Mammoth. FINALS. WIND boarding + A TOP 5 at the World Cup.
Mammoth Mtn US Grand Prix.
Straight from Italy, we jetted to LA.. BABY! Yes it was 70 degrees, and we woke up in the mecca that is Venice Beach, ate buckwheat pancakes, drank Almond Lattes in a classic LA Vegan hippy joint… ON POINT. haha. As much as I would have loved to stay at the beach in the sunshine there was a mission to be had. We set off first thing on our 6 hour road trip up to the Sierra Nevada Mountain range.
Pancakes LA style.
Shop fronts.
Mammoth Mountain, it’s one of those that when it’s good, there isn’t anywhere better. Blue sky and that California sunshine. Day 1 + 2 of practice were premium. Mid Winter, end of Jan and it’s +8 on the mountain, with the deepest base of snow Mammoth has seen in over 25 years.
Driving into Mammoth town itself was insane, the whole town practically buried under 10 foot of snow. You literally couldn’t even find your way around the town as every entrance to each store, petrol station, or restaurant was covered or buried under snow banks! I don’t think I have ever been anywhere and seen so much snow!
MAMMOTH. Yes my room is buried under this pile of snow.
So the practice was good, however due to the new monthly record amount of snowfall, 246 inches since Jan 1st. The Gondola was so close to the jumps they had to close it because of incoming snowboarders reaching heights too close.
When the jumps to close to the Gondola!
The quals, wasn’t so hot, with high winds and intermittent wind gusts howling down the course it was a little sketchy, after practice the winds dropped a little and the contest kick-started. I landed my first run with a little blip on the first rail, so it was time to clean things up for the 2nd run. I landed my run, taking a score of 79.00 which put me through 3rd in my heat behind Jamie Anderson and Julia Marino.
Qualifying in 3rd through to the finals.
With wind gusts reaching 100MPH at the peak on Friday, Finals day was cancelled and postponed untill Saturday. Saturday was the same deal, we headed up the mountain, with more wind, more snow, it kept getting pushed back and back, which meant Saturday was a write-off. With the event on the verge of being cancelled they decided to give it one last shot.
SUNDAY - it was game day, with a little less wind, and some flat light, the comp was all go. Practice kicked off at 8AM, with 30 minutes of training we dropped in at 8.45. Despite the conditions the girls killed it, was really happy to walk away with another Top 5 Final result, which puts me in great stead for the Olympic Qualifying process.
Taking home top 5 at the US Grand Prix! :D
ROAD trip, back down to LA in the Jeep. Thanks to GB Park and Pipe and Hertz for looking after us on the road!
Next stop is Canada. Right now I am sat in the back of the Jeep jetting towards LAX airport. Monday we fly on the next stop on the tour. Quebec City for the FIS World Cup Big Air and Slopestyle event. I’ve never done 2 events in one week, it’s going to be heavy! Bring it on :)