Th​is week Copper Mountain and the United States Snowboard Association (USASA) close out a week of snowboarding and freeskiing competition with the winter events of The Alt Games College Action Sports Championships on Saturday April 10 in the Catalyst Terrain Park.

Colorado colleges represented in the event include University of Colorado, University of Northern Colorado, Western State College, and Colorado Mountain College. For the full roster or prequalified athletes, visit USASA.org

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​The United States of America Snowboard Association (USASA) will hold its premier amateur snowboarding event this week, April 3-10 at Copper Mountain with the USASA National Championships, bringing nearly 1,500 competitors from across the country to Summit County for the amateur championships in slopestyle, superpipe, boardercross, slalom, and giant slalom.
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Via www.4pinedesign.com

Denver-based firm Four Pine Design pushes for sustainable terrain park design

​This week TransWorld Business has a cool profile on Four Pine Design, the Denver-based firm responsible for the new terrain park features at Eldora and one of the companies leading the charge for greener and more sustainable practices in the snow sports industry.

As part of its Earth Day-themed April issue on sustainability in the action sports industry, TW Biz interviews Four Pines' Stephen Laterra, who argues for utilizing natural features and materials found on the mountain, moving earth in the off-season to reduce the amount of manmade snow needed to maintain a terrain park, and otherwise greening up the art of jib design.

Via Business.TransWorld.net:

"In five years the industry may be forced to take more environmental initiatives," believes Laterra.  "Unlimited snowmaking may no longer be a luxury.  And who knows what the cost of fuel will be? My opinion is that it would be better to begin these policies today as a group so that every one would benefit and ensure the future of the industry."

Candace Horgan

Competitor eyes the air on Little Hourglass.

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On two days that could not have been more different, the 14th annual U.S. Telemark Extreme Freeskiing Championships were held in Crested Butte on Friday and Saturday. There were 62 skiers competing in six divisions, with cash prizes and gear given out to the winners. The vibe of the event was playful and fun, and impressive skiing was on display both days.
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​Ah, Spring: The days are getting longer, the slopes are suddenly littered with Texans skiing in jeans, and I-70 is clogged with out of towners (drive from Copper Mountain to Denver last night? Just over three hours), but it is indeed snowing, and there's more on the way. And, better still, there are some Spring deals to be had.

We like this one from Echo Mountain, in honor of the daylight savings time change:

Today through March 28 (and again April 12 through May 2) pick up a four-pack of weekday lift tickets at Echo Mountain for $99 and ride from 9am to 9pm with your whole crew for about what a single lift ticket costs at some other mountains. The deal goes into effect today, just in time to take advantage of the foot of fresh pow Echo got last night.

The four-packs cost $119 on weekends - head up this Saturday for Echo's 4th birthday party and the Liptricks Not Lipstick rail jam in the Junkyard terrain park. More >>

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Colorado ski/soft porn fans, rejoice: Breckenridge's Alex Guras has brought the crown to Colorado, winning the Rocky Mountain Region for the Freeskier/Local Lange Girl contest 2010. And unlike some poseurs, this Lange Girl actually shreds.

(Bikini shot after the jump, you dogs.)

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​What better way to cap off a nice day on the hill than making your way to a night-cap jam session with a Marker flying V guitar. That's right, the makers of those bindings on your skis now have their hands in the music biz. OK, fine, Gibson actually made the guitar. But Marker is in on the deal that's raising money for the family of popular big-mountain skier Shane McConkey--a legendary powderhound that died in a ski accident last year.

Here's what Marker had to say about the axe:

The Marker guitar is a Flying V model in Gold Bullion featuring Marker's "Rule the Mountain" logo. The aggressive design of the Flying V fits well with Marker's popularity in the youth & freeride binding markets. Marker is proud to be associated with Gibson in this effort. Their craftsmanship has long set the benchmark in quality; partnering with them on this special one-of-a-kind instrument is very exciting. Both Marker and Gibson are especially interested in helping this great cause.

You've got until the end of the month to place your bid.
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Some of the best big-mountain skiers in the world will shred Crested Butte's slopes this week when the Freeskiing World Tour makes its way to Colorado. It's the fourth of six stops on the tour that judges skiers on their ability to ski uber-technical steep lines with mandatory airs.

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Candace Horgan

Icelantic skis for 2010-2011 at SIA

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At the SIA show a couple of weeks ago, the Icelantic skis drew a lot of well-deserved notice. The graphics, which were based on a music theme this year, were stunning, and designed so that each ski made up half of a painting, a first for the company this year. Icelantic, which is relatively new, is headquartered in Colorado, and so committed to their home state that they also do the manufacturing here.

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Photo by Bryce Kanights, courtesy AlliSports.com

Breck local JJ Thomas soars to a win at Mount Snow

​Breckenridge team rider JJ Thomas beat out Brennan Swanson and Steve Fisher to win the Men's Snowboard Superpipe Finals at the Toyota Championships this weekend at Mount Snow.

With a McTwist, a 1080, and a frontside 900 in his winning run (on a board made by Unity Snowboards in Silverthorne), Thomas also closed out the Winter Dew Tour with enough overall points to claim the top prize for the season, edging out Fisher (another Breck local) to claim the Dew Cup.

With four of the top riders out to focus on the Olympics and Danny Davis (previously the points leader on the Winter Dew Tour) out with an injury, the competition was wide open. Five of the the top 12 riders this weekend were from Colorado: Dylan Bidez from Minturn finished in 4th, Broc Waring from Edwards finished in 10th, and Connor Leach from Vail finished in 12th.

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