[juicebox gallery_id=”361″]
Each spring for the past 10 years, the West Coast Session—hosted at Mt. Hood—has provided an outlet for up-and-coming and established park skiers alike to gather, to party, to feed off one another’s energy and to hit absolutely gargantuan jumps and technical rail features, too. The West Coast Session (WCS) has grown into one of the sport’s cherished late-season events, having spurred such moments as Zak Mousseau’s mind-boggling zero spin, McRae Williams’ switch triple cork 1440 into the alpenglow and Max Morello’s naked double backflip. There are too many “Rookie,” “King Meat,” “Repeat Offender” and “MVP” awards to possibly recount here in a time-friendly fashion. Yet today we’re doing some of our final reporting on WCS; after a decade-long run, the event will cease to exist as we know it. WCS founder Ethan Stone remarked simply, “It’s been an incredible ten years of Sessions, and now it’s time for us to quit while we’re ahead. I can’t believe the following we have gathered and all of the support that has grown behind this event. We never could have made it happen without everyone who rallied alongside us to make WCS what is is — so thank you, you know who you are.”
Stone commented further:
Ecclesiastes teaches us that there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. For the past ten years, the first week of May has been the time to head for Mount Hood for the West Coast Session, an unconventional and improbable ski event that has become a cult classic for many of the world’s top young skiers. It has been a time of joy for the hundreds of skiers, filmers, photographers and fans who have flocked to the slopes of Hood to enjoy the Session’s offerings: Next-level terrain features in the parks at Timberline, unparalleled accommodation and skate facilities at Windells Camp, and a week of uninhibited shredding, filming and pleasant evenings in good company. Alas, this time has now found its end: in 2016, the tenth anniversary of the West Coast Session was also its last iteration. But the final WCS went out in fine fashion, with a bigger crew than ever before, with close to a hundred invited skiers and media, a massive 85-foot private jump at Timberline, and a mountain full of other diversions for the freestyle-minded. They came, they saw, they shredded. From the huge money booter, to the down-flat-down-to-S challenge rail, to the sidecountry “Guac Bowl” feature, to the skate parks at Windells — WCS10 lacked no amenities for fun-having.
With that, it’s time to announce the WCS10 awards. The winners are as follows…
- Rookie presented by PICTURE: Corey Jackson (Runner-up: Ethan Swadburg)
- King Meat: Reed Lewis (Runner-up: Dean Bercovitch)
- All Day Syndrome: Max Moffatt
- Repeat Offender: Pako Benguerel
- The Worm: Evan Lai-Hipp (Runner-up: Blaine)
- Best Trick: Colby Stevenson — Triple cork 1440 / 270 on, front swap, pretzel 450 on the DFD-S
- MVP: Colby Stevenson
Instagram contest winners:
- #WCS180: Mike King – 180 Taipan tweak
- #WCSgrab: Maks Gorham – 360 Cuban
- #WCSgrind: Charlie Lasser – 270 out of the DFD-S
- #WCS10: Reed Lewis – Double front flip Superman
Note: Film edits and shots from the official WCS-sanctioned photo contest are still to come.
Furthermore, for those considering a jaunt up to Hood this summer, the terrain serviced by Windells Camp has received well over 500 inches of snow this year, and over 62 feet(!) in the superpipe zone. This means Windells campers will be skiing on over two miles of real, beautiful snow all summer long. And with more lift-accessible terrain than any other camp in North America, you’ll have plenty of turf to cover while romping around with professional coaches and visiting pro athletes.
More on the Windells front: For the first time ever, Windells will offer a ski only terrain park, designed to accommodate first-time rippers and top pros alike. Campers will have a chance to ride and progress in this zone while watching and learning from some of the best skiers in the world. Karl Fostvedt, Nick Goepper, Jonah Williams, Khai Krepela, and loads more have already confirmed attendance. Register up before the available spots fill up, folks. And stay tuned for more from WCS10.
