Photo: Sean Sullivan
Shaun White celebrating with a victory lap drop in.

The second Grand Prix Halfpipe event (and the final one of the five stop tour) drew to a close Saturday night in Park City in the midst of a heavy snow storm, drunken, snowball throwing shred fans, annoying celebrities, and even more annoying celeb-wannabes and fans, and media hustlers from all walks of life. Despite gnarly traffic and ridiculous parking situations, both all the competing athletes and myself were able to make it to the 22-foot superpipe in time to participate in one of the most important halfpipe contests of the season.

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This 5^th and final Grand Prix stop would determine the roster of American snowboarders representing the Stars and Stripes in Vancouver, and the level of shredding directly reflected what was at stake. Missing from the pipe due to injuries were top hopefuls Danny Davis and Kevin Pearce, both of the Frends crew, and both with serious chances of taking home a gold medal. Both are recovering nicely in the finest Utah hospitals, and everyone is praying for their speedy recovery.

With two major team contenders out of the mix, there was some extra breathing room, and quite the opportunity for riders who, without Danny or Kevin, would have had a far more difficult time getting near the podium. It reasonable to say that both Danny and Kevin would have finished in the top 5, which basically allowed everybody outside of the top five to finish two places higher than they would have otherwise.

Competitive theory aside, the man of the night was once again Shaun White. Finishing the Grand Prix series with back to back wins in Park City he has won 4 of 5 Grand Prix events and has clearly emerged as the most dominant halfpipe rider of the year and a clear favorite for Olympic Gold in Vancouver. Aside from Danny Davis, Shaun is the only rider stomping three double corks in a single run, with two of them back to back. With Shaun, every hit is double or triple overhead, including his newest trick, the double McTwist 1260, which he s been unleashing on his last hit, just to make sure everybody gets a good look at it.

While everybody may be watching Shaun White, Scotty Lago and Luke Mitrani stood out from the field, with more than enough style and multitude to share with the rest of the competitors had they been feeling generous. Scotty Lago, again, is a monster. Hands down the best style in the pipe, massive methods, relaxed and casual, on the bolts landing every time, Lago is surely the real snowboarders favorite pick going into the Olympics. He s a serious threat to Shaun as the Olympics loom closer each day, and you know he s going to change up his run for Vancouver. Mitrani rides like a hyphy little squirrel, but the judges were obviously schmoozing with Sundance celebs because he insane run earned him no better than 5^th place.

Following the podium ceremony where Shaun White, Scotty Lago, and Greg Bretz and Kelly Clarke, Hannah Teter, and Kaitlin Farrington (1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd respectively) were given their awards, some shitty band played and then it was time to announce the Olympic team. The men representing the US in Vancouver will be defending gold medalist Shaun White, dancing with the stars legend Louie Vito, and snowboarding s new Terminator, Scotty Lago.

The women will be Kelly Clark, Gretchen Bleiler, and Hannah Teter. Hannah, congrats, but PLEASE PUT THAT FUCKING MONSTER ENERGY DRINK BOTTLE DOWN. A, ITS UNHEALTHY, B, HAVING THAT THING GLUED TO YOUR HARD COULD QUALIFY AS A SELLOUT MANUVER, AND C, ITS JUST STUPID, DRINK SOME GODDAMN WATER OR BEER. One more woman and one more man will be added to the team on Monday, so its anyone s guess at this point so stay tuned for that announcement.