Stale Sandbech didn’t advance, but this method still made for a purdy shot. Photo: Mike Yoshida//Natural Selection Tour
With over 50 runs thrown down at day one of Natural Selection yesterday, we’re still processing the action that went down.
So.
Much.
Rad.
Shit.
And a little heartbreak too.
But the one thing that really stood out is how the local community of shredders showed up to watch the event. With the mountain’s main chairlift being down due to maintenance issues, spectators had to hike a couple miles up and across the resort to access the natural stadium at the bottom of Montana Bowl. By the time the first rider dropped in just after 1 p.m., there were at least as many people as there were for day one last year.
“There’s some big names sending their meat off some cool shit,” said a local splitboarder named Bruno on the hike up. “Pretty cool to see it firsthand.”
His buddy Filip — a snowboarder from the Czech Republic who lives in town — had a different reason for walking in.
“It’s like being part of the family. All the people over there, same mindset all over the world. It just feels very special to be among them, meet them, talk to them, see them riding, be there, be part of it.”
There was a healthy mix of splitboarders, bootpackers, skiers, adults and kids putting one foot in front of the next on the long road to the spectating zone.
“I think Natural Selection is the type of event where you do whatever you need to do when you’re this close,” said Brett Sandford, a lifelong shredder from Calgary, Alberta. “And walking in, it’s a no-brainer and we’re happy to do it. It’s kind of funny, but it’s like this new thing where you earn your turns, but maybe also earn the ability to watch the event.”
Brin Alexander, inverted and giving the crowd what it wanted. Photo: Colin Wiseman//Natural Selection Tour
Travis Rice told everyone that it was a 15-minute walk. But no, that wasn’t the case at all. It took just under an hour if you were really moving, and closer to two if you stopped to smoke darts. Either way, props to RMR for opening up a safe way for the fans to make it into day one. The chairlift situation sucks, but the Mountain Ops team here has made every move possible to get it back on-line. Latest update says she’ll be running by Thursday afternoon.
And now that day one’s behind us, it’s safe to that the show was worth the walk. You’ve probably seen Brin Alexander’s internet-breaking backflip by now. Everyone’s favorite underdog from last year, who requalified through the Powder Mountain Super Session, went straight back to the diving board that now bears his name and laid out a massive backie.
“Give the people what they want,” said Brin in the comments on the post.
The clip was uploaded to the gram in real time from the finish corral and immediately started making the rounds. Of course the shot fails to capture the effect that Brin had on the crowd. People could probably hear the roar down at the Tim Horton’s.
But with a bobble up top, it wasn’t until the second round that Brin qualified for day two with a 93.5, the highest score of the day.
Nils Mindnich, always a contender for the crown, made it through on his first round with a run that leaned into his strengths.
“Yeah that was 80v percent switch, 20 percent luck,” he said. “I wasn’t really anticipating that run sticking. I typically always need a top-to-bottom clean one. So I was pretty bummed on my score and then all of a sudden at the end I was like, ‘holy shit.’”
Even though he went over the bars on his final drop (hard to hit cliffs switch, apparently), the judges gave Nils a 78.6 for the work he’d already put in.
“The trick I did up top, I learned it a couple weeks ago. And I’ve hit that jump a couple times now over the last couple of years and it felt like a creative way to do something new.”
From the women’s field, Zoi Sadowski-Synott and Šárka Pančochová made it through to day two handily. But Billy Pelchat, who qualified for NST with a win at Research and Development in Nelson a couple weeks ago, had to fight for it.
Her first run was good enough that her dad, legendary Wildcat JF Pelchat, stormed into the finish corral to congratulate her. But when you’re up against riders like Zoi, Šárka and the rest of the women’s field, you need more than a 75 to get through to day two.
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott and Spencer O’Brien. Line choices. Photo: Mike Yoshida//Natural Selection Tour
Not a problem. She put down an even more impressive second run and got through to the finals.
“Honestly, at the start I was a bit like, ‘oh, I have to go do it again,’” she explained. “But then I was thinking about how good the snow was on the first run and then I just got excited.”
“It’s like a fever dream,” she said when asked what it was like to go straight from the RND qualifier to NST. “It happened so fast that I’m not even taking it in yet, but I feel like tonight after I chill out from being here, it’s all going to soak in. But I’m just super grateful to be here at this event. It’s so fun. And with all my mentors, it’s insane.”
Neither of the defending champions, Spencer O’Brien and Ståle Sandbech, made it through to day two. And neither did local favorite, Dustin Craven. But after he hooked his nose on an NBD double drop and ragdolled out of it in the third, hail-mary round, everyone was happy to see that he was still in one piece.
Contest riding is a real rise-or-ruin affair, with every single one of these riders capable of standing on top of the podium. I really hope Billy Pelchat finds her flow in the finals, in part so we can see her dad go full Wildcat.
And I’d love to see a Canadian take if for the men as well, whether it’s Brin, Mark McMorris or Mateo Massiti, the Revy-based rookie who cleaned his way into day two after his NST debut earned him an 87.3. But everyone’s got a shot, especially Blake Moller, who dropped some wise words in the finish corral.
“I root for everyone out here. Imagine if you were to pull up on this,” he said while surveying all the tracks from the first day of competition. “It’s a dreamland for snowboarding.”
And for the couple hundred people who walked into watch their favorite riders make marks in their extended backyard, it’s a dreamland for spectating too.
There’s way too much action to cover in a single recap, so check the broadcast for yourself on Redbull TV. And keep an eye on NST’s socials so you know when day two goes live.
RIDERS ADVANCING TO FINAL DAY
WOMEN
Šárka Pančochová
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott
Billy Pelchat
Madison Blackley
MEN
Nils Mindnich
Mark McMorris
Gigi Rüf
Torstein Horgmo
Mateo Massitti
Blake Moller
Jared Elston
Brin Alexander
BOA Dialed In Awards — Best Tricks
Šárka Pančochová — Backside 720
Miles Fallon — Frontside 720
