Not only was the entire North American riding community showing up – but a strong lineup of European and Scandinavian riders could be counted on to compete for the podiums as well. Tina Basich from Utah drops in and leads a USA sweep of the Women’s Pipe. Tina remains a large part of the snowboarding industry and her appearances at the Open helped send the message – Women can rip with style and have fun.

In the Men’s Halfpipe it was a battle of young legends in the making – all with dramatically different styles. Craig Kelly of Mt. Baker, WA had to fend off the fearless runs of Shaun Palmer from South Lake Tahoe, CA and the creative lines put together by Jeff Brushie of Hinesburg, VT. A small kid riding a Micro Air also turned up for his first go at the Stratton Pipe. He stitched together some fun runs with style and relative ease. But lack of amplitude and a low angle pipe worked against him that day on the judges score sheets. His name was Terje Haakonsen and 1990 was the last year anyone would say “Who’s that?” It would soon turn to “What was that?”

1991
Stratton now prepares for the crowds each year with proper fencing along the halfpipe and includes a shelter at the base of the pipe for judges and staff in case of snow.

The Rider turnout grows in size once again. Craig Kelly turns up to go for a trio of consecutive pipe victories. Former Burton Teammate Jimi Scott would edge him out. Shaun Palmer would return to the podium with a high flying third. During the Women’s finals a young amateur, Janna Meyen from Big Bear, CA rocks the Open and beats out Tina Basich and Michele Taggart (OR). Chris Carol and East Dorset’s favorite daughter Betsy Shaw would bring the Slalom titles back to the States after Pietro Colturi ( ITA) and Ashild Loftus (NOR) captured the crowns in ’90.

The party is getting bigger right along with the pipe walls and backside airs. Many inverts were being ushered into pipe riding during this era. Judges had to keep up and often were questioned about their scoring. Nonetheless – the Open was now fully established as a contest you had to be at to see how you stacked up against your peers.

1992
This is when style and power blended into a very memorable U.S. Open cocktail. Race records were smashed and the halfpipe was assaulted during every moment of daylight.

This is the year Terje would unleash his potential and make the world take notice. While Jeff Brushie dropped in on his Burton Pro Model and Todd Richards showed why training pays off – it was Terje who settled it all with his control and amplitude.

East coast ripper, St. Michael’s college alumnus, and Eastern Edge Savior, Tricia Byrnes would shock the “pros” as Janna Meyen had done a year earlier in the Women’s Pipe Finals. Tina Basich and Switzerland’s Nicole Angelrath would round out the victor’s circle. Ashild Loftus of Norway would crush in both the Super G and Slalom. Not conforming to the current equipment standards – Ashild raced in soft boots and a three-strap freeriding binding. Seems she could have ridden a park bench with swim fins on and won at the time. Untouchable.

It snowed hard the weeks before the ’93 Open. Then the sun came out. It was T-shirt weather by the time Saturday rolled around. Many unplanned sunburns were taken home as souvenirs this year. Keith Wallace dropped into the pipe wearing shorts and white kneepads and took second place in the pipe.

Terje unwrapped his first Burton Pro Model and schooled all on his way to defending his pipe title. The first Scandinavian Invasion was noticeable in ’93. Sebu and Alexsi from Finland mixed mind-numbing spins with silky smooth landings. Sebu stared at his 3rd place ‘Sheriff’s Badge” with a look of someone who had been given a key to the city. Shannon Dunn emerged as a smooth rider in big contests and denied Janna Meyen a return trip to the winner’s stand. The always classy Mark Fawcett of Canada would drink from the Winner’s Cup as he nabbed 1st in the men’s Super G and finish a close second in men’s slalom. “The best thing about the U.S. Open is that anyone from Terje Haakonsen to a 10 year old kid from New Jersey gets to ride and hang out with their friends in a rider controlled environment.” – Jake Burton Carpenter

1994

Todd was stoked on Jurassic Park and this was the year that the Open was his jungle and he was T-Rex. Terje would sit out this year with an ankle injury – but Todd more than deserved top honors with his aggressive runs and visible confidence. Newcomers to the tour, Lael Gregory and VT’s Jason Evans came in second and third respectively. It was becoming clear that to get to the top you were going to have to have your best at the Open to even crack the top 10. With over 40 guys capable of assembling winning runs – you had to shake the crowd frenzy, the faceless judges hut, and take control of your own destiny.
Shannon Dunn would step back into regain her halfpipe title and prove she was the one to beat when it came down to the finals. Tina joined good friend Shannon during the victory celebration and Sandra Farmand from Germany would place 3rd.
“The U.S. Open is a tradition. It’s the contest that brings all our friends together for good times, and its one of the only events that embraces the essence of snowboarding.” – Shannon Dunn – U.S. Open Women’s Halfpipe Champion ’93, ’94

1995

The big air hit is built very close to the bottom of Suntanner. Too close. The pitch is way too mellow and it becomes more of a “Clear the Gap” than a Big Air. It is fun for the riders and the crowd (see picture) is allowed to be up close. Too close. Canadian Kale Stephens spins off the jump and heads dead left into the crowd. He crashes in and miraculously no one gets injured. We work on all aspects of planning, fencing, and safety issues for hosting this discipline again in ’96.
In the women’s pipe finals it would be the first ever European/Scandinavian sweep. Satu Jarvela of Finland would ride to victory and stop Shannon’s streak of wins at two. Nicole Angelrath (SUI) and Jennie Warra (SWE) round out second and third.
Terje makes a triumphant return and win’s the men’s pipe for a record third time under sunny skies. Victoria Jealouse wins the women’s Super G and shortly after retires her Hardboots for the more comfortable fit of Freeriding on Powder in Canada and Tahoe.
“The U.S. Open embodies what this industry is all about; having fun in the process of kicking ass.” – Jake Burton Carpenter
“What becomes a legend most? Being there year after year, out in front, for one thing. Which is basically what makes the U.S. Open arguably the most significant snowboarding contest: period.” – Contests That Endure, by Doug Palladini – former Petersen Publisher, Snowboarder, October 1995

1996

With the announcement that snowboarding would be added to the event line up for the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, the face of competitive snowboarding was changed forever. Having gained acceptance by the global sports community, there was no doubt that snowboarding had truly arrived. The ’96 U.S. Open was bigger than ever, with more spectators, media, and competitors on hand to take in all the action – both on and off the slopes. The Pharcyde rocked the house before the Big Air event, and kept the crowd jumping. Peter Line and Cara-Beth Burnside took home the Big Air crowns, with Jimi Scott and Satu Jarvela claiming first place honors in the Men’s and Women’s Halfpipe event. The infamous „Mushroom Hut“ judges hut at the bottom of the pipe came into it’s own this year as well. And each winner took home an authentic Vermont rock as a trophy.

“To hell with golf and tennis. The snowboarding OPEN is the OPEN, hands down. It’s the gold-plated Cadillac of snowboarding contests.” – Home For The Open, Transworld Snowboarding Magazine, November 1996

1997

Saturday’s Halfpipe event drew a massive crowd of more than 10,000 spectators. Todd Richards narrowly edged out current Halfpipe World Champion Terje Haakonsen, while Barret Christy ruled the women’s pipe division, taking the top podium spot over Tricia Byrnes. Huge inverted tricks were the name of the game at the Big Air Finals, as Jason Borgstede threw down a gigantic backflip 180 to win it for the men, with Barret Christy taking home her second championship crown of the weekend by winning the Women’s Big Air event. Long-time pipe destroyer, Seth Neary, summed up what competing at the U.S. Open is truly all about when he said, „Hey, you win some, and lose some, and live to fight another day.“ The competition is always fierce at the Open, but at the end of the day, as Neary points out, it’s all about having a good time, and riding with your friends.

“The Open always has been and always will be the biggest contest in the world. Not because of the money but because of the prestige.” – Todd Richards – U.S. Open Men’s Halfpipe Champion ’94, ’97

1998

1999

An on-snow stage was a new addition to the U.S. Open this year, and Big Pun, Fat Joe and The Terror Squad sprayed their hip-hop lyrics at the welcoming crowd. The Big Air event saw New Hampshire’s Myles Hallen claim first for the men, with Tara Dakides soaring past the rest of the women’s field to take that title. All of the Big Air action was relayed to the amped up crowd via Mark Sullivan and Pat Bridges who gladly filled the position as color-commentators for the day. By the end of the Big Air event, numerous spectators were seen making good use of the big air landing as they slid to the bottom of the hill on their shirtless chests. The Halfpipe Finals saw blue bird skies, insane riding, and an amphitheater-like burm erected around the exterior of the pipe allowing the spectators to have a clear view of the action – there wasn’t a bad seat in the house. Vermont’s own, Ross Powers, stole both the show and the pipe title by throwing down huge McTwists and nine-hundreds. On the women’s side, Nicola Thost utilized her powerful riding style to earn the Women’s Halfpipe title for the second straight year. Stimilon International’s own,

Dave Olcott, summed it up best when he said, „The Open is the greatest event! It is truly the Super Bowl of snowboarding.“

Text and photos was taken from the Throwback Thursday – The US Open 1990-99. http://burton.kontain.com/burton/entries/72230/throwback-thursday—the-us-open-1990-99/

Bert forever changed the snowboarding industry; his vision of elevated product and aggressive advertising created controversial hype and LaMar quickly became the most dominating brand on the hill. Over the years, LaMar has backed a solid list of pro riders including; Mike Ranquet, Kevin Jones, Jimmy Halopoff, Wes Makepeace, Megan Pischke and Tricia Byrnes among others.

LaMar has been terrorizing the snowboarding industry for over 20 years and we aren’t going anywhere.

And the abuse continues…  http://lamarsnow.com/

Lamar Trick Stick

Lamar Free Style

Lamar Ranquet

Jim Rippey Highlights from Jim Rippey on Vimeo.

First Known Snowboard. Snowboarding is a fairly young sport with about 40 years of history, but today it is definitely out of its diapers. First known snowboard was made from plywood by a man named Tom Sims in the year 1963. Tom Sims made a snowboard for his eight grade technical class. Tom called the first snowboard a ski board. Later Tom Sims opened his own snowboard company that had a big impact on the world of snowboarding in the early years – Sims Snowboards.

Tom & Jake Burton

Photo made by James Cassimus

Frustrated with closeting his skateboard through the winter months, a pre-teen Tom Sims decided to craft a board that could function in the snow. He hammered out one of the world’s first snowboards. Years later, after road tripping to his own private surf paradise in Santa Barbara, Tom made quick friends with Mike Chantry who later introduced him to Terry Kidwell. So wowed by the silky-smooth skate style of Kidwell, Tom sponsors the boarder on the spot. From there it’s freestyle snowboarding history.

Photo Chris Keegan

The Tahoe City quarter pipe, snowboarding’s first halfpipe, was originally designed to be the Tahoe City Dump. By covering heaps of garbage with dirt, the city unknowingly made snowboard history. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, right? Enter the original East Coast vs. West Coast battle. The clash between Burton and Sims starts with the first snowboarding halfpipe competition and ends with a legal dust-up over each team’s claim to snowboarding legend Craig Kelly. In essence, snowboarding grows up.

Thank you Tom Snowboarding8090.com

Powder & Rails: Season 3 Tom Sims

Text: TransworldSnowboarding.com

Brandt Todd Richards is a legend, straight up. He’s a pioneer, a business owner, a ripping shredder, and he’s one of the gnarliest “would you rather” players in the game. Todd’s been toting board bags around the world as a pillar of the snowboarding community for going on two decades now, and it’s just as fun to him now as it was those twenty years ago. Looking back to his days as a wee lad, Todd claims that he was “destined for lamesness”. Thankfully time has since proved him wrong, as Todd is one of the best shredders and most un-lame people snowboarding has ever known. These days you can find Todd rolling heavily modified Audi’s around Encinitas in and out of the Omatic headquarters, tucking into the green room at the local Richard’s Reef, outshining kids on the Northstar jump line, and tucked away in his basement playing video games that his kids don’t even know dad has.

Chris Wellhausen Photo

Todd’s Breckenridge Home

Me, Myself and I

Interview with Todd:
http://snowboarding.transworld.net/1000093728/featuresobf/me-myself-and-i-todd-richards-interview-and-teaser/

Transworld cover 1993

P: Jon Foster

In 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León went looking for the Fountain of Youth, but the poor sot landed in Florida. Almost 500 years later, Todd Richards, a ‘godfather’ of snowboarding and Encinitas resident, has discovered that great secret which eluded Ponce de León and keeps plastic surgeons in business. Nearing his 40th birthday, Richards has an ambiguously ageless face and a wiry, strong frame. He keeps up with kids less than half his age on the slopes, in the water and on vert ramps. He owns a snowboard manufacturing company in Encinitas called O-Matic, along with partners Jason Kanes and Tara Dakides. Richards is also a commentator for ESPN. Last year, he probably logged as many air miles as P-Diddy. He has a wife, two kids and a second home in Breckenridge, Colorado. http://www.encinitasmag.com/

The Electric Chair Show: Todd Richards Part.1

The Electric Chair Show: Todd Richards Part.2

Denver, CO - Pioneer pro rider and all-around badass Mike Ranquet will receive TransWorld SNOWboarding’s Legend Award at the 12th Annual Riders’ Poll Awards Show, joining the ranks of snowboarding’s most influential people. As one of the early pros from the Pacific Northwest, Ranquet’s Mt. Baker-bred, skate-style shredding captured the look and feel of snowboarding’s rapid evolution. Under the tutelage of legend (and former Legend Award winner) Craig Kelly, Ranquet ripped his way into seminal movies and magazines as freestyle riding exploded in the late 1980s. Into the ’90s, Ranquet was influential, pushing the progression of freestyle and freeriding around the world while helping cement the mystique of the Mt. Baker scene. He rode pro model boards for G&S and Lamar and spun tricks in movies like Roadkill and Creatures Of Habit. He is currently the subject of the VBS.TV series Powder & Rails, where riders like Haakonsen and Jamie Lynn declare Mike’s influence. The enigmatic Ranquet has continued riding all through the years yet maintains his infamy by being spotted only at places like Tahoe, Baldface, or Baker. Join us in celebrating Mike Ranquet’s profound radness with this prestigious award.

VBS catches up with Mike Ranquet in Chicago after post-hip replacement surgery at Northwestern. Mike’s hip (only age 39) had deteriorated so badly that the doctors were shocked he could walk through the door. Ranquet gets to talking about why snowboard halfpipes sucked so much back in the day: apparently the midgets were to blame. We also find out that Mike, in the early 90’s, had the most significant vert ramp in the Seattle area, coined “The Nature Ramp” due to it’s proximity to the woods and commune-like atmosphere. There, Mike leads a one-man crusade of skateboard snobbery against all whack, non-skate related moves in snowboarding. Ranquet’s old Seattle buddies chime in, saying that teenaged Mike was basically like Bobby Budnick from “Salute Your Shorts”—a relentless troublemaker.

Powder & Rails Mike Ranquet 1/4.

Powder & Rails Mike Ranquet 2/4.

Powder & Rails Mike Ranquet 3/4.

Powder & Rails Mike Ranquet 4/4.

The first race was held in 1985, organized by Bob Barci and Tom Sims. With only 14 riders at the top of the 500-foot-long (150 m) course, they raced through 15 gates with only a few spectators present. The decision to put on the banked slalom at Mt. Baker came about because it was one of the few ski areas in North America that welcomed snowboarders at that time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/

Photo by Bud Fawcett

Timzimmerman.com

„The Legendary Banked Slalom, the sport’s oldest competition,
is doing all it can to keep the roots of snowboarding healthy and strong…“

http://www.classic.mountainzone.com/

„The riders who didn’t get to race…glumly recounted
their decisions not to bro-down with a few beers the night before…“

http://www.classic.mountainzone.com/

by www.10engines.blogspot.com

25th anniversary of the Legendary Mt. Baker Banked Slalom.

But the snurfer as a mass phenomenon disappeared as quickly as he had emerged from the white surf of the Rockies. Nothing else but the vague memory of an uncontrollable toy stayed in most people’s minds. It was close to be the end of a fantastic idea – surfing the winter mountains -if there wouldn’t have been blokes like Dimitrije Milovich or Jake Burton Carpenter.

In 1970, Milovich, an east coast surfer, had an idea while he was sliding around on cafeteria trays in the snow of upstate New York. He started to develop snowboards following the example of the new short surf boards. He even used rudimentary steel edges – an idea he soon gave up because he only rode in deepest powder anyway. He experimented with laminating glass and gravel on the board and also used nylon straps. His company „Winterstick“ is to be considered as the first snowboard company ever. In 1975, they were mentioned in American magazines like Newsweek and Playboy, and already in 1976, he threw a swallow tail board on the nearly not existing market. In 1980, the company was broke.

Jake Burton, a 23-year-old student back then, was completely into snurfing and kept on improving the toy, in order to develop it into a real sporting good. Foottraps for better control, fins for more stability…

Jake was always looking for new details to improve his riding. In 1977, he decided to found his own company in Vermont.

Starting with a small edition of „snowboards“ – flexible wooden planks with water ski bindings – the small turnover due to the „high“ price of $38 didn’t look like this might be one of the biggest winter sport revolutions on our slopes, and the base for the biggest snowboard company today.
Exactly in the same time, mentioned former skateboard champion Tom Sims, addicted to snurfing as well, started to produce snowboards. Bob Webber developed the famous „yellow banana“ board in 1977, made of polyethylene. Chuck Barfoot invented fiberglass in the snowboard production in the following year. Most of the first Boards didn’t have any bindings and were featuring a control-leash instead. Still not allowed on the public slopes in ski resorts, the first boarders had to come in at night, walk up the trails, and ride down secretly in order to avoid any penalty.
In 1979, at the annual Snurfer contest held in Michigan, pro snurfer Paul Graves performed a freestyle demo and made the crowd scream by showing four sliding 360s, dropping down on one knee for part of the course, and dismounting off his board at the finish with a front flip. At the same event, Jake Burton Carpenter tried to enter on his own equipment. There were protests about his non-Snurfer snowboard design. Paul Graves and others stood up for Jake’s right to race and an open division was created which only Jake entered. He won.

In the same year, Mark Anolik discovered the Tahoe City Halfpipe while nosing around behind the Tahoe City dump. Bingo – this became known as the world’s first snowboard halfpipe and not only attracted aces like Terry Kidwell or Keith Kimmel but also photographers from the skateboard mags.
In the early eighties, even in Europe the first prototypes were glued together. But more and more fans tried to import the US cult boards. One of the first was later president of the ISF, Jose
Fernandes from Switzerland, who ordered a board from the USA in 1982 after working on own planks for several time. Later, in 1985, he would also be the first European to got to America for a contest – he got third in the North American Championships in Calgary. Other European pioneers were Tommy Delago from Oberammergau and Petra „Milka“ Mossig from Konstanz, Germany, also a later world champion.
Ski technology materials improved the gliding abilities of the boards, and later on, the first high-back bindings were produced by snowboard pioneers Flite, founded in 1974. More and more riders took off the fins, and slowly but surely, the „snurfer“ turned into a controllable „snowboard“ and an accepted sporting good. Already in 1981, Ski Cooper in Leadville, Colorado, saw the first snowboard contest. One year later, the first National Snowboard Championships were held in Suicide Six near Woodstock, Vermont. Downhill racers were timed at 60 mph. In 1985, „Absolutely Radical“ came out – fanfare for the first snowboard mag ever, later rebaptized „International Snowboard Magazine“. Also this year, models like Sims 1500 FE and Burton Performer finally brought the comeback of the steel edge! European board manufacturers like Nidecker and Hooger
Booger quickly had made up their technical delay and in 1987, Jose Fernandes won the Giant Slalom of the „American“ world championships of this year in Breckenridge, CO, with one of the first asymmetrical boards – a sign that the European snowboard industry didn’t need to fear comparisons with the Americans anymore. German ace Peter Bauer and French guy Jean Nerva were also about to celebrate big successes with asymmetrical boards. In 1987, the first „European“ snowboard world championships took place in Livigno and St. Moritz – and this event brought up a great brotherhood of snowboarders from all over the world.

A new sport was born. Snowboarding was newer, fresher, younger than anything else on the slope. Snowboarding was a revolution, a tribute to liberty, a new religion for young people. The year after, the international World cup tour was born, won by Peter Bauer just like in the year after. The evolution became faster and faster: rounded tails, hard boots, plate bindings… powder boards, race boards, free style boards… asymmetrical, twin-tip, carving… new disciplines  like half pipe, modules and downhill… 1990 saw the foundation of the ISF, and nowadays the speed record for snowboarders is set to some mediocre 201,907 km/h, run by Aussie Darren Powell in Les Arcs in 1999. Meanwhile, more than 6 million snowboarders are shredding down the mountains, and they are getting more and more. The „white rush“ developed into an Olympic sport with a big but unfortunately divided lobby. Instead of banning snowboarders from the slope (in 1985, only  7% of the American resorts had permitted snowboarding!), ski resorts now are building half pipes and organizing contests and events. A creative hardware and clothing industry is setting new trends in aesthetics and function. Snowboard now is a mass sports. And a worldwide Pro-Tour with great performance can now be seen on TV every weekend.
Snowboarders like Terje Haakonsen, Shaun Palmer, Daniel Franck, Martin Freinamedetz, Nicola Thost and, last but not least, the unforgotten Olympic champion of Nagano, Ross Rebagliati, are world stars today. Mega events like Innsbruck’s Air&Style attract 40,000  and more people, and snowboarding has set the determining trends of the last years in music and clothing style.
Snowboarding is the youth-culture of the nineties ! More than 80% of the kids who practise winter sports choose snowboarding – no wonder snowboards still are the number one Christmas present. And for sure, one day the kids will ask the older generation: „Excuse me granny, but why did you cut your snowboard in two pieces when you were young?“

Snowboarding in television commercials

Text was aken from
http://www.bulgariaski.com/snowboarding.shtml

Shawn’s life today still revolves around his love for snowboarding. He plays in a band with legends Terry Kidwell and Bob Klein (called Hunks of Metal), he lives full time in Truckee, California – on the edge of Lake Tahoe – and he works for the water company at the Northstar Ski Area. “Life is good,” he says. “I don’t see the old crew like Nick Perata quite so much, but we talk on the phone every now and again. I go riding on every powder day still, and can hook up with lots of people here.”

Text: http://whitelines.mpora.com/

Photo by R. Schopper

Born in 1964 and raised in the mid-west state of Missouri, he was pushing twenty-seven when – after a few seasons in Colorado – fame beckoned with a part in the newly launched Standard Films’ Totally Board (it would later be known as TB1, and started the TB series). “I just wanted to make a movie,” says Shawn now. “More than anything I just wanted to make films because it was cool to see myself ride.” The next season he moved to Mt Baker, where he famously pulled a topless method over the Baker road gap (on his first attempt) before heading down to Tahoe to shoot with Fall Line Films for a production later titled Critical Condition.

Critical Condition opened a lot of doors – mostly to parties – and again, he dug deep. “I was such a heavy partier and drinker,” he says now. “I hindered myself, you know. I probably would have went further. I’m still dealing with issues relating to alcohol, though I haven’t had a drink for about four months now. But god, it was funner than hell.”

Powder and Rails – Season 2 – Shawn Farmer

Shawn Farmer video interview http://whitelines.mpora.com/videos/wltv/shawn-farmer-video-interview.html

text taken from
http://whitelines.mpora.com/features/interviews/roots-shawn-farmer.html

Austria – Again over 50 snowboard legends from the U.S., Japan and Europe have applied for the 11th Longboard Classic in Stuben – the biggest old school snowboard event in Europe. Among them Tom Sims, one of the 4 founding fathers of snowboarding, Terry Kidwell, the „Godfather of Freestyle“, 4 times Freestyle World Champion and legendary Sims team rider, Shawn Farmer, a legendary freerider from Alaska and Taro Tamai the surf and freeride legend from Japan.

Find more on http://www.longboardclassic.com/

Shawn Farmer, Terry Kidwell, Bob Klein

Photo by R. Schopper

LBC Legend Dani Kiwi Meier

Three generations of snowboard heroes from the fields industry, riders and media will celebrate the eleventh Longboard Classic together! This year the focus will be especially on the kids who will be taught the real spirit of snowboarding by the elder ones – away from the promoted spin to win and rail battle contests.

LongBoardClassic 2010

LongBoardClassic 2009

Stuben panorama 2010

Get your friends together and join the “Woodstock of Snowboarding”,

the Longboard Classic with numerous snowboard legends!

Text was taken from http://www.onboard.mpora.com