leaving the door open for the last person to drop in. At the WSI it was TJ (yes! I got to do it again), this time, it was me. The major difference is that TJ did one of the sickest cab 7 double grab I've ever seen over a channel gap. All I had to do was slide a rail with some steez. Check. TJ won $8000 -- I won a skate board. Sounds fair to me!
The Vert Alert was tons of fun. They're already talking about throwing it down again next year with a more refined format. In a couple of seasons, this could blow up as a key spring Colorado event. All it'll take is some big names so that I don't get writer's block! That would be excellent.
Slopestyle Results
Young Kids
1. Kole Morrell
2. Curtis Mangusso
3. Byron Wells
Not as Young Kids
1. Austin Bloomer
2. Taylor Scott
3. Mike Adams
Older Guys
1. Owen Leeper
2. Bryan Gallant
3. Evan Winn
Girls
1. Erin Young
2. Andy Jacoby
Rail Jam Results
1. Me!
2. Don't think...
3. ...they told us
