Amoung the twelve male finalists, Squamish, British Columbia’s Lamoureux was the highest ranking Canadian, taking sixth as a result of the first of his two descents, where he earned 38.6 points. Today’s results were his best World Cup result since his fourth place finish in March 2005 at the Lake Placid World Cup.

Lipscomb earned 36.6 points on his first descent in the finals, placing him tenth overall. Ottawa native Lipscomb has not participated in a Fédération Internationale du Ski (FIS) competition since the World Championships of January 2007, where he finished sixth.

Japanese athlete Ryoh Aono garnered his second victory (46.6) this season, and now takes the second place overall in the Half-Pipe World Cup standings. Swiss snowboarder Iouri Podladtchikov (44.0) finished third today, but remains atop the World Cup standings list, whilst American Gregory Bretz took the second step on the podium (45.1) in Korea.

Lamoureux and Lipscomb themselves are sitting in 15th and 36th place in the Half Pipe World Cup standings.

Ontarian Jeff Batchelor barely missed qualifying for the final, ending up in thirteenth place, a mere 0.06 of a point from Lamoureux, who was the last to qualify. Charles Reid, 17th, Brendan Davis, 19th, Gabriel Dussault, 29th, and Ryan Rausch, 32th, rounded out the Canadians participating today.

Difficulty for the National Vice Champion

Sarah Conrad finished sixth in the finals; the Nova Scotian earned 31.0 points on her second descent.

Chinese snowboarder Jiayu Liu won the competition with 40.6 points, beating both Japanese athlete Soko Yamaoka (36.8) and American Lindsay Jacobellis (36.6).

British Coloumbia’s Mercedes Nicoll was seventh, slightly behind Japanese athlete Shiho Nakashima who was sixth and the last qualified for the finals this Saturday.

Katie Tsuyuki, 13th, Alexandra Duckworth, 16th, Charmaine Ironside, 19th, and Dominique Vallée, 21st, were also participating in the event.

The World Cup in Sungwoo, Korea continues Sunday with the Parallel Giant Slalom event; Caroline Calvé, Alexa Loo, Kimiko Zakreski, Jasey-Jay Anderson, Patrick Farrell, Michael Lambert and Matthew Morison will be competing.

The 2010 Olympics are coming, and the gadgets are evolving. One example is the Flaik, it’s basically a real-time GPS tracking device that lets you calculate your snowboard or skiing speed, distance and altitude. We’ll call it the Nike+ for the snow. The little black box can send information through your cellphone, were not sure how yet (Bluetooth?), and to the web so you can view your statistics and track your progress online.

JumpCamp, one of Vancouver-island’s best kept secrets, is ripping right along this season. They run off of Forbidden plauteau Mountain, and have a 400cm mid-mountain snow base! That is just HUGE.

They have some trips planned for Mount Cain and some backcountry snowmobiling adventures. If you are interested in JumpCamp and how you can get in on the action, head on over to their site and check it out. We hope soon to send an official Boarding Canada writer out there to see how much air these guys are really gettin’.

Theres nothing like having a 45minute+ run down a mountain, the never ending feel of endless cruising and carving is really something else. We had a chance to visit the future spot of the 2010 Olympics this weekend, and although the we missed 40cm of powder from the previous weekend, the runs were nice and smooth up top with plenty of routes to keep us tranquil.

The Peak to Peak project is moving along, the new gondola will connect the two Whistler mountain peaks and cost them a pretty penny;

“Once completed, the gondola will become a tourism icon for British Columbia and Canada, bringing visitors from all over the world into the high alpine to experience scenic views. Supported by only four towers, the gondola will travel 4.4 kilometers (2.73 miles) in just 11 minutes – reaching a highest vertical point of 415 m (1,361 feet) above Fitzsimmons Creek, which is a world record. Coming in at $51 million, the Peak to Peak Gondola also breaks the world record for longest free span, with a distance of 3.024 kilometres (1.88 miles) stretching between the two towers furthest apart.”

Whistler Blackcomb will be the venue for the men’s and women’s Olympic and Paralympic alpine skiing disciplines of Downhill, Super-G, Giant Slalom, Slalom and Super Combined.
Improvements to snowmaking technology have been ongoing since ‘06 and include doubling the size of the reservoir, installing snowmaking pipework and pump station upgrades. VANOC is spending approximately $17.6 million on snowmaking infrastructure for the Games, a legacy for Whistler Blackcomb long after 2010.
Maybe someone at the mountain could explain the slight blue colouring of the underlying snow layer?

The snow should be hitting us soon.. the powder makers are warming up, the wax on our boards is fresh, a new season will begin! Get ready to rip it up boarders..

It’s the off season for us snowboarders here in Canada. We’ve got one more trip planned out to Whistler in May, but after that it will be several months before I get another taste of powder. How do you keep your edge when you are not on the slopes? The Extreme Balance Board is the key. This is the training tool for the Canadian Snow Board Federation, Vancouver Canucks, and many other competitive sports organizations that understand the extreme benefits behind core strength and a sharp balanced mind.

I did up a quick video of the balance board with the new product just released for it called the XT. The XT (extreme transverse motion) is for any sport that uses rotation as a power source, like snowboarding, skiing, water skiing, skating, golf, you get the idea. It will enhance your balance work out and allow you to condition those muscles you would use in rotative intensive sports.

The video is nothing special, I suck way too much to show you my balance skills at this point, but it gives you an idea just how the XT comes in to play with the balance board, and just what kind of training we are dealing with here. After 3 days of using it every now and then, jumping on whenever I can, I feel strength in leg muscles I never knew I had, and a tighter core on its way.

A full review will come soon after I do some training and see more results. For now check the company website at the above links.

Rossignol is bringing many new innovations the way of snowboarding, and one of them is the Rossignol Mini. At first you’d think it’s a kid’s board, but at second glance it’s much wider and stiffer. This mini is a mere 121cm, but built for adults.

This is probably the most fun I have ever had on a snowboard. The size of the mini allows you to do so many things, especially if you’re a creative freestyle rider. Spinning is the key thing you can do on this board, it’s so easy to whip around on snow or in air. One thing I couldn’t believe was how well this board performed on rails.

The size allows you to lock-in your boardslides easily along while rotating on rails or boxes; this is one wicked jib board. I was totally stoked on how well it held an edge on groomers. Be careful in the slushy spring riding though, you’ll spend your day flying head over heels because of how short the nose and tail is. If your looking for something new and fun, go grab some old bindings and play around with the mini, its amazing just how much fun you can have on this thing.

These retail for about $199, but can be found for much cheaper. Next time you see a mini now you will know its full potential.  Anyone else out there ride a mini?

Have you ever experienced a lazy boy for your feet? Well, thats what i’m talkin about with the latest HC 3000 Bindings by Rossignol. You’ll know what I mean when you try’em. Check out the rest of the pics and sick graphics after the jump.

With their sleek design, stylish leather and comfort these bindings were awesome. Setting them up was also quick and easy with very efficient and detailed adjustment’s to fit your need such as the high back, straps and ratchets. Strapping into these bindings I found them to be a very tight fit without any pressure points because of the soft leather. Soft rubber under you’re feet allows for good absorption when handling with pressure created by the mountain. When riding these bindings they allow you to be very responsive while turning and all sorts of shredding. These bindings were very impressive, I just can’t stop looking at how cool they are too… oh yea they work great as well. You can grab these soon as they will come out just in time for the 2008 season. Thanks to Rossignol, our first official sponsor, for sending these our way.

Rating

Welcome to our first official snowboard review. Rossignol is also our first official manufacturer to jump on the review sponsor list and send us a couple sweet boards, first up is the 2008 Rossignol Decoy 155. We’d like to thank Rossignol for supporting the new site and also our readers! They will be going up in our sponsor section shortly. Now on with the review.
Rossi seems to be taking over lately and some may say it’s the future of snowboarding. Riding the decoy, I’m starting to believe what people are saying is true.

Rossignol’s freestyle board of 2008 is a poppy, responsive and overall fun board. No matter what you’re into you’ll have fun on the Decoy. It handles moguls, groomers and holds an impressive edge on those icy days. The most fun had on the Decoy was carving and jumps, it was great to rip down the groomers doing all varied shapes of carves and was also a great time in the park spinning, buttering and catching some air off of small, medium and large jumps. Take off’s are smooth and the Decoy absorbed the landings very well. If you are a jibber and like to do rail’s I wouldn’t recommend the Decoy. I found it was very easy to catch an edge and the board didn’t properly flex to boxes or rails. One other problem I had was a little bit of the nose catching the snow when turning due to the shape of the nose and tail of the board. Overall if you’re looking for an all mountain board and like to do freestyle on the side this is the board for you, it held an edge on all conditions, popped like mad and buttered smoothly. And don’t forget, there’s some wicked graphics and art put into the Decoy, so check it out!

The 2008 model will sell for $549, about $50 less then last years model.
Check out the little triangle in the top right corner of the Decoy. This inlayed piece of metal creates a sound effect when you are cruising, it sorta sounds like you are in a video game.

Rating

The Canadian Snowboard team is wrapping up a phenomenal season, and the stage is set for one of the most exciting events of the year – the 2007 Honda Canadian National Snowboard Championships. It’s been an impressive year for many of Canada’s riders, with World Cup wins and a dozen podium finishes, Canadian Open Snowboard Tour and NorAm wins, and the first-ever appearance at the Canada Winter Games. And to cap off a great season, next week they will all converge on Calgary and Banff to battle it out for the title of National Champion in their discipline.Check dates and locations after the jump.

WHAT:     2007 Honda Canadian National Snowboard Championships

WHO:    ALL of Canada’s best snowboarders including 2007 Crystal Globe winner Drew Neilson (SBX), Brad Martin (Halfpipe), Jasey Jay Anderson (Alpine and SBX), Maelle Ricker (SBX and Halfpipe), Matt Morison (Alpine), Kimiko Zakreski (Alpine), Christelle Doyon (SBX and Alpine), Dan Raymond (Halfpipe), Korath Wright (Halfpipe), and hundreds more!

WHERE:    CODA’s Canada Olympic Park and Sunshine Village

WHEN:    March 22nd to 25th

The 2010 Winter Olympic Games are now less than three years away, and all of these athletes will be looking to build their skills and reputations in the hopes of representing Canada. This is a great opportunity to speak with some of them, and to check out the talented pool of snowboard athletes we’re working with to reach the top of that podium!
Two of Canada’s Snowboard LEGENDS have also registered to compete at this week’s 2007 Honda Canadian National Championships, and it’s an old-school showdown not to be missed! Two-time Olympian and Canadian Alpine Snowboard Head Coach Mark Fawcett and 1998 Olympic Gold Medalist Ross Rebagliati will be strapping on their boards and riding against Canada’s elite to see if they’ve still got what it takes!

2007 Honda Canadian National Snowboard Championships – Event Schedule

THURSDAY MARCH 22ND @ Sunshine Village – Junior SBX
10:45AM -12:00 PM        Qualifications
1:30 – 3:00PM        Finals

FRIDAY MARCH 23RD @ Sunshine Village — SBX
10:45AM – 12:45PM    Qualifications
2:00 – 4:00PM        Finals

SATURDAY MARCH 24TH @ Canada Olympic Park — Halfpipe
9:00AM – 3:00PM        Qualifications (heat format)
4:00 – 5:00PM        Finals

SATURDAY, MARCH 24th @ Sunshine Village – Parallel Giant Slalom
10:30AM – 12:30PM    Qualifications
2:00 – 4:00PM        Finals

SUNDAY MARCH 25TH @ Canada Olympic Park — Slopestyle
9:00AM - 3:00PM        Qualifications (heat format)
4:00 – 5:00            Finals

SUNDAY, MARCH 25th @ Sunshine Village – Parallel Slalom
10:00AM – 12:00PM    Qualifications
1:30 – 3:30PM        Finals

Brought to you by the Canadian Snowboard Federation (www.csf.ca)

That is the very exact question I asked myself when I saw these three guys slung up on a contraption which looked like recovering broken bone victims in a hospital bed. It was over the weekend on my usual trip to Mount Washington, where I saw this Hangboarding contraption. It combines snowboarding, hang gliding and mountain biking. If you like all three, you may like hangboarding, if not, you may just like to get a rush off screaming down a snow covered hill head first. Check out the video and more pics after the jump.

For more hangboarding goodness, visit hangboard.ca

Drew Neilson of North Vancouver won the bronze medal on Saturday in the men’s snowboardcross competition to earn the FIS World Cup season title in the event.

Neilson, a three-time World Cup snowboard cross winner this season, reached a career goal. ‘’ I’m really stoked about winning my first Crystal Globe (season title) today,’’ said Neilson. ‘’I had a good day today, but I would have loved to finish with another win. I rode well, but just didn’t have a great start on my final run. The Crystal Globe is something I’ve been working towards for my whole career, and it feels great to finally be able to claim that title.’’

Pierre Vaultier of France won Saturday’s season-ending event with Nick Baumgartner of the U.S., second.

Maelle Ricker of Squamish, B.C., was the top Canadian woman placing fifth. Helene Olafsen of Norway took the gold with Diane Thermoz of France second and Tanja Frieden of Switzerland third. Lindsey Jacobellis of the U.S., didn’t compete, but still won the season title.

Canada had eight men qualify to the final round. Quebec riders Christelle Doyon and François Boivin were ninth and 11th respectively. Doyon was eliminated in the quarterfinals finishing third in her heat after falling. She places 11th in the snowboard cross season standings in her first full year on the circuit. Boivin was also ousted in the quarters placing third in his heat. He places eighth overall.

Jasey-Jay Anderson was eliminated in the round of 16 finishing third in his heat behind Boivin. Nate Holland of the U.S., disrupted the race when he landed too far after a jump.

Simon Bonenfant, a bronze medallist at the season-opening event in Furano, was 47th in qualifying and didn’t advance.

The halfpipe competition concludes the World Cup season on Sunday.

For full results go to www.fis-ski.com