Luke Mitrani - one of many riders returning to the
Open this year.
The 28th Annual Burton US Open of Snowboarding arrives in Stratton, Vermont this weekend. Olympic stars Shaun White, Scotty Lago, Louie Vito, Gretchen Bleiler, Hannah Teter and Kelly Clark are all expected to compete.

The US Open is the world's longest running snowboarding contest. Its almost three decade history took root while Jake Burton Carpenter was still hand-crafting wooden snowboards in a makeshift Vermont barn before many resorts even allowed boarders on their slopes.

In 2010, as an Olympic centerpiece, snowboarding has become a cultural fulcrum balancing the enthusiasm of mainstream and core audiences. While causal fans may know the sport better from the Olympics or Winter X Games, the US Open is a riders' event linking past and present.

Gold Medalist Shaun White can relate, "I remember being a kid watching my heroes like Terje [Haakonsen] and [Jeff] Brushie come down the pipe at the Open, waiting till the day that would be me. Everyone wants to be a part of its history.

Burton teammate Mason Aguirre, who returns to competition this week after missing Olympic qualifications due to injury, agrees, "It's nice to come back to an event that s rider driven and rider produced. It's really a historical event and I'm just stoked to be a part of it."

The US Open is the last stop of the Burton Global Open series, a multi-stop world tour featuring snowboarding halfpipe and slopestyle disciplines that include the New Zealand Open, the European Open, the Asian Open and the Canadian Open.

The 2010 US Open will be streamed LIVE on Go211.com and broadcast on ABC on March 27 at 5:00 pm EST and 3:00 pm PST.

- James Sullivan / BNQT.com