After standing in the pouring rain all day Tuesday at another New Hamsphire mountain resort, I found myself praying that night for even the slightest bit of improvement on the previous day's weather. After all, for as long as I can remember it has been sunny and warm for Eastern Boarder’s Last Call at Loon Mountain. The event and sunshine almost go hand in hand. However, Mother Nature had different plans for the 10th anniversary of this now legendary event in New England snowboarding.
Despite cold temps and a howling wind, riders somehow found the motivation to huck themselves off the perfectly-sculpted (and now perfectly solidified) features crafted by one of the best terrain park crews in the country. I think the large cash prize may have had something to do with it.
The first of three events, the channel gap, was a throwback to the first year Loon held the event. While many stuck to merely hitting one side of the feature, a few brave souls sent it over the channel, ensuring that the judges took notice. Chelone Miller, Tim Humphries, Chas Guldemond, Brandon Reis, Jeremy Thompson, Shane Fortier Nick Julius and Greg Maxwell were a few of the standout riders in this first event. A special note of recognition must be paid to Tom Peplinski, who built the feature, then proceeded to stomp a frontside 7 off his toes over the channel. Tom rips.
The second event, the rhythm section, took place inside the channel of the channel gap, and while the features were scaled down a bit for this one, there was no shortage of carnage. It took many riders a few runs to get a feel for the course, but a few standouts like Ian Keay, Shaun Murphy, and Dylan Dragotta took to the rhythm section immediately, and their efforts were not overlooked. Greg Maxwell once again showed very little regard for his own safety, attempting to transfer from the lip of the channel gap into the rhythm section. Although he never quite rode it away, his antics definitely upped the stoke factor for everyone in attendance.
The final event, the quarterpipe, narrowed the field of competitors quite significantly. A select few chose to point it into the twenty-something-foot wall of ice, but those who did made their presence known. Though I can’t quite say who had the highest airs of the day, Chas Guldemond, Shane Fortier, Seth Learned, and Big Mike Gonsalves were consistently well above head height. Ian Keay and Henry Padden attempted some side-by-side handplants that almost resulted in Henry getting run over. All in all, the final event was a bit scary at times, but was the perfect conclusion to a near-perfect event.
When all was said and done, Shane Fortier took home the overall prize for the men, Mary Rand for the Women, while Greg Maxwell and young Jack Herald were presented with the “Bad Ass Awards” for throwing the most caution to the wind. Despite the less-than-ideal weather and snow conditions, Last Call 2010 was still a success, proving that on the east coast, riders are willing to throw down in New Hampshire's best terrain park at any given moment.
