It was hard to look at the ski hill at night without noticing the large Monster Energy logo displayed at the top of the mountain. The decoration was to celebrate the Monster Energy Boarderstyle event that took over Fernie Alpine Resort (FAR) over the weekend.
Thirty-seven competitors – 30 men and seven women – participated in the event. Many of the top riders were professional snowboarders and a few came from Whistler to compete for the prize money and invitation to the finals. Local rider, Jordan Howard finished the competition in fourth place.
“The Men’s category was tough as we had some pro riders from Whistler come out for the event, but local rider Jordan Howard was able to make it into the finals. For the women’s we had a strong local contingent come out and give some of the guys a run for their times,” said FAR event coordinator, Jeni Pearson.
The event took place on the modified ski cross course under the Deer Chair and was well attended by the public.
“Spectators were loving the event. It’s so unique that it was something different to take in. The two main places where spectators watched from were the skim pond and the main feature jump at the end of the course,” Pearson said.
According to Pearson, the most exciting portion of the course for riders and viewers was the skim pond.
“People were loving the skim pond – both competitors and spectators. Having that part way down a course, rather than just a stand alone pond event, was different and unique,” she said. “Competitors were also loving the chance to show off their skills on the feature jump at the end.”
The course will be taken down and will return to the ski cross course.
“As this was a custom designed course for the race the features will be removed,” said Pearson. “Anyone interested in riding the course will just have to sign up for next year.”
Pearson and the FAR team could not have done the event without the help from Monster Energy, the competitors and the fans and they look forward to hopefully bringing the event back next year.
“Huge thanks goes out to Monster Energy and all the competitors that came out for the event,” she said. “Being the first year of the event it’s great to see the support and momentum we gained. We can’t wait to use that foundation to make the event in 2017 even better.”
