Rob Kingwill

Jason Borgstede wasn't bothered by the snow flying sideways, 30 mile-an-hour winds, or sub-zero wind chill. Heck, he had already agreed to huck his own carcass over a 45-foot tabletop onto frozen hardpack at night, and how many other opportunities would he have to show off his trademarked "Borgaerial" for an estimated crowd of 4,000 rowdy spectators?

Never mind that Caroline Ehrenstrasser and a forerunner on skis had already been sent to the hospital. Borgstede had every intention of launching off the quarterpipe and throwing a fakie, 360 backflip with an indy grab. After all, it's his signature move.

"When we were young we thought, what would be a funny name if we ever made up our own trick?" Borgstede said. "So when I made it up, I called it a 'Borgaerial' so people would think it's a joke. It's not supposed to be egotistical."

No one thought it was funny when he stomped the landing and earned $3,500 for winning the invitation-only Doritos Loud Air and Style exhibition at the US Snowboard Grand Prix Saturday night. Nor did they laugh when Kim Bohnsack nailed a backside 540 to win the women's competition. Everyone understood how serious the feats were when they saw the stretchers.

"I was stoked, had some fun with it and was going for it and managed to land on my feet. I thought I was going to crash so bad (on the 900), but I pulled it..."— Rob Kingwill

Along with the wind and snow, Borgstede and Bohnsack set the pace for the final round of competition at the second Grand Prix of the season. And as the storm settled in Sunday, Rob Kingwill and Shannon Dunn capped off the event. Kingwill and Dunn both came from behind to win their respective divisions in today's halfpipe finals, following the big air precedent of the night before to nail down $10,000 each.

For two days at Breckenridge, Kingwill spent afternoons in the pipe working out the kinks in his McTwist, an inverted 540-degree spin that has become a stock trick among elite-level riders. But when push came to shove in the halfpipe finals, it wasn't the McTwist that put him over the top for a second Grand Prix title in as many events this year. It was a super-sized Haakonflip 900.

"I was supposed to do it, but I didn't feel good and I was like, 'I'm going to crash on that McTwist,'" the Jackson Hole native said. "But that run was great. I was stoked, had some fun with it and was going for it and managed to land on my feet. I thought I was going to crash so bad (on the 900), but I pulled it."

Kingwill was forced to uncork the big move after fellow US Snowboard Team member Tommy "The Machine" Czeschin laid down a stellar run that included a frontside 900 of his own. Czeschin moved into first place with a score of 40.1 points on his second run, but was bumped to second when Kingwill launched his high-flying aerial assault to notch a 41.3. Ricky Bower, another US Team member, was 3rd with a score of 38.9. "The first round I just did a stock run and landed it, so in the second run I could just go for it and pull out the new tricks," Czeschin said. "There's a ton of good riders here, so I had to step it up a little."

"He nailed (the 900) and I was so proud of him for being in first place," Kingwill said. "Tommy's really hungry this year. He's in the hunt for first place and I was just inspired by Tommy going for it. If you feel good and you feel like you are in that zone, you can do anything."

	Dunn

Kingwill entered the blustery Breckenridge halfpipe leading the four-event Grand Prix circuit after a win over local favorite Todd Richards at Mammoth, California. With the snow blowing sideways, Richards opted out of Sunday's competition, but Olympic medalist Ross Powers from Vermont filled any void in world-class athleticism and became an immediate front-runner with his first entry in a Grand Prix this year.

Powers rode to a solid 2nd-place standing behind Park City, Utah’s Ricky Bower after the first run, but failed to keep up with the leaders in his second attempt in the best-of-two-run format, settling for 5th overall.

The women's event saw Olympic medalist Dunn land her own silky-smooth McTwist to come from behind, displace 16-year-old Kelly Clark from the top of the standings and win her second consecutive Grand Prix, 40.3 to 38.0. Aurelie Sayres of Connecticut was third with a score of 34.6.

"I was just like, 'Wow, I better step it up here,'" Dunn said of Clark’s effort. "It's just so good for people to be their best because it really pushes everyone. It pushed me to step it up if I was going to win."

— Scott Willoughby, MountainZone.com Correspondent