Spanked Salmon
The 2002 Legendary Banked Slalom
Thursday:
Get up at 7.
Start driving to mountain alone. Pick up dirty hippies
hitchhiking in Bellingham. Soon regret decision as car smells like
hippies.
Get to mountain before lifts open.
Wait in line for 20 minutes. Cut line. Start riding.
Tag
along with John Laing, Pat Mccarthy and Javas Lehn. Almost die, a few
times.
Poach the course.
Take run with Terje.
Go
home.
The Banked Slalom course as seen through the eyes of Ralph Backstrom. |
Friday: Saturday: Fun with awards ceremonies.
Courtesy of Damien St. Norre. Sunday:
Get up at 7.
Ditch
class.
Get up to the mountain after the lifts have been
running for an hour.
Sink into 15 inches of pow.
Ride
with neighbor's friends.
Pick up press pass.
Go up
to the course.
Stand at top for 5 minutes then head
to the bottom.
Check out the scores. Some dude named R.
Backstrom is in first. Whatever.
Hang out in lodge and jam
out to hippie band.
Go home.
Get
up at 7.
Put chains on 30 miles from the mountain thanks to
a Bellingham blizzard.
Make it to the mountain at 10.
Ride
with friends all day.
Ride up the chairlift with a cute
boy.
Ride by the top of the course once and take a picture.
Enjoy
sun and new snow.
Supposedly Temple got the fastest time.
Whatever.
Eat salmon in the parking lot.
Go
home.
Get up at 9.
Meander
up to the mountain.
Get there as the last 4 pros take their
last run.
Take one run back to the lodge.
Hang
out in the lodge and eat soup.
Take one more run.
Go
back to the lodge to secure table for awards.
Curse hippie
band as they play loudly in the lodge.
Sit through the
longest award ceremony in history.
Leave at 6:15. Get home
at 8. Realize have no idea what happened in the contest.
If
you care: some French dude beat the locals. Xavier Delerue. Terje got
fourth, Temple second, Victoria fifth and if you care about how anyone
else did, check www.mtbakerskiarea.com
The 2002 LBS: How to be a good journalist at the Banked Slalom.
Journal Excerpts: The ones about winter. -RC
The Olympic Rant: : Hey, we had one four years ago.
Vermont is for Skateboarders: An indoor park in Burlington. What will they think of next?
Ticos, Imperial and Spanglish: Welcome to Costa Rica.
The Blue Lodge: Where are they now?: It may be a little premature, but what the hell!
Space Odyssey: Bendini Productions premieres its latest.
Degrassi: The Next Generation: It's back and better than ever.
US Open 2001: Better late than never.
Yo Beat Midwest Skateboard Tour:3465 miles, one shop team, and a midwest that starts in Eastern Washington.
Obligatory Mt. Hood Coverage 2001: Experience the power of a new snowboard during the summer.
The Dry Erase Skateboard: New innovations in skatepark hooching.
A Simple Guide to Living in Bellingham: Only funny if it is about you.
Life Behind the Iron Curtain: Yo Beat's War correspondent David S. Bobolay reports.
Got Drunk, Went to Oregon to find Heckler and got Drunk Again: Yeah.
Slam City Jam 2001: Being some one is important, as we learn at BC's premiere skate contest.