Wendy's Invitational Kicks Off - Freddy AustboThe second stop of the 2009-2010 Winter Dew Tour, The Wendy's Invitational, was successfully kicked off today, Jan 14th, at Snowbasin Resort. Blue Utah skies, and nearly perfect temperatures blessed skiers and riders through what was mostly a practice day.

The skiers and snowboarders both got a chance to warm up on the newly completed, beefy looking slopestyle course and in the sub-Olympic 18ft halfpipe, which later in the day hosted the men's and women's snowboard Prelims (though we only were able to get shots of the snowboarders today!)

Jack Mitrani loosens up with a smooth Alley-Oop. SKS
photo

Halfpipe size has been a pretty hot topic this season, with 18-foot walls at the Dew Tour and 22-foot walls at the US Grand Prix Olympic qualifying events. Notably, Shaun White opted out of the Dew Tour due to the logic that riding a smaller pipe could throw him for on his Olympic training.

Matt Ladley cranks a method like he was raised in
Steamboat……oh wait. Jake
Lawlor Photo.

Breckenridge local Zach Black broke it down, "Its definitely easier to go from a bigger to a smaller pipe, because you are instantly going faster and bigger, but when you go back to the bigger pipe, you go slower, you have problems, and you don t go as big as you should be going."

Roger Kleivdal, with perfect style. Jake Lawlor
Photo.
The youngest competitor, Matt Ladley, of Steamboat Springs, CO was unfazed by the smaller walls, "I've been deep in halfpipes all winter, real deep, and its always fun to get out of the 22-footers and back into the 18s. It's in perfect shape and the snow was great. "

Who's the beast? Lago or Davis? You decide. SKS
photo
With conservative (yet four times as ill as I could do) runs, the top women's finishers were Elena Hight, Kaitlyn Farrington, Elizabeth Beerman, Jamie Anderson, and Kelly Marren. Kelly was my favorite, I didn't actually meet her or anything, but she's from the Bay Area, so she gets hella hyphy points.

Men's halfpipe prelims were "conservative" as well. While the runs could have won pipe contests in other years, winning without a double cork is nearly impossible. Not one rider dropped a doublecork, but you can bet we ll be seeing them in the finals. After all, Danny Davis's near perfect run at the Mammoth Grand Prix with three double corks is still fresh on everybody's mind.

Standout riders of the day included Elijah Teter with all sorts of switch maneuvers, Steve Fisher with clean style, Jack Mitrani, Danny Davis, Roger Kleivdal, Scotty Lago, and Zach Black, who, despite riding well, fell on both runs and didn't qualify.

Friday will be filled with more prelims, so keep your eyes peeled as the snowboarders take their game to the slopestyle course while over 30 skiers will enter the halfpipe to battle it out for the 18 spots in the finals.

Words/Photos: Sean Sullivan

CLICK FOR THE FULL GALLERY

Wendy's Invitational Day 1 SNB Pipe Prelims Results

Men's Prelims
1. Elijah Teter, Belmont, VT - 89.25
2. Steve Fisher, Breckenridge, CO - 80.25
3. Matt ladley, Steamboat Springs, CO - 80.00
4. Roger Kleivdal, Geilo, NOR - 79.25
5. Trevor Jacob, Mammoth Lakes, CA - 79.00
6. Broc Waring, San Jose, CA - 77.00
7. Jack Mitrani, Mammoth Lakes, CA - 72.75
8. Dylan Bidez, Minturn, CO - 71.00
9. Scotty Lago, Seabrook, NH - 68.50
10. Brennan Swanson, Stillwater, MN - 65.00
11. Zach Black, Breckenridge, CO - 61.00
12. Scotty Pike, Sun Valley, ID - 57.50
13. Ross Baker, Reno, NV - 41.50
14. Fredrik Austbo, Stavanger, NOR - 35.75
15. Tyler Troy, Weston, CT - 33.50
16. Danny Kass, Mammoth Lakes, CA - DNS
17. Markuss Malinn, Lahtii, FIN - DNS

Women's Prelims
1. Elena Hight, South Lake Tahoe, CA - 88.25
2. Kaitlyn Farrington, Sun Valley, ID - 84.00
3. Lizzy Beerman, Weston, VT - 80.00
4. Jamie Anderson, South Lake Tahoe, CA - 71.75
5. Kelly Marren, Hillsborough, CA - 69.25
6. Kjersti Ostgaard Buaas, Trondheim, NOR - 66.75
7. Leslie Glenn, Breckenridge, CO - 64.75
8. Meg Pugh, Sunnyvale, CA - 58.50
9. Michelle Zeller, Antioch, CA - 46.25