Left: Hank Kennedy, of Glacier, took third place in the Next Generation Division. Nicole Evans, of the Mt. Baker Ski Area, congratulates him. Right: Maelle Ricker (above) and Temple Cummins won in pro divisions. Photos by Ryan Duclos

by Stephanie Kosonen
MT. BAKER – From Red Bull-pounding “next generation” riders to 60-plus-year-old guys still keeping it real, the racers in the 25th annual Legendary Banked Slalom joined a standing room only crowd of spectators Sunday to receive their coveted duct tape trophies.
Hundreds of people shed their winter layers and packed into the Mount Baker Ski Area’s White Salmon Lodge for the culmination of this year’s three-day event, hanging over the third floor railings and filling the staircases to see the action.

Lucas DeBari, of Glacier, rides the course during the 25th annual Legendary Banked Slalom. Photo by Ryan Duclos

Gwyn Howat, ski area manager and master of ceremonies, began the festivities announcing the arrival of her new niece, Lucy, born to sister Amy Howat, at 6 a.m. Thursday. Gwyn said it was the first time in 20 years Amy wasn’t present to help dole out the duct tape.
Professional riders Temple Cummins and Maelle Ricker were once again among this year’s recipients of 1st place trophies, which are also made with olivine, a rare rock found only in the Twin Sisters hills in Whatcom County and in Russia, Howat said. “A rock from the mantle of the earth — truly original,” she added.
Prizes remained true to form, showcasing local artistry and paying homage to Mount Baker snowboard culture.
The trophies and Pendleton blankets (wrapped adoringly around the winners’ shoulders by Howat like a mom swaddling her children) were joined this year by guitars and belt buckles handcrafted especially for the annual race.
Some of the younger winners were visibly pleased to receive fresh new decks from Yes and Northwest Snowboards, of course. Local sponsors threw in gifts as well, including Yeager’s, Frequency, Innate, Milano’s and Erin Baker’s.
But in a race where money doesn’t matter, “the duct tape and the jacket, that’s everything,” said Gorio Bustamante, 42, of Seattle, who won 1st place in the Mid Masters division. Winners also receive a Carhartt jacket embroidered with the LBS logo.
Glacier local Hank Kennedy, 11, took home a bronze roll of duct tape for his performance in the Next Generation category. Along with Milo Malkoski, 9, of Seattle (2nd place) and Cody Warble, 10, of Edwards, Colo. (1st place), Kennedy needed a little assistance hauling away his winnings.
Bellinghamster Odin Barnett, 15, took 2nd in the Juniors category.
The Younger Amateur Men’s top finisher was Austen Sweetin, 18, from Lake Forest Park.
Next up was Women’s Amateurs, which was one of the largest divisions this year, Howat said. The top spot in that race went to Martina Nemcova, 19, of Boulder, Colo., but local ladies secured some wins as well. Lesley Hunter, 25, earned a 4th place finish, while Kari Hoss, 23, came in 3rd and Brynn Hays, 19, took the silver. Hunter and Hays both hail from Bellingham, while Hoss claims Montgomery, Vermont despite current residency at Baker.
Almost a local sweep, but not quite. Therein lay the beauty of the next category, Older Amateur Men (ages 20 to 29). The Mount Baker sweep came compliments of Mt. Baker Ski Area employees Craig Newbury, Josh Charles and Jack Freysinger who won first, second and third, respectively.
“E lodge, liftie, rental shop,” Howat exclaimed. “There it is — it pays to hang out here for a while.”
In 5th place was Drew Cyr, who Howat dubbed “a longtime Bakerite.” He said placing in the top ten was an honor because he’s entered the race six times and always landed in 20th place or worse.
“It’s always fun, but it definitely feels good to do well,” he said.
In the Pro Men category, Temple Cummins took his fourth gold trophy. The audience’s screams drowned out his name, but everyone knew who it was when Howat announced Cummins’ hometown and his race time.
Glacier’s Lucas DeBari took home a 7th place trophy, behind another local, Sky Risvold, who took 6th.
Maelle Ricker continued her streak at the top of the Pro Women’s category to her her fourth gold trophy in a row, while Glacier’s Maria DeBari beat out some big names to take 3rd.
The slalom wouldn’t be the same without a tribute to Craig Kelly as well. Local rider Dan Donnelly took home a wooden totem pole trophy for winning the Craig Kelly Award this year, which is given to a long-time Baker rider each year for keeping the pioneering spirit of snowboarding legend Kelly alive.
“Yeah Hollywood!” cheered onlooking friends as Donnelly approached Howat for the award with a kid on his shoulders, and one in tow. The nickname was earned throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s for Donnelly’s sense of style on the hill, said friend Dan Buecking of Maple Falls. “Whatever was right on at the moment he had it,” Buecking said. “He was all style.”
The quality extends to his riding, said Jeff Galbraith, publisher of Frequency, the Snowboarder’s Journal, and always has since the days of the Mount Baker Hard Core (MBHC), a local group of people who pioneered snowboarding at Mount Baker, including Kelly and Donnelly.
The Banked Slalom is a yearly tribute to the past and future of snowboarding, and Sunday’s ceremony showed the Mount Baker family holds on strong to the memory of those who have passed.
“I’m blindsided,” Donnelly said when he received his award. “I will never forget Craig and I will never forget (George) Dobis,” he said. “They are what we are all made of — we are here because they were central in our lives.”

2010 Winners:

Pro Men: Temple Cummins, 1:43.08, Gig Harbor, WA
Pro Women: Maelle Ricker, 1:49.88, Squamish, B.C.
Pro Masters: Tim Carlson, 1:50.73, Monroe, WA
Masters: Jonathan Martens, 1:48.37, Bellingham
Super Masters: Bob Satushek, 2:35.52, Deming
Grand Masters: Jim Taylor, 2:06.89, Mount Vernon
Mid Masters: Gorio Bustamante, 1:54.40, Seattle
Women Masters: Tanya Simonson, 2:02.30, Bozeman, MT
Women Amateurs: Martina Nemcova, 2:04.93 Boulder, CO
Older Amateurs: Craig Newbury, 1:46.57
Younger Amateurs: Austen Sweetin, 1:47.76 Lake Forest Park, WA
Juniors: Gus Warbington, 1:55.14 Bend, OR
Next Generation: Cody Warble, 2:00.43 Edwards, CO

Complete listings can be accessed at www.mtbaker.us

by Anne Baker
MT. BAKER – The Mt. Baker Ski Area’s Legendary Banked Slalom will celebrate its 25th anniversary Feb. 5-7. Hailed as the longest running snowboard competition in the world, the event attracts hundreds of competitors, including children, amateurs, and the sport’s top professionals,
According to Mt. Baker’s Marketing Director Amy Trowbridge, the top snowboarders “come to be competitive, but also to enjoy the barbecue, camaraderie, and the history of the event.”
The first Banked Slalom, held in 1985, had just 15 racers. Humble beginnings, though its origins itself are now legendary. Northwest snowboarding pioneer Bob Barci and early snowboard maker Tom Sims are credited with creating the event.
The late Barci owned the Bike Factory, a shop in Bellevue which encouraged the growth of the then fringe sports of BMX, skateboarding, and snowboarding. A snowboarder himself, riding slopes without lift access and on the earliest gear, Barci’s shop was among the first in the Northwest to sell snowboards. Barci encouraged and supported the first generation of hot riders in the world, a group of friends which called themselves the Mt. Baker Hard Core (MBHC) and included Craig Kelly, Jeff Fulton, Dan Donnelly, Eric Swanson, Carter Turk, Eric Jenko, and later on Mike Ranquet, Mike (Tex) Davenport, and Jaime Lynn.
Wanting to hold a contest for these up and comings, Barci approached Duncan Howat, general manager of the Mt. Baker Ski Area. At the time, Mt. Baker was one of the few areas that allowed snowboarding in-bounds; in fact, it always welcomed snowboarders.
Receiving the green light from Howat, Barci organized the race for Superbowl Sunday, as most skiers would be at home, and set up the 500-foot long course in the upper part of “the Chute” under Chair 1. Barci served as timer and judge. Few spectators showed up.
The competitors included a lineup of some of the most famous names of early snowboarding history. Tom Sims took first place in the contest with a time of 23.86 seconds. Terry Kidwell, a several time world half-pipe champion between the years of 1984-87, came with Sims from California to participate. Mike Olson, founder of the snowboard making company Mervin Manufacturing (better known for its Lib Tech and Gnu brands), was on hand from Seattle. A small group of Canadians showed up, and of course, the MBHC represented the local scene.
Trowbridge, just 13 years old at the time, recalls riding up Chair 1 and watching the event. Thinking it was “the coolest thing I ever saw,” she set down her skis in favor of a Sims snowboard given to her father, Duncan Howat. The two snowboarded together, marking the beginning of a successful snowboarding career for Trowbridge. In between winning world championships in Europe, she placed first in the Women’s category of the Banked Slalom in 1987, the first year that category existed, and again in 1990.
For the remainder of the 1980s, the event grew phenomenally into one of the biggest snowboarding races in the world, with 40-60 racers including top riders like Shaun Palmer and Craig Kelly. In the 90’s, the event tapered off, perhaps due to big events taking place in Europe, though snowboarding superstars like world champion Terje Haakonsen and Olympic gold medalist Ross Rebagliati were still attracted to the event.
Towards the latter part of the 90’s, Trowbridge and her sister Gwyn Howat began running the event, and it grew once again. Trowbridge credits this growth to the support of Mervin Manufacturing, its team riders spreading the word in the European contests, and the event being old enough to generate nostalgia for its origins.
By the early 2000’s, the event started filling up quick, with 275-300 snowboarders participating. Since many folks who wanted to race were not getting in, a lottery was instituted, as well as a local’s qualifier held each Martin Luther King Jr. Day to give area residents a shot at racing in the actual event. Perhaps as a result, for three out of the last four years, the coveted “duct tape trophy” for the Pro Men category went to Mt. Baker local Temple Cummins and Glacier’s own Lucas DeBari.
What seems to make the event legendary is that it is a celebration of the soul and spirit of the sport, which can be traced back to the pioneers of the event and the sport itself. Those pioneers began experimenting with snowboarding not for cash prizes, fame, or tricked out gear, but for a love of flowing downhill, through powder, accompanied by friends. This purity is what seems to attract so many to the event today.

The 25th annual Legendary Banked Slalom will take place at the Mt. Baker Ski Area on Friday, Feb. 5 through Sunday, Feb. 7. Several hundred snowboarders are expected to compete. In addition to division competition, there will be a barbecue, music and awards ceremony.  For more information, visit www.mtbaker.us or watch for updates here at www.foothillsgazette.com.