Second Annual Hot Dawgz and Hand Rails at Bear Mountain, CA
By:
Ilana Sochaczewski
Bear Mountain was
the place to be on Saturday, September 17th. With the smell of barbeque
in the air, tight beats flowing from the DJ, free schwag at the sponsor
booths, smiling Budweiser promo girls, and golden tans forming, everyone
was definitely pumped up for the main event. All 3,000 spectators felt
the anticipation rise when the snow was being strategically blown onto
the event course designed by Clayton Shoemaker. What more could you ask
for on a perfectly sunny summer day at 7,000 feet?
It was non-stop
action once the rail jam set off. The riders proved their skills on
three rails over a set of stairs, two flat-down boxes, and two connected
wall rides at the bottom of the course. Dingo was on the mic keepin’ it
real, while the judges, including Eddie Wall and JP Walker, kept a close
eye on all the tricks being thrown down. With $12,000 in cash prizes on
the line, the competition was fierce as it intensified with each trick
during the jam. Watch what the riding was all about in the Bear Mountain
video clip online.
Quick Time
At the end of the day, Keegan Valaika’s solid riding earned him first place in the men’s
division, putting $6,000 in his pocket, and Laura Hadar, who ranked first in women’s,
took $2,000. You can check out Laura’s mad skills in the new Misschief Film, “As If”.
For some, the
night came to a close with the screening of Big Bear’s “No Big Deal” and
Mack Dawg’s “From ____With Love”, while others continued their evening
buzz at The Block After Party.
Thank HD&HR’s
sponsors for a straight-up summertastic event: Red Bull, Planet Earth,
Active Ride Shop, DC Shoes, The Block Big Bear, The Program (Forum &
Special Blend), Electric, 686, Oakley and Burton. What will Bear
Mountain have in store for us next year?
RESULTS
Ilana Sochaczewski
is from Los Angeles, California. She grew up somewhere between the surf
and the snow, trading off between floating and freezing. Ilana learned
to ride at Bear Mountain, but decided to head east for college and
tackle the terrain in the Rocky Mountains. Boulder, Colorado was her home for three
years and, in that time, Ilana made the early morning trips to Summit
County where she learned about what powder really feels like and what
snowflakes really look like. She spent time in the park, in the pipe,
and on her ass. In the summer of 2005, Ilana attended the High Cascade
Snowboard Photography workshop at
Mt. Hood, Oregon where she brought
together her passion for snowboarding and her love of photography. She
is currently en route from L.A. to Colorado with her two dogs, Sebastian
and Diego, to pursue a career in snowboard photography.
|
|
