Outdoor Central Oregon January/February 2020

6 NEWS| NORTH AMERICA’S FIRST INDOOR CAMERON BEARD’S 3 RD PRO SEASON SNOW SLOPE OPENS IN NEW JERSEY TAKES OFF After 15 years, two bankruptcies and many other delays, the first indoor snow slope in North America celebrat- ed its grand opening in the meadowlands of New Jersey. Riding the first chair was NJ legend and gold medalists Donna Wienbreck. Join- ing Donna were gold- meadlists Red Garard, Kelly Clark, and Linsey Von. Named “Big Snow”, the facility is located at the American Dream Mall adjacent to MetLife Stadium Attached by a walking bridge is the indoor arena where the NJ Devils and NJ Nets played before both franchises moved. Big Snow is North America’s first indoor, real-snow, ski and snowboard park. It is equipped for professional and student training, family ski vacation preparation, corporate team building, private lessons, kids camps and more. The slope has a graduated degree of pitch ranging from 0% at the base to 26% at its steepest point. The slope has a 16-story vertical drop, is 1,000 feet long and 200 feet wide and the temperature is kept at a constant 28° F. Lift tickets are $49 for a two hour session and extra sessions can be added. No season passes are available at this point. There’s a Burton themed store and all equipment from head to toe can be rented at the base. Only thing missing is slopeside accommodations. LUCAS WACHS WINS POWDER AWARD The 20th Annual Powder Awards took place in Aspen, CO in early De- cember. These annual awards are a who’s who in skiing and snowboard- ing, bringing together athletes from all the latest movies to party, watch shred flicks, and honor those that have put their soul and hard work into skiing. The awards recognize outstanding athletes, cinematog- raphy and movies in the ski and snowboard industries and are voted on by a group of peers including online polls. Level 1 took home two awards, including “Best Breakthrough Performance” awarded to Lucas Wachs. The Bend local put together an outstanding rookie segment for the final film from this media house, featuring a variety of freeride tricks off natural features and backcoun- try booters. Keegan Kilbride also earned a Powder Award for Level 1, getting the “Best Jib” title. Lucas told Level 1, “Getting the award for Breakthrough Performance is so cool, especial- ly because it’s an award that you can only win once! Feels nice to get recognized by my peers and sit in that room with all those legends. I’ve always thought Level 1 is the sickest so to get a segment is so special, let alone a segment in the last annual feature. Stoked!” This season was my third in the pro ranks and my best yet. I made big strides in the Euro- pean peloton, and it has helped me find a new home for 2020. This upcoming season I will be a member of the Hincapie/ Leomo labs pro team. It is an American team that has been around for ages. I remember watching this team compete in the Cascade Classic back when I was growing up in Bend. This is a very exciting step up for me. Luckily, we will be competing in a primarily European race program, so I can continue my progression in the Euro bunch. My season will be built around the spring Ardenne classics, mainly Liege-Bastogne-Liege U23 and Circuit Ardennes. In the summer, I will return to the US for a crack at the National Championships, where I was agonizingly close to 3rd place behind my former classmate at Summit High, Lance Haidet. If you want to follow along I am active on social media and the team has active pages as well. @cameron_beard SUMMIT STORM GIRLS TAKE 2 ND AT NIKE CROSS NATIONALS Summit Storm Girls Cross Country Team (who run under the name Central Oregon) traveled to Boise, Idaho in November to qualify for the 12th annual, 2019 Nike Cross Nationals. Summit was running to defend their 2018 National Team Title. This year’s Nationals took place on December 7th at the Glendoveer Golf Course, in rainy and muddy Portland, Oregon. Nike Cross Nationals consists of 22 teams from regions all over the United States. Teams need to for form a club as high school teams can not under their name. Individuals can also qualify at a regional race. Once all the teams are set, Nike flies in all the teams, puts them up in hotels, assigns a van driver to shuttle the team around to events and the race. It’s a full weekend of racing, parties, clinics, dinners, interviews, and setting up each team with equipment. When it comes down to it, the NXN is a race meant to showcase America’s best Cross Country High School talent and to continue to secure Nike’s grasp on the worldwide sneakers and apparel market. The boys ran first and Nico Young, running for Newbury Park, California club, was a clear winner taking the lead two miles into the race. Nico opened up a huge gap that could not be closed. With his placing, he lead Newbury Park to the team title. On the Girls side, Kaetlyn Tuohy became a three time winner but was pushed hard with a final sprint with two other girls. Central Oreogn girls ran hard but were beaten decisively by Club Kinetic from Saratoga Springs, NY. Second in the nation is not too bad as the Storm ran hard through the mud and steady Portland rain. This year’s Storm team consisted of Fiona Max, Teaghan Knox, Jasper Fievet, Magdalene Willams, Barrett Justema, Stella Skovborg, and Isabel Max.

Outdoor Central Oregon January/February 2020 | Page 6