Snowbasin is teaming up with Brighton and PCMR and upping the Utah contest season ante this winter and partnering to find the top rail slayers in the state of Utah with the Friday Night Jib Fights Rail Jam series. Registration is $15

REGISTRATION 4PM-5 PM

COURSE INSPECTION 5PM- 5:15 PM

ON COURSE RIDERS MEETING 5:15 PM

AMS 5:30 PM

OPEN 6:00 PM

AMS FINAL 6:30 PM

OPEN FINAL 7:00 PM

AWARDS 7:30 PM

Snowbasin is teaming up with Brighton and PCMR and upping the Utah contest season ante this winter and partnering to find the top rail slayers in the state of Utah with the Friday Night Jib Fights Rail Jam series. Registration is $15

REGISTRATION 3:30PM-5:30 PM

COURSE INSPECTION 5PM- 5:15 PM

ON COURSE RIDERS MEETING 5:15 PM

AMS 5:30 PM

OPEN 6:00 PM

AMS FINAL 6:30 PM

OPEN FINAL 7:00 PM

AWARDS 7:30 PM

Snowbasin is teaming up with Brighton and PCMR and upping the Utah contest season ante this winter and partnering to find the top rail slayers in the state of Utah with the Friday Night Jib Fights Rail Jam series. Registration is $15

REGISTRATION 4PM-5 PM

COURSE INSPECTION 5PM- 5:15 PM

ON COURSE RIDERS MEETING 5:15 PM

AMS 5:30 PM

OPEN 6:00 PM

AMS FINAL 6:30 PM

OPEN FINAL 7:00 PM

AWARDS 7:30 PM

Snowbasin Resort will be starting its 2011.2012 winter season this Thursday November 24^th. We will begin the season with 12″+ of new snow since Friday night and with extensive snowmaking Snowbasin will be boasting a base averaging between 18-24 inches on top to bottom runs.

Two lifts will be operating: Needles Gondola and Little Cat Express Quad, and the following runs will be groomed: Sweet Revenge, Bear Hollow, Snowshoe, Powder Puff, School Hill, Strawberry Traverse, Middle Bowl Traverse and Porcupine Traverse. The “RailGarden” terrain park will be open as well offering up to 9 rail features with more terrain and lifts to open as early as this weekend. Early day ticket rates will be offered starting at $34 for Youth through $58 for Adults.

Please ride with care as there will still be many obstacles on adjacent runs as well as hidden under the surface. For safety, hiking is no longer being permitted because of snowmaking, avalanche control, and grooming on the mountain. The ticket windows will open at 8:30 a.m.  For more information, call 801.620.1000. For more information on snow conditions, call the Snow Report Hotline at 801.620.1100, or visit: www.snowbasin.com.

Snowbasin will be opening in just over a week, November 24th, for Skiing and Snowboarding.  The annual Thanksgiving Dinner at Earl’s Lodge still has some limited reservations left, but food will be served from a limited menu at Needles Lodge on Thanksgiving Day.

Early season lift prices:

All Day Adult Lift Ticket $58/ Half Day $48

All Day Youth Lift Ticket $34/ Half Day $26

All Day Senior Lift Ticket $46/ Half Day $36

We will be updating trail openings and conditions early next week.

Help the Snowbasin park crew break in the 2011.2012 Rail Garden on Saturday Nov 26th.  This is not a contest its a jam that people can sign up for throw some tricks and maybe get a prize.  Sign up in Earl’s lodge between 9:00 and 10:30 am.  The rail jam will be held between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm at the Rail Garden park in front of Earl’s Lodge.  So come to Snowbasin and have a great time getting some tricks on lock first thing this season.

After several days of high temperatures and significant rain Snowbasin will no longer continue its summer Skiing and Snowboarding.  We had two great weeks of Skiing/Snowboarding off the Middle Bowl lift however summer has finally arrived melting away the necessary snow amount to operate in the lower elevations.  Though we are closed for lift access skiing/snowboarding, Snowbasin will be hosting a Rail Jam on Sunday July 3^rd at Earl’s base area for both skiers and snowboarders.  In addition, Snowbasin has many summer events and activities including mountain top dining, lower elevation mountain bike trails, and a 9-hole disc golf course currently open to the public. Snowbasin is looking forward to lift accessed Mountain Biking and Hiking in weeks to come.  Keep an eye on the blog for an official opening date.

**The Snowbasin Rail Jam on July 3rd is NOT cancelled**

Due to popular demand and a 100 inch base, for the 1^st time ever Snowbasin Resort will be re-opening for weekends beginning June 11^th and will remain open for as long as snow conditions allow.  Skiers and Riders will be able to upload and download on Needles Gondola to access multiple runs off intermediate terrain off of Middle Bowl Triple from 8 am to 2 pm.  Snowbasin’s General Manager said, “Maintenance scheduled for Needles Gondola has been recently completed which will allow access to the Middle Bowl Triple. Cool temperatures and a significant amount of late season snow has kept our base over 100 inches deep at mid mountain so it only seems natural for Snowbasin to re-open on weekends.” 

Season passes for the 2011/2012 winter season can be purchased starting this Saturday, giving those dedicated snow enthusiasts access to skiing and snowboarding earlier than ever.  Single day lift tickets are selling for $35.  Passes from the past 2010-2011 season will not be honored.  Barbeque food will be available. For any other information please call 801.620.1000.

Luke Mitrani Kills It in Pipe, Vito Takes Cup, Clark Gets Win and Cup

After pulling the run of his life, Luke Mitrani stood at the top of the podium and in classic style, said that all he remembered is that he blacked out, got to the bottom of the pipe and the crowd was screaming for him.

The 20-year-old Frends rider just happened to pull the highest scoring Winter Dew Tour pipe run ever, and his 97.00 bumped his older brother Jack off the podium into fourth place. They jokingly duked it out at the base of the Snowbasin pipe, but Jack said he was super stoked for his little bro.

Luke linked together a double Michalchuk, frontside 9, backside 5, front 10 and cab double 10 for the win.

Luke Mitrani throwing the double Michalchuk

“I’ve actually never won a contest this big so I’m pretty pumped right now,” Mitrani said. “I didn’t do so hot at the past couple stops and my confidence level wasn’t so high, so I went into this contest not really stressing, just having fun, and I guess that’s when I do best.”

Louie Vito won the last two stops of the Winter Dew Tour and came into this weekend’s Toyota Championships favored to win the overall Dew Cup, and that’s exactly what he did. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to pull the runs he wanted and finished off the podium in seventh place.

“You know I would have liked to get up on the podium, but Luke and Greg rode super well,” Vito said. “It would have been nice to get on there with them because the riding level was sick tonight, but it is what it is. I got the Dew Cup, so I guess on the bright side I’m happy to be ending with that. It’s a love hate. I’m stoked I got the Dew Cup, but bummed I didn’t get on the podium.”

Louie Vito, your new snowboard pipe Dew Cup Champ

Greg Bretz, 20, was killing it in finals, and the Mammoth local finished second with three 1080 variations that earned him a 95.00. He even pulled back-to-back double corks in his second run.

“I’ve only linked back-to-back doubles once before that and I put it down and it was amazing,” Bretz said.

Third place with 92.00 went to the veteran of the bunch, 28-year-old Steve Fisher, who decided to keep his secret weapon, well…secret, until an opportunity like this presented itself. And it was in front of a capacity crowd lining the pipe that Fisher landed his first ever frontside 10 double cork.

“I’ve done it into an airbag a few times, but that’s it,” Fisher said. “I tried it on a wall once but didn’t even come close.”

Dialing in tricks like that is exactly how he keeps up with the progression of the sport and competes against the younger guys.

In the women’s field, Kelly Clark went from dead last in Finals at the first event of the season, to impressive back-to-back wins at last month’s Winter Dew Tour and tonight’s Toyota Championship. Her results put her in first place overall and she collected the second Dew Cup of her career.

Kelly Clark blasting

“I’m glad I could recover from my Breckenridge experience and to come back and win the last two and walk away with the Dew Cup,” Clark said. “It’s a lot of fun and I’m even happier with my riding.”

Her winning run had a frontside 7, cab 7, frontside 10, cab 3, frontside 5 and backside 5.

Last year’s Dew Cup champ Kaitlyn Farrington was in third-place going into her final run, and she stepped it up with a backside 5, frontside 7, cab 7, backside 5 and an alley oop 5 that bumped her up to second with a 91.00.

“I’m super stoked,” Farrington said. “This is one of the best pipes I’ve ridden this season so it was just great to come here and be comfortable.”

Japan’s Soko Yamaoka also increased her score on her second run and finished in third overall after a solid run that included a McTwist, frontside 7, and back-to-back 5s and a score of 86.25.

“I’m really, really happy,” Yamaoka said. “Snowboarding is my life.”

Yesterday’s action was incredible.  Check out some video highlights or better yet, get on up here and see the last day’s action for yourself.