Ride Shakedown Finals Video

Check out the video of the Ride Shakedown Finals from last weekend. This looked really cool, Ride Snowboards did a really good job, loved the drummers. Here's hoping they can bring this type of thing to NZ soon! Look out for Kiwi Nick Hyne shredding it up.

Janina Kuzma Wins the Subaru North American Freeskiing Championships

Janina Kuzma Wins the Subaru North American Freeskiing Championships and is Awarded backcountry.com's SickBird Award

The forbidden Cirque of Kirkwood Mountain Resort comes alive, as the showdown unfolds through finals of the fifth stop of the Subaru Freeskiing World Tour

Kirkwood, California (9March 2010) — Janina Kuzma’s airplane-turn into a tight choke in one of the steepest sections of Kirkwood Mountain Resort’s infamous Cirque called the ''Hidden Chute'' earned her first place at the fifth stop of the Subaru Freeskiing World Tour and she is now ranked fourth overall on the tour.



Janina Kuzma - photo: Julie Weinberger

Weather moved in during the final heats and Kuzma considered altering her game plan.

“I was going to change my line but I stuck with my guns, stayed on my feet and I’m really happy,” said Janina.

Her aggressiveness was further rewarded with the contest’s Backcountry.com Sickbird Award which honours the skier who most represents the sport’s heart and soul while ''going big'’. This is one of the few times a female has won the coveted trophy.


Janina Kuzma one of the only women to ever win The Backcountry.com Sickbird Award – Photo: Ben Meester-MSI

Behind Kuzma, going home with the second place, was Angel Collinson, of Snowbird, Utah, a rookie on the Subaru Freeskiing World Tour and in third place was Crystal-Rose Lee, of Whistler, British Columbia.

As the wind whistled over the razor-sharp rock spires of Kirkwood’s Cirque, skiers readied their gear and nerves for the fifth stop of the Subaru Freeskiing World Tour. This is one of the most-respected steep skiing contests in the world and the venue at Kirkwood Mountain Resort has become notorious due to its steep, technical slopes and because it is permanently closed to the public. This weekend marked the 13th consecutive year of the competition coming to Kirkwood and it was a true spectacle.


Athletes scoping their line Photo: Ben Meester-MSI

The Cirque is a 1,500-vertical-foot wall of rock which resembles some of Alaska’s most aesthetic peaks. It has ski lines that get upwards of 60-degrees in slope angle which means that if you could somehow stand still on it, your extended elbow would touch the mountain.

As the competition got going last Thursday, Kirkwood received two feet of powder. Event organizers saved the most challenging section of the Cirque for Sunday’s final which guaranteed perfect conditions.

Hundreds of spectators gathered at the bottom of the natural amphitheatre which afforded awesome views of the incredible skiing taking place up above. People arrived on skis or by snow cat and there was an air of festival. Until the weather moved in at the end, it was a massive California sun picnic. Between heats, long time tour competitor Ted Davenport thrilled the crowd by ski-parasailing from the peak and sliding to a stop in the finish area.

Thousands tuned in Sunday to watch the final round of The Subaru North American Freeskiing Championships LIVE on www.freeskiingworldtour.com.

For complete results, photos, videos, athlete profiles and more, please visit www.freeskiingworldtour.com.

Article care of New Zealand Snow Sports

Watch The Ride Shakedown Live Stream

The Ride Shakedown is happening this Saturday 10am NZ time live from Summit at Snoqualmie check out the live webcast below

 Ride Shakedown’s concept is a laidback, live-it-up event with minimal restrictions on the riders, assaulting two disciplines: the Big Air and the Rail Jam, featuring a rail with surface textures to be revealed only on the first day of competition. This year, the Shakedown will make its debut in the U.S. and $35,000 will be up for grabs. Watch the madness live... exclusively on FUEL.TV

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A Note from Wanaka Athlete Carl Murphy

Hey,

I am just putting together some thank you cards for everyone that helped out.

Thanks so much for your help and the products were well received by the guests. We used the items from Base as spot prizes for all that attended.

I raised a total of $3500 so am stoked about that. Means I can now eat on my North America trip!

Thanks so much for helping me out. Its great to see some many local businesses getting behind a local athlete. It was a huge success.

I leave for America on Sunday and am away for 5 weeks. I have 2 world cup events along with the Canadian and USA nationals. All going to plan I will have a couple of medals on the trip home.

Thanks again and talk soon.

Carl

Oakley Goggles are In Store!!

Hi team
 the new range of Oakley Goggles for 2010 have dropped in store and they are looking super fly. The newest addition to the range the new Oakley Splice is looking super fresh and is based on the Crowbar shape and fit but has a new skeletal support system over the nose bridge area. This is intended to relieve pressure on the nasal passages to make breathing easier and increase airflow thru the goggle. The Splice also has a new semi flush interchangeable lens, this has optimized downward visibility which should be great for dropping those steep lines. This new lens setup has also made changing a lens way faster. Oakley have put some of the best and most out there colours in the Splice, check out the Kaleidoscope Block text with Fire Irididium lens - Bling! 

 The first signature Splice has gone to Simon Dumont who has come up with a very styley red based colourway called the Griffon Red. Check it out. 

On other signature model changes Tanner Hall has updated his Crowbar colourway taking the rasta look a bit further, personally i think it's a better look than his last colourway. 

Seth Morrison also gets an updated Signature Crowbar colourway and although it is an evolution of his last colour, this new colour is sick, I'm picking it to be a top seller. 

Also getting in on the new signature colour action is Gretchen Bleiler who gets 2 new colours one Stockholm and one A Frame. Gretchen's A Frame is a nice matte white frame with a purple print design and a purple strap with gold icons, it has a nice luxury feel to it. The women's specific fit of the Stockholm gets an aqua blue treatment for Gretchen's signature version and has a real fresh look.

Shaun White is also rocking a new colourway for his signature A Frame's called Illusion stripe, looks pretty sweet I reckon.

Snowboard icon Terje has also tweaked his signature Crowbar and keeps the nordic theme from his old colourway but freshen's things up nicely.

 The regular Oakley A Frame gets some nice colours, my pick as top seller is the Industrial Khaki and we've also got quite a few colours with the Fire Iridium lens as standard.

The Stockholm the new colour range is looking great with Lava Scroll and Arcade Plaid White the standout colours.

 The Crowbar has easily been our top seller for quite a few years now and for good reason, it's fits great and looks rad. Plenty of sweet colours for this year too, you would have seen the Canada colour at the Vancouver Winter Olympics for sure.

 A new addition to our range this year is the value priced Oakley Ambush which has a regular cylindrical lens but otherwise all the same goodness as the top end models. To get some pop on the hill you can't go past the Retina Burn colour, so Fresh.

 All in all Oakley have come thru with a really dope range for this year, if you want to stick some on your head this winter check out the whole range here and give us a buzz (0800 BASESHOP) or an email shop@basenz.com

Don't forget we carry a full range of replacement lenses for all the Oakley Goggles we sell including replacement lenses for the new Splice, the Stockholm and the Ambush. we also have plenty of lens options including Fire Iridium, Blue Iridium and H.I. Yellow for most models.