Flyin' High at Stoken
The fellas over at Rome Snowboards are known for being pretty serious, they keep a straight face on whenever they throw a contest, film a video, or anything really. Something different got into them last weekend though, something they kept stored up in aluminum cans and flasks, as their army hit the slopes of four mountains all over the country for the Rome Stoken event.
The third annual day of stoke hit Holiday Valley, NY; Nub’s Nob, MI; Gunstock Mountain, NH; and the sunny slopes of Sierra-at-Tahoe, CA. This isn’t the usual hike-your-heart-out so you can hit a down bar as many times as possible type of contest, this one exudes Rome’s attitude and mixes things up.
No two events across the country had the same setup, and the one at Sierra was full of fun. There was a barrel bonk, a tree-tap Chuck Norris area, a one-hit halfpipe stop, and a flat pleasure pipe to bent down box. Judging for everything was a laid back overall impression type of thing. The rail setup was definitely a highlight, but the really cool part of the contest is seeing the jibbers take it to the pipe and see if they’re well-rounded enough to really get the judges stoken on ‘em.
Stalefish from the kid who's name I forgot
The whole contest felt more like an oh-hill party back East more than anything else, and the guys kept it going once they loosened their boots and hit the parking lot for awards. Rome ponied up a barbeque for everyone, and attracted the usual swarms of groms trying to get their hands on a hot dog and energy drink.
The competitors gathered around the grillin’ tent to try and grab one of the many honors that were handed out. Katie Pratt and Julia Warren took first and second in the babe division, and Tim Blummer got the Worst Bail recognition. So many tricks went down that the judges couldn’t pick a favorite, Best Trick honors were split between Steven Jibowitz and Garrett Gibb, who busted out a crippler seven in the pipe. In the overall men’s division Bryce Hall landed himself in third, and Scott Hoffman tied with Sal Rubio for first.
Ribbed for his pleasure
Big thanks go out to John Graham and the Rome crew for bringing this event to Tahoe, and big ups to Doug Mercer and the Sierra-at-Tahoe terrain park crew for setting up a perfect canvas. Check out The-House’s Rome shop for killer deals on all the goods.
