A string of Beastie Boys tunes were playing as Jamie Sundberg of Jackson Hole dropped in, marking the official start to the 1999 Mammoth Grand Prix halfpipe finals.

	Rob Kingwill

As you'll see, the "Grand" in Grand Prix stands for two things. At about 15 feet high, 16 meters wide, and 120 meters long, this is one of the grandest pipes on the planet. And with 10 grand on the line for both the men's and women's champion, there's more to this than just pride, adrenaline, and FIS points. There's a fat payday for the two who reign supreme.

Competitors arrived in Mammoth on Wednesday to sunny skies, rock-strewn slopes and bulletproof conditions. As the superpipe was being primped and prepared Thursday morning, clouds rolled in and, by Friday, there were two-to-four inches of blanca fresca to groom things out. Thus, the day of qualifying was a smooth one, cutting the men's field to 20 riders and the women's to a mere 10.

"I was just going for it. I was either gonna crash or win this thing — I had nothing to lose..."— Rob Kingwill

Semi-soft conditions held out for today's finals, helped along by a large and rather unwelcome high-pressure system looming over northern California like a curse. Needless to say, today's tanning index was firmly in the red.

Sundberg was followed by East Coaster (Stratton, VT) Kim Stacey, tweaking methods and 360s with ease. Three riders later, Cara-Beth Burnside of Orange County, CA, pulled a Backside 540 and Alley-Oop 360 to take the first round lead after six riders. Riding last, though, six-time Grand Prix Champion Shannon Dunn of Steamboat Springs, CO, nailed a clean run, mixing it up with smooth spins and solid air to seal first place after round number one.

Coming out of the gate charging, Luke Wynen managed to impress the five-judge panel with a run that put him in first. Rob Kingwill and Jeff Anderson, however, landed close by in second and third respectively — all of which mattered not, as winners were determined by the best run out of two.

Returning to the pipe, Dunn sealed the deal with a series of lofty tail grabs and a McTwist that was landed with a "ka-ching!" cruising to the bottom and laying down joyfully, satisfied with her performance.

"It was a small miracle because I didn't pull any of my runs in practice," said Dunn. "The competition level is very high and this was a great start to the season." Not to mention her Christmas fund.

Natasza Zurek of Canada and Cara-Beth Burnside rounded out the top-3.

With 10 large on the line and everything to gain, the men were going big. Top contenders Adam Petraska of Andover, VT, and Mammoth local Tommy Czeschin, rode last and second to last, respectively, as per yesterday's qualifier. Stratospheric airs notwithstanding, they were no match for Rob Kingwill, who floated a tear-jerking 900 flip, warming both the judges' hearts and his bank account.

"I was just going for it. I was either gonna crash or win this thing — I had nothing to lose," said Kingwill amidst a bevy of ravenous reporters. How'd he like the pipe? "It got way better for the second run." Indeed.

Todd Richards landed in second, while Mark Reilly found himself in a respectable third.

Although the half was extra large, no one could miss the two-story quarterpipe positioned squarely in front of the Main Lodge deck. So what happens when another $10,000 is up for grabs for the biggest airs? Pleasure spiked with pain. Stay tuned.

— Rob Reed, MountainZone.com Correspondent