2009 Winter dew tour slopestyle semi-finals at breck went down with a bang today, mother nature cooperated bringing some real nice sunshine to the slope course. With 28 riders competing for 1 of the 10 spots in finals you know the riding is going to be insane. Norwegian rider Halldor Helgason set the bar with his first run scoring a solid 90.00. His jump line included a switch back 9, back 7 into a front 10 double cork. Following him into finals was Chas Guldemond scoring a 89.00 he did switch back 9, front 7 and backside 1260. A few other stand outs where 16 year old Sage Kotsenburg who did cab 9, font 10 into a back ten double cork which put him into 3rd place going into finals, Breck local and Omatic Team rider Eric Willett was almost heads up with Sage with his run of backside rodeo, switch back 9 to frontside 1080… It was a real treat to watch these guys ride and push the limits of the sport, watching practice I could tell that most of these guys were holding back a few special stunts for finals. Finals will be live on NBC so make sure you go to http://www.allisports.com for more information about the event. - Zak Shelhamer

2009 US Snowboarding Grand Prix Finals VIDEO from YoBeat Magazine on Vimeo.

2009 US Snowboard Grand Prix finals are over and it was epic, It was a serious battle between Shaun White and Louie Vito, Danny Davis had a good chance too but he couldn’t seem to put down the run he was looking for. This is more then just a contest though, its a chance to be on the US Olympic snowboard team too, Crazy to think that as these competitors go up against each other right now soon they will be on the same team representing America! Well I hope you like this footage, it should be the first on the web from finals because i’m looking around this media room right now and everyone is eating…. and i’m not…

The mood was light but the level of riding was heavy, during practice for the Grand Prix I saw more crazy tricks get thrown down then I or John Lennon could ever imagine. When semi finals came around I wasn’t prepared mentally for what I was going to witness… Some of the hardest falls and sickest tricks I have ever seen, Back to Back double corks are common and flat 1080’s are a thing of the past. With 98 riders trying to qualify for Finals then hopefully qualify for the US Olympic team there were only a few stand outs but no doubt in my mind that ANY rider that landed a run would of gotten 1st place just 2 years ago, but the battle remained against Omatic rider Louie Vito and Burton rider Shawn White.. Louie was sitting in first over Shawn after the first run but after round two Shawn snuck in the lead with a solid run including back 9/ double cork 1080, Cab double Flip, F/s 720 into a cab 1080. The competition is intense but there is a clear amount of respect for riders in the air, with every double cork thrown there is an applause and hoot coming from the corral of snowboarders, Stay tuned for the finals tomorrow to see more of Shawn White and Louie Vito battle it out. In addition to the half pipe madness there is the Paul Mitchell progression session, so watch the vid to see Omatic rider Eric Willett test it out for tomorrows expedition. Words/Photos/Video by Zak Shelhamer

Dangerzone Season 2 Episode 4 - “Debauchery” from Nick Visconti on Vimeo.

Check out the Tahoe Dangerzone Season 2 Episode 4 ”Debauchery” with team rider Nick Visconti. Keep your eyes peeled for more of these!

Holy Bologna! We caught up with Louie Vito in Copper and he is going richter. Click the link below to see the video of him doing back to back double flip-a-roos and incase you don’t have his autograph look at this picture of him signing an autograph and maybe it will make you feel better.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO