Snowboarding in the PCMR Halfpipe

This weekend there were a lot of big snow sporting events going on in Park City.  They all draw the top competitors in the world and they are all free to watch.  How cool is that?

On Friday I went over to PCMR to watch the snowboarders compete in the Halfpipe.  It was a nice sunny day without much wind.  That probably helps the competitors and it was certainly a plus for the spectators.

I can't imagine popping up out of a 22 foot pipe, turning around and dropping back in again. The idea of doing Shaun White's Double McTwist 1260 is beyond my comprehension. This 55 second video is from 2010 when he first started doing it. It won him a gold medal.

Some riders had an impressive style.

This one looked like he was flying into town.  Nice exposure.

But the thing that really impresses me the most is how far they come out of the pipe.  This gives you some sense of how far he has rocketed into the air.  The photographers in the bottom right corner are around 6 feet tall and they are standing on the edge, 22 feet above the bottom of the pipe.

The ladies don't tend to get out of the pipe as far, but they do tricks that make my head spin.

I think the yoga people call this Warrior Pose?

No big surprise here.  After falling on his first round, Shaun White came back with an awesome second run to win, yet again.

Meanwhile, the alternative competition was going on right next to the pipe.  There was a line of kids struggling to climb up the back side of a huge jump.

Then they seemed to compete on who could wear out their ski clothing the fastest.

And for style, who could eat the most snow while doing it.

This little sweetheart was very upset that she couldn't make it up the steep incline with the older kids.  Between crying and pouting, she managed to get in some smaller slides.

You sure can't beat the entertainment for the price!