Matador Sports » snowboarding

Tricky Tuesday: Big Air Goes to Australia

Adam Roy — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 18:51:50 +0000

This isn’t the first time I’ve written about the One Hit Wonder Down Under before, and there’s a good reason for that: I’m really psyched about it. The competition is all about riders busting out their biggest single tricks, which is a great format if your attention span is as microscopic as mine. It’s all videotaped too, so those of us who are stuck boiling in the US summer can live vicariously through our brethren in the Southern Hemisphere.

Out of the videotaped auditions I’ve seen, these are my two favorites. Riders who want a shot at qualifying have until this Friday to upload their submissions.

I’m a skier, so I tend to gravitate towards skiers. My favorite by far has been this video of Brian Kish pulling off an I-don’t-know-what and barely sticking the landing.

There’s actually surprisingly little stoke going on with the snowboard auditions this year, with too many people submitting footage of probably-technical but definitely-boring spins. One of the bright spots so far has been Clint Allan, who did this stylish trick on nice-looking powder.

Community Connection

Check out these five ski resorts in the Southern Hemisphere.

Friday Fun: The One Hit Wonder Down Under

Adam Roy — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 22:29:52 +0000

The snow’s long gone in the northern hemisphere, but it’s always ski season somewhere. Like Australia.

Held at Thredbo in New South Wales, the One Hit Wonder Down Under is as viewer-friendly as comps come. A group of skiers and riders, chosen through video audition, spend four days doing their most insane big-air tricks on camera. Afterward, the best cuts are posted online, and viewers vote for their favorite skier and snowboarder.

The end result is a bunch of riders sinking all their skill into pulling off the flashiest, best-looking stunts they can think of. Even little children do better in the terrain park than I do, so it’s nice to know that I can at least catch big air vicariously.

Here’s the video of last year’s comp, with winners Robbie Walker and Bine Zalohar:

Community Connection

This year’s competition goes down September 14-18. Hopefuls have until August 20th to send in their audition tapes.

Friday Fun: Jeremy Jones’ “Deeper” Tackles Huge New Lines

Adam Roy — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 22:50:20 +0000

A look at the making of Teton Gravity Research’s new film, Deeper.

Here’s to the glorious insanity of Jeremy Jones.

Jones, a big mountain snowboarder who’s been making films for a decade and a half, is completely psycho. In his latest flick with Teton Gravity Research, Deeper, Jones gives up helicopters and snowmobiles, instead hiking and climbing up monster lines through the Rockies, the Tetons, Alaska, and the Alps.

What would possess an experienced filmmaker like Jones to pass up the convenience of “5 shots in the can before 11″ for days of hiking and winter camping in some of the world’s harshest terrain? According to him, it’s all about escape.

“Over the last couple of years I’ve realized that the biggest high I get in snowboarding is getting away from everyone, into these new worlds, and hiking what I ride,” Jones told Snowboarder Guide. “There’s really this small little piece of terrain that everyone battles over, and I just wanted to get past that terrain and into the vast unknown, to get away from helicopters and get back to first descents.”

The making-of segment Deeper: Unplugged gives viewers a glimpse into the two-year creative process of getting Jones’ new film ready to go. Deeper is scheduled to launch this fall.

From all of us at Matador, have an extreme weekend!