Okemo’s first comp of the season, the “What I Learned This Summer Rail Jam” went down Saturday, November 24th on the Bull Run trail. I’ve gotta give props to everyone that made it happen – the snowmakers for taking the trail from green to white in 24 hours; the park & pipe crew for laying out the course; Christopher’s Restaurant for sponsoring the comp; and of course our Events Coordinator Jeff Alexander for putting the whole thing together.

At the top of the course, riders had a choice between a flat box or flat rail, both of which fed into our newest feature, the Cota & Cota propane tank. The course ended with a telephone pole set on top of a five foot spine. Although not the most tech course we’ve ever seen, the setup provided everyone with enough options to throw down.

With $500 on the line, it was obvious from the get-go that everyone studied hard over the summer – 270/450s on to pretzel off the flat box were being thrown early and often, along with a handful of front flips over the spine!

Carnage was kept to a minimum, although 22 year old Mike Stratman might disagree. After cranking up his DIN for a second attempt to gap from the flat-box takeoff to the flat rail, Stratman exploded off the takeoff, landed on the rail, then exploded out of his bindings. After pulling a 3 inch long, 2 inch wide sliver of wood from the sidewall of his twintips, his skis were pronounced dead. Check the attached video for a visual on the wreck of the day…

Ben Kadow, age 13, of Jamacia, Vt., took first place in the Men-15-and-Younger division. Second place went to Ryan Hartman, age 14, of Westport, Conn. Ben Farrow, age 15, of Mt. Holly, Vt., finished third

In the Men-16-and-Older division, 17-year-old Matt Shaffer, from Brownsville, Vt., took top honors. Second place went to Parker White, age 16, of Dorset, Vt., and third place went to Rex Calabrese, age 16, of Proctorsville, Vt.

Based on registration, there was a single division for women. First place went to hometown favorite Maggie Seiple, age 19, of Ludlow, Vt. Garrison Rufa, age 17, of Chester, Vt., won second-place honors and rounding out the podium in third, was Jillian Atwood, age 18, of West Dover, Vt.

Thanks to everyone for coming out and making Okemo’s first competition of the season a huge success! Stay tuned for updates on more events throughout the season!