BOYS

Taylor wins at Red Mountain, Fernie

ROSSLAND, British Columbia — Max Taylor of Coeur d'Alene beat out nine other highly-ranked riders to take home gold in the U19 Snowboard Men division at the IFSA Red Mountain Canadian Open held Thursday, Jan. 30, through Sunday, Feb. 2, at Red Mountain Resort. Taylor posted an overall total score of 59 points — 29 on the first run and 30 on the second.

FERNIE, British Columbia — After a win at Red Mountain, Taylor showcased his skills and picked up another first-place finish in the U19 Snowboard Men division at the Fernie Jeep Freeride event held Thursday, Feb. 6, through Sunday Feb. 9, at Fernie Alpine Resort. Taylor, now ranked second in the North/South America IFSA Region 2, scored event-highs in both control and fluidity which led to an overall score of 58.63 points — 29.30 on the first run and 29.33 on the second.

Taylor is headed to Crystal Mountain Resort in Enumclaw, Wash., on Wednesday, Feb. 19, through Friday, Feb. 21, to defend his top ranking in freeride; he's currently ranked first out of the 16 competitors that have registered.

Locals send it at Mt. Bachelor/Mt. Hood

BEND, Ore. — Owen Miller, Cade Hanson and Calvin Schmidt, all of Sandpoint, headed to Mt. Bachelor Resort on Saturday, Feb. 8 for a USASA Central Oregon Series slopestyle event and took home some hardware in the 15- to 16-year-old age division. With three different lines available, including small, medium and advanced jumps, rails, and boxes, riders picked features to throw down and attempted to land their best tricks. Miller started with a front side board slide on the rail with a backside 720 to a front side 720, earning him a second-place finish out of eight competitors with a score of 84.67 points. Schmidt sent it big with a front 720 to a back 360 with a tail grab and secured bronze with a score of 77.33 points.

MOUNT HOOD, Ore. — Also in Oregon, Drew Falcone, who hails from Spokane, competed in a Mt. Hood slopestyle series competition held Sunday, Feb. 9, at Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Resort. He sent a smooth back 360 followed by a front 360 with some nice air as he landed a second-place finish out of seven competitors with a score of 70.00 points.

Miller, Hanson, Schmidt, Falcone and Zadok Steffen of Bonners Ferry are all headed to Whitefish, Mont., today to compete in another Inland Northwest Series slopestyle competition.

GIRLS

Tajan impresses at Mt. Baker

DEMING, Wash. — Nina Tajan of Sandpoint finished fourth out of seven competitors in the 8- to 12-year-old age division at the 36th annual Legendary Banked Slalom (LBS) held this past Friday, Feb. 7, through Sunday, Feb. 9, at Mount Baker Ski Area.

Tajan was just .53 seconds from a bronze medal, finishing in an impressive time of 1:25.70 on her second run.

LBS is one of the oldest and most prestigious competitions in snowboarding and attracts hundreds of riders from around the world every February. The three-day event is not only a highly competitive race, but is also a celebration of snowboard culture and community.

Alderman grabs gold at 49 Degrees

CHEWELAH, Wash. — Kya Alderman, who hails from Bonners Ferry, won the Women's Snowboard division of the Drop-In Rail Jam Competition held Saturday, Feb. 8, as part of Chewelah Winterfest. This is a competition that is hosted by 49 Degrees North Ski Area and includes terrain park features amongst the streets of Chewelah.

    From left, Calvin Schmidt, Cade Hanson and Owen Miller get ready to shred at a USASA Central Oregon Series slopestyle event held at Mt. Bachelor Resort on Saturday, Feb. 8.
  

    Drew Falcone shows off the second-place medal he received for his efforts during a slopestyle competition held Sunday, Feb. 9 at Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Resort.
  

    Kya Alderman is all smiles after winning the Drop-In' Rail Jam Competition held Saturday, Feb. 8 as part of Chewelah Winterfest.