Big air contest hopes to be educational as well as entertaining
While the World Ski and Snowboard Festival (WSSF) takes over Whistler Village for 10 days of winter sports, music and events, a small but dedicated group of hardcore snowmobile enthusiasts will be meeting in the remote Brandywine Bowl to watch history being made – pro snowmobiling coming of age with the first World Freestyle Snowmobiling Association (WFSA) competition ever held in Canada.
Organizer Linda Stang originally set out to host a snowmobile themed party at Showcase Snowboards as part of the WSSF festivities, but the idea slowly evolved with the encouragement of local sledders to include a big air Pro Bowl event.
"I got involved when Jay Fentiman, who works at Showcase, brought in some footage of himself riding in the backcountry somewhere. When I saw him hucking this huge air, I knew we had a superstar in our midst. I knew some of our local riders could give some of the big names a run for their money, and it seemed like a good idea to host a big air event to prove it," said Stang.
Local snowmobile groups, including Powder Mountain Snowmobile Club, Black Tusk Snowmobile Club, and the Pemberton Snowmobile Club, plus commercial snowmobile tour operators in the valley, agreed with Stang’s assessment of local talent and for the past few months they have been working together to put the April 17 event together.
"It was really a positive experience getting all of these people on board and working together to make this work," says Stang. Because the event takes place on Crown land, the organizers had to get the go-ahead from B.C. Assets and Land corporation. Without the full co-operation of clubs and tour operators, Stang says this may have been impossible.
"There are a few conflicts over backcountry use, but everybody could put their differences off to one side to make this happen. Everybody believes it will be good for raising the profile of snowmobiling in the region. Nobody realizes how huge it is, or how much talent is out there," Stang says.
Event supporters include tenure holder Shawn Wilson of Blackcomb Snowmobiles, Alberto Corsa of Powder Mountain Snowcats (who is building the jump), Dave Browlen of Blackcomb Helicopters (heli-drops and support), Doug Washer of Canadian Snowmobile Adventures, the RCMP, the Whistler Search and Rescue team, the fire department, and all three local snowmobile clubs.
Involved groups are pitching in with everything from transportation to security to first aid for the contest. Heli-drops to the area will be available for $50, and Canadian Snowmobile Adventures is providing a snowcat to bring in local media. Spectators either have to sled themselves to the site, or can pay $25 for a piggy-back to the site. Part of the proceeds will go towards the Darren Proctor Memorial Fund for underprivileged children. Proctor, a pro snowboarder who used snowmobiles to get around in the backcountry, died in an avalanche a year ago.
The event will be educational as well as entertaining, stressing the importance of avalanche awareness, supporting backcountry rescues with Search and Rescue teams and the RCMP, proper riding techniques and safety, and the importance of backcountry communication – how to use radios, and what signals to use. Film crews, with the support of Vans, Motorola, Visions Motorsports and The Circle, will be at the event to produce an educational video.
Major snowboard magazines, Concrete Powder, Tree Trop Productions, Mack Dog Productions, Dave Craig Films, The Gathering Film Productions, King Productions, Peak Productions, Whistler Cable 6, The Struggle Film Productions and numerous pro photographers will also be on hand to record the event.
The big air freestyle event itself will take place on a 70-foot jump, and competitors will be judged on their freestyle tricks.
Ten of the best professional snowboarders have been invited to attend the WFSA Pro Bowl, and invitations have been extended to 50 of the best local sledders.
The main attraction of the event will undoubtedly be Alaska’s Jay Quinlan, the star of the Slednecks and Two Stroke Cold Smoke movies.
Other big names include Jay Fetiman, B.J. Murray, Chris Dimma, Dave Craig, Tyler Nelson, Kourtney Hungerford, and Girey Rodier. Local big air enthusiast Rich Carlson was also on the list, but may not be able to attend following a recent snowmobile crash.
Local pro snowboarders are also invited to hit the jump throughout the day, but the list still has to be finalized.
"Everybody wants to be involved," says Stang. "A lot of pro snowboarders have been using snowmobiles to access the backcountry, and they want to support this event any way they can. The two sports go hand in hand. Every snowboard video has footage of snowmobiling, and every snowmobile movie has a snowboarder."
While the pros hit the jump, the crowd will be entertained by local DJs and stuntman "Psycho Pat" Pfimmer will set himself on fire at half time.
The day after the competition, there will be an invite-only Pro Bowl party, which will feature a ‘finger snowmobiling’ contest between a number of top pro snowboarders, the Pro Bowl awards, a video of the contest, indoor fireworks, a Slednecks Productions wet T-shirt contest, and local punk band Going Blind.
Heli-drops will start at 9 a.m. on Pro Bowl day from the Calcheck heli-pad, and snowmobile rides are available from the Brandywine Parking Lot. The contest will start at 11 a.m.
A fund-raiser for the event is being held on April 12 at Maxx Fish, and will include a raffle for an M3 snowboard and other merchandise.
