The Burton/Armada Big Air Event, the third of four in the Packed, Stacked and Jacked series blew up as the riders took to the air on February 20th at Seven Springs! No one in the crowd of 200 + was disappointed as everyone enjoyed the sunshine, great tunes and extreme entertainment. D.J. Zimmie spun the tunes and Burton and Armada were on hand with demos, swag and grills. Scion Motors stopped by to meet the kids and they brought rider and local legend Matt Guess who entertained the kids and inspired an army of young snowboarders. Our own A.J. Lawson provided the never dull narrative.

The Amateur riders took to the air first and skier Jimmy Leslie demonstrated why he has dominated the season by absolutely STOMPING every run in an hour long session. His series included a superman front, cork 7, cork 9, rodeo 5 and double front. He won first place, took home a pair of Armada skis and cinched his overall series victory. Close behind Leslie was relative newcomer Carson Kerr who looked like a decorated veteran with his perfectly executed double front flip and superman front. Jimmy Hill put together a typically solid series of jumps showing off his trademark style with a smooth shifty 9. Thirteen year-old Logan Bingamon impressed the judges and the crowd with his ability cleanly landing 10's and 12's like it was his job and finishing 4th.

Competing for the Open Ski division, Justin Petricko wowed the crowed with a perfect misty 9 in his stunning victory over veteran Brandon Stark. Stark stomped a double cork 12 mute in practice but couldn't ride out in competition. He landed some clean cork 9 mutes finishing 2nd. Stark will compete in the Dumont Cup later in March, we're betting he's got the dubs on lock by then. Rumors about Patrick Shepherd's plans to try dubs swirled all week but never came true. Instead his huge cork 540 was enough to secure the 3rd place slot.

The snowboard division can best be summed up as unpredictable. Am Snowboard was dominated by youth. Fourteen year-old Henry Jackson came out of nowhere and threw a big back flip to win the Burton board, helmet and goggles followed by Derek Edwards and Tim Regrut. Jackson now leads the division by just ONE point followed by Chris Petricko. We're all on the edge of our seats.

Alex, Wild Card, Turnsheltz took to the air and threw a backside rodeo 540 to win the Open Snowboard division just a day after winning Best Trick in the ESL stop on the same course. Pulling up second was Cuttler Whitley with a backside rodeo 5 off the small side and local Nick Kiproff finished a solid third with a 720 off the small side. Division leader, Zack Yourd managed to rack up some points despite a back injury. This division is anyone's race with Yourd leading Whitley by just four points and Kiproff by 7.

On the ladies side of things, skier Elle Papas pulled off a super stylie truck driver to beat 14 year-old phenom Jackie Penticost. Snowboarder Shannon Branthoover finally made it to a home mountain event and ran away with it (again). We've missed you Shannon! Shannon was followed by Erin Storch and Willi's own Kim Natural.

The series wraps up on Friday, March 4th in the Goggle Bowl. We're expecting to be on pins and needles as only the am ski division is sewn up. Registration gets underway outside of Willi's at 4:30 and the action starts at 7:00. We're giving out Seven Springs Season's Passes to the winners of the am and open divisions along with other great prizes. We'll take some time after the event to run the numbers and will announce the overall winners of the Grand Prizes, $1000.00 and a session at Camp of Champions for both open divisions and and head-to-toe sponsorships for both of the am division point leaders. We'll also announce the winners of our u16 sponsorships, Atomic Skis and Flow Snowboards.

Winter Divas Spotlight: Pat and Libby

I've had the chance to get to know many of our Winter Divas this season. During our most recent Winter Diva Wednesday, I spent some extra time with long time friends Libby and Pat and I got to hear their stories, both skiing and otherwise.

You could call Libby “backyard” skier. As a teen, she borrowed her mother’s long wooden skis and bulky leather boots and skied in the yard (her mom got to ski at Seven Springs). She still has those skis, only now she uses them as decorations. She taught her kids to ski the same way in her backyard, but on the more technologically advanced red plastic toy skies. Libby didn’t just ski in the backyard, she also skied down her hilly Pittsburgh street as her husband shuttled her back to the top in his truck!

"Skiing has always been a big part of my life and it sure makes the winters fly by." said Pat. Pat’s first time on skis was at Seven Springs in December of 1955 when she went with Bell Telephone Company. At the time, Seven Springs had three rope tows and no snowmaking. Pat struggled with her rental equipment and left sore and bruised but she didn’t give up! The next time she tried it, she took a lesson. Good thing she stuck with it, she met her husband skiing!

Pat and her husband joined Der Sitzmark Ski Club in 1992 and that's where she met Libby. While most of its members do ski, Der Sitzmark has activities year round, from biking, horseback riding, white water rafting. They even had a segway trip last year. Pat says of the club, "It has changed through the years as far as people coming and going but the friendships I made during the years remain strong. My husband passed away in Jan 1994 and my friends at the ski club were a great support for me." She travels with the club, always going on at least one trip a year, many times two trips.

Pat and Libby are planning a trip to Tahoe later this season. Along with her equipment, Pat will be sure to have down and wool items. “I’ve found that there is nothing warmer than wool and down. My socks and bottom layer of underwear have to have wool in them. Mittens have to have down.” Libby's Motto: “Comfort is the key.” Her must-have accessories, a pretty cotton handkerchief for under her mask, hand warmers and the “softest-longest glove liners.”

Libby’s favorite place to ski: Where she’s skiing. That puts Seven Springs at the top of her list. She likes it because it is a close, family friendly, has great slopes, good grooming, beautiful scenery and short lift lines. Pat's a little more pragmatic “It depends on the conditions at the time. That determines if it was a good place to ski.” To her, a sunny day skiing with friends on well groomed slopes is “just about perfect.” Both ladies enjoy taking ski vacations and are heading to Tahoe at the end of the month.

Like all of us, skiing is a passion of Pat and Libby's. “It lifts my spirit, adds jazz to my life, it’s outdoor fun, it is the right prescription for a wintry day that rejuvenates and warms. It’s the closest sensation to flying and makes me happy to be alive...and because I can.” Says LIbby of why she skis. Why does Pat do it? “That depends on what day you ask me. If it’s sunny, conditions are good, I’m feeling good, it’s great to get a rhythm going flying down. It’s like dancing with the ‘Stars’. If it’s cold, windy, icy, I’m not sure why I do it, but for some reason I still do.”

Pat hasn't missed a Winter Diva Wednesday. She enjoys meeting new ski buddies at our Winter Divas Wednesdays. When I asked her what she likes about Winter Divas she said that she’s enjoyed all of the guests and that she feels that she’s learned something new each week. Libby likes being called a Diva because she was never a Prima Donna and now she gets to be one. She likes the smiles, hints, encouragement and enthusiasm of the group. She is grateful to Seven Springs for the hot chocolate and pastries that take the chill out of a winter day.

Join us for Winter Divas Wednesdays and get to know Pat, Libby and all of the other wonderful women of Winter Divas!

The Salomon/Forum Halfpipe Competition, the second event in our 4 event series, Packed, Stacked and Jacked blew up last month. A big crowd was on hand as we watched some of the best riders in the area throw down in the Seven Springs award winning 18 foot superpipe. Thanks to our sponsor vitaminwater and the cold temps, all of the athletes and spectators stayed hydrated with Stur D slushies. Former Heavenly High Roller team member, Rich Marlowe did double duty as head judge and M.C. He was joined by local legend John Stark, special guest judge (warm handed) Justin Petricko and the Cordaro Brothers, Keith and Craig.

Winners in the Open Division were skier and hometown favorite, Brandon Stark and Snowboarder Dan Grenditzki (former Lord of the Springs) who walked away with $300.00 each from The Jib Shop. Second place skier Justin Petricko now leads the pack for overall points in the Open Division followed by third place James Rullo, both fixtures on the local competition scene. Snowboarder Cutler Whitley took second place followed by Zack Yourd
riding for Rome.

Winners of the Amateur Division were skier Mike Rulli and snowboarder Chris Petricko. Petricko is currently trailing closely behind snowboard sensation, the lovely Ashley Vandermeer in overall points. The amateur ski division is being RULED by 'Lil Jimmy Leslie followed by Mike Rulli but I just got word that Mike's on I.R., probably for the rest of the season. For the ladies, Ride Snowboards East Grassroots Team member Ashley VanderMeer is running away with it! Ashley walked away with another snowboard...what does she do with all of them? She must have built a bookshelf by now! Ashley is repping hard for the girls by leading in overall points! Newcomer Jacqueline Pentecost came out of nowhere to win the skiing division and home a pair of my personal favorites, Salomon Mai Tai skis.

Follow along with all of the action on our Facebook page and don't miss the next event! The Armada/Burton Big Air promises to go down in the record books for local snowboarders if rumors I hear about a certain Nick Kiproff's bag of tricks are true! Ladies, make sure you come out and compete to keep Ashley's hopes of winning the head-to-toe sponsorship alive!