The 9th stop of Volcom Stone’s 2010 North American Peanut Butter & Rail Jam tour came and went in a flash at the Summit At Snoqualmie on Saturday, February 13th, 2010!
As we zigzag the continent with the PBRJ tour each season there are highlights, big and small, at nearly every stop. Krush Kulesza and the terrain park crew at the Summit At Snoqualmie are diabolical snow sculpting masterminds. Each season they get to work in their laboratory concocting ever-more ingenious PBRJ contest setups. It seems like the only issue that rears its ugly head is how to best the previous last year’s build. This year was no exception! Despite nasty weather, the terrain park staff dug in a massive flat-up box as well as another flat box that could be attacked from two angles via corrugated pipes and then dual lift towers set in flat-down. It’s a little difficult to describe so have a look at the photos to fill in your blanks.
Explaining the PBRJ format to the 15 & Under Division
With the weather calling for rain, snow, fog and more rain, we were unsure how large the field of riders would be. Our concerns were put to rest by the mob of anxious would-be competitors waiting for us at registration. More than 180 shreds signed up in less then an hour before we all hopped on the lift up to the event site!
Front board, zone 1
The 15 & Under Division began with an impressive amount of youthful exuberance indicating these guys had no intention of messing around! As if to drive that point home, Jacob Krugmire, Darren Mack and Ted McColl blasted out of the riding gates and threw down tricks that won’t soon be forgotten! We saw a tail-press 540 on the flat-up box, a back lip on the flat-down lift towers and a 50-50 b/s 180 to switch nose press in zone 2! When it was all over, Darren Mack stood atop the podium with Ted McColl and Tommy Steinbach in 2nd and 3rd respectively!
Tail pressing all day in zone 2
The 16 and over division barely let us start the heat before they had dropped in with sights set on destroying the Summit’s custom PBRJ contest site! The manic jibbing anarchy began in earnest and the level of riding went through the roof! Depending on the PBRJ’s location, the 16 & Over Division can often contain better riding than the Men’s Open group. While the jury is still out on that, the talent level was still comparable enough to have our judges doing double takes! Jacob Nelson, arguably one of the nicest guys we’ve met on tour, took home 1st with Jake Webster in 2nd and Isaac Thomas rounding out the top 3!
Smooth nose press, zone 2
The girls were up next and I declare, everyone in attendance were privileged to witness the finest female shredding to date on this year’s North American tour! Raelynd Tarnove, Randa Shahin and friends were back on the PBRJ scene and in the hunt for an invitation to this season’s $30,000 PBRJ Championships (Mammoth Mtn, Sat April 24, 2010)! All the girls rode incredibly well and determining the winners was difficult as all the scores were ridiculously close. In the end it was Raelynd Tarnove coming out on top with Randa Shahin in 2nd and Chelsea Mullins a close 3rd!
The flat-up box in zone 3 definitely kept things interesting!
The Men’s Open Division was the last to ride in the 2010 Summit PBRJ and they definitely found a way to crank up the level of riding a few more notches! The weather had calmed down and this provided the guys with the only opportunity they’d need to begin trying tricks that weren’t possible earlier in the event! Our ocular cavities had the benefit of seeing some seriously impressive hammers that blew away everyone in attendance! Down around the campfire at awards it was out-of-towner Kyle Mack claiming 1st, Ivan Marcinko looking good in 2nd and Jesse Gouveia taking home a very deserving 3rd place!
Thanks to Krush Kulesza and everyone else at the Summit At Snoqualmie for all of their hard work and stone support. I can’t think of a resort the puts more time and manpower behind the PBRJ each season! The results show and we’re stoked to be a part of the scene there. Thanks also to Chase Fromm, Tim Eddy and Volcom’s own Curtis Ciszek for judging as well as Val Owens for helping with registration. Last but not least, thanks to all of our PBRJ tour sponsors (below) for their support!
