The Bank [click]

Forget X-Games dollars and Olympic gold. Snowboarding is an art, and this year's 15th Annual Legendary Banked Slalom held at the Mt. Baker Ski Area proved that snowboarding for art's sake is all the motivation the riders needed. Posting the fastest times in the modern era of the event, Karleen Jeffrey and Matt Goodwill captured the women's and men's titles, and took home culture instead of cash.

"Wes lowered himself down using the help of a tree, and then dropped the final thirty feet to reach the snowboarder and dig him out. There is no doubt that Wes saved his fellow snowboarder's life ..."

Persistence was the word of Sunday. Karleen Jeffrey carved her place deeper into the record books with a victory on Sunday, making her a six-time winner of the race. By far the winningest racer in Banked Slalom history, Karleen added another item of evidence that she is perhaps the most talented snowboarder around. In the men's professional division, Matt Goodwill exhibited another type of perseverance. Nine times had had come to this race and come close to winning, but had never put together the magical run required to win. It came down to his second run in the finals, and he laid everything out to post the winning time and loft the gilded duct tape trophy above his head. Now, when everyone turns into a pumpkin at the millenium, Matt will be the pumpkin wearing the biggest smile.

If there is a mountain where snowboarding finds its center, the place would be Mt. Baker, Washington. And if there is a competition that defines the soul of snowboarding, that race would be the Mt. Baker Legendary Slalom. The list of former champions reads like a who's who of snowboarding: Tom Sims, Craig Kelly, Shaun Palmer, Rob Morrow, Ross Rebagliati, Marcella Dobis, Amy Howatt, Terje Haakonsen...the names goes on. Add Matt Goodwill to that list and say Karleen Jeffrey six times fast and you've got a good group of citizens who have made the sport of snowboarding something real.

Shannon Dunn [click]

While "Banked Slalom" describes the racecourse, the word "Legendary" defines how organizers Gwyn and Amy Howatt orchestrated this year's event. In a move to focus the event on the simple pleasure of being on a mountain and riding fast over the snow, the Banked Slalom this year officially became a "fame and glory event." Instead of a cash purse for the professional divisions, the top three men and women received drums adorned with Native American symbols, handmade and painted by Northwest artist Shaun Peterson. Karleen and Matt also received a three-day wolf tracking expedition in Yellowstone Park as part of the winner's package.

The elimination of prize money increased the size of the amateur divisions' merchandise awards. It also centered the event on the spirit or riding as opposed to the spoils of victory. At the awards ceremony, Shaun Peterson used one of the drums to accompany his singing of a native traditional — a song that precedes an act of giving. In this manner, the 300+ people who filled the lodge received the gift of the drum, and were able to share the celebration of contest regardless of where they finished.

As usual, the weather conditions created much of the drama at this year's Banked Slalom. On Friday, the first day of qualifying, 90 mph winds forced the closure of the mountain to the public. Hunkered down in the White Salmon Day Lodge for the morning, by late-morning the winds finally eased enough to allow half of the racers to get their runs in. The Banked Slalom weekend has been likened to a holy pilgrimage of snowboarders. On Friday, the pilgrimage became literal as 100 snowboarders hiked en masse from the lodge to a wind-sheltered Chair 5. People took their runs and went back to the lodge. The riders who didn't get to race — men's and women's amateurs — glumly recounted their decisions not to bro-down with a few beers the night before.

"The riders who didn't get to race...glumly recounted their decisions not to bro-down with a few beers the night before..."

The race takes place in the Half Pipe run of Mt. Baker, a natural gully that runs half a mile down the mountain. Its twists and drops function as the digestive tract of Mt. Baker. Riders make their way through gates placed high on the walls, their boards riding higher than their heads as they ride around berms, bloodstream losing precious oxygen as they work to stay on top of their boards. Then the last quarter or the course drops them into the apt-named Toilet Bowl — a section where riders lose 60 feet of elevation over the course of three gates. A small tabletop marks the entry to this section where several riders, including Victoria Jealouse, carried too much speed to negotiate the up-ramp. Flush.

Those that remain standing through the Toilet Bowl have only to negotiate the chatter of the final two turns before crossing the finish line. What makes the Banked Slalom unique is that is it one of the only races where amateurs and pros race the same course on the same day.

The wind subsided for days Two and Three, and the snow level dropped. Mt. Baker, sometimes plagued by rain during race weekend, was a white (and at times fogged-in) heaven. The new snow also changed the complexion of the racecourse. The racers and their times all confirmed that the course had turned buttery and fast.

What makes the Banked Slalom weekend legendary is that racing doesn't consume the entire weekend. For many racers, the event is an excuse to get up to Baker for a weekend of freeriding. And when you have a collection of the world's best pros and most dedicated amateur riders, you can easily feel the pulse of snowboarding take over the mountain.

"The Legendary Banked Slalom, the sport's oldest competition, is doing all it can to keep the roots of snowboarding healthy and strong..."

Heavy dumps of snow made the Shuksan Arm, Baker's world-famous out of bounds terrain, inaccessible due to extreme avalanche danger and zero visibility. A few people did venture out of bounds, and the hazards were real. Wes Makepeace, while not a winner in the race, was perhaps the weekend's biggest hero. While riding out of bounds, he followed a line that was going too low, and traced it over a cliff. About 60 feet below, a snowboarder had augured into a snowbank, almost completely buried and unable to free himself. Wes lowered himself down using the help of a tree, and then dropped the final thirty feet to reach the snowboarder and dig him out. There is no doubt that Wes saved his fellow snowboarder's life, as the snow was accumulating at over one inch per hour — the tracks, and the snowboarder, would have been covered up very quickly.

Ski Patrol reported that they dug out an additional 25 people during the course of the weekend. The lessons that these events send home are simple — dying in the snow is not a hard thing to do, especially when every dangers snow condition warning flag has gone up. Also, snowboarders need to look out for each other. Wes proved that by following a track that didn't look right, something indeed wasn't right. If snowboarders are going to take over the world, the first step is to develop a collective common sense that keeps people from dying on the mountain.

Snowboarding and competition have been incurably linked together. The industries and the interest surrounding the sport are too big to deny it. But the Legendary Banked Slalom, the sport's oldest competition, is doing all it can to keep the roots of snowboarding healthy and strong. Tom Sims, an originator of the Banked Slalom and the race's first winner was on hand to compete in the Grand Masters division. As someone who has personally built up the sport and the industry, he didn't offer an unexamined perspective when he said, "This race is the spirit of snowboarding. Screw the Olympics."

Here's to snowboarding for art's sake.

— Jim Humes, Mountain Zone Correspondent