Due to my dislocated elbow, I changed my competition plans a bit. I decided to go to the Billabong Flaunt It Finals instead of the Roxy Chicken Jam. The TTR points weren't as great as the Chicken Jam, but going to the Flaunt It turned out to be a good decision. I hadn't snowboarded since I injured myself at the Shakedown in Washington, and I didn't know what to expect in Canada. I flew into Montreal and got a ride with the event coordinator's boyfriend Yan who was super cool. Mont Tremblant is about an hour, hour and a half from Montreal so we didn't get to our hotel room until pretty late. Catherine (event coordinator/team manager for Billabong) was waiting for us and checked us in right away. Billabong paid for my flight and room because I won the stop at Tahoe, thanks Billabong! It just so happened that I was rooming with Nicki and Natalie, two girls I shredded with in Argentina. There was also a couple Canadian girls I met who ended up traveling with me to the next couple events, but I'll explain more of that later. Everyone speaks french in Quebec, but most people speak english as well, so it wasn't too bad trying to communicate with them. French is awesome to listen to, it sounds so romantic and smooth- someday I will learn some!
So I get to the mountain a day before the comp and get to ride the icy hills of Tremblant with teammates Elin Torterice, Jessika Jenson and Mary Rand. The slopestyle course wasn't quite ready for us, but we got to check it out and get an idea of what will be going down the next day. I really don't know why people would want to ski there during those conditions- it was super icy and cold- welcome to the East Coast! It had been warm and slushy a couple days prior to us arriving so everything was frozen slush...yuck. But sometimes, you just have to roll with what's given to you. It was a nice relaxing day, not needing to be anywhere at any certain time. The village was so cute with Euro-type shops all the way down and a little gondola that took you from the bottom of the village to the top where you get on the lifts. My mom would've loved to go shopping there... good thing for her wallet she wasn't!
That night, Elin and I went to the grocery and got spaghetti to cook in the little kitchenette in my room, then we checked out some breakdancing that was going down. It was freezing out and even the dancers had a hard time staying warm. We didn't stay too long, and warmed our bones up in the hot tub at the hotel. After a laid back day, it was time to get rested up for the big day- slopestyle in the morning and rail jam in the afternoon.
The comp day turned out to be warmer and less windy so it was a great day to throw down. It was jam format, so no pressure on landing your first run. We each got about 3-4 runs to display our skills. There was a flat down box, then an option of a down box or down rail, then two jumps, not too big, not too small. I threw a cab 540 on the first jump then a backside 360 on the second jump. My last run I decided to lock in 1st place by landing my backside 720 on the second jump. I hadn't done it for awhile, but to my surprise, I stomped it. I won best trick and first place with it, so I'm so glad I went for it. After lunch, we headed back up for the rail jam. It was fun, but I didn't have any great tricks and was a little cautious because I didn't want to fall on my elbow. My friend Nicki was killin' it and thought for sure she'd podium, but they decided to give it to a couple other girls. I won $5,000 for slopestyle and $100 for best trick, a big Dakine travel bag, a couple goggles and tons of t-shirts and shwagg. And don't forget the best prize- a ceramic Nixon watch that's worth like $2,000! So in the end, it turned out to be a great comp! It was awesome shredding with all the ladies and meeting new friends! I will definately be doing some Flaunt It comps next year!
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