Volcom's Bear Mtn PBRJ Results
by Jeff Jarnold
The 2nd stop on the 2006/07 North American Peanut Butter and Rail Jam tour went down at Bear Mtn, CA Sat Dec 16
Jared King and I (Jeff Arnold) drive up to the small town of Big Bear Lake Friday morning amid weather reports of either heavy snow, or worse, rain forecasted for Saturday. Shrugging these off as certifiable blasphemy, we boldly pushed on and met up with our friend Jordan Meade Friday evening. Later that night we ended up running into some Bear Mtn locals at a pizza joint. Word on the street claimed that the PBRJ to be the most anticipated amateur event of the year at Bear Mtn. We couldn’t help but agree. After a few slices and adult beverages, we shook hands and parted ways.
Early the following morning we were greeted by a clear blue sky and a squadron of eager Peanut Butter and Rail Jammers at registration. After a brief, somewhat organized flurry of activity, more then 160 competitors had signed up and were making their way out to the custom PBRJ site to practice.
As has become the norm, the crew at Bear Mtn had assembled a PBRJ site worthy of a hearty two thumbs up. At the base of the custom set up there were a two bonus jibs that could be hit should one desire a free snowboard courtesy of Nitro.
Before the starting horn had sounded, the 15 and under division were off and jibbing. I usually like to give competitors a little bit of a countdown (from 5…) prior to each heat, but shreds began dropping in before I made it down to 3. Daniel Brown and Jordan Snyder were two chaps not wasting any time! If anyone, there should be a picture of Daniel beside “Steezy/Smooth” in the dictionary. Nick Rockwood and Brent black were in the next heat and rode well enough to make a veteran like myself want to hang ‘em up.
“Whammy”! That was the sound of the 16 and over division spilling onto the three PBRJ features. Andrew Burteson’s buttery f/s 270 back lip got the ball rolling as Nikki Dal and Benjamin Stevens jibbed hot on his heels. Riders were making use of the “ramp to log bonk” which made up zone 3. Just as we began to haphazardly assume every possible combination had been thrown down, some crazy SOB like Nathan Sovich or Chris Weston would prove us wrong!
The Girls Division was up next and came on strong. Since we added a Girl’s Division to the PBRJ format last year, it has been getting harder and harder to pick them out. Led by the jibbing prowess of June Bhongjam, the Bear Mtn girls have been killing it and getting better every time we see them!
Last but not least, the Open Division was up and it was clear from the get-go they meant business! Monkey business that is…(?). This Division was incredibly close as the majority of the field ended up being separated by less then 10 points! Notable heavies were thrown down by just about everyone! If one were to look at it from the feature’s standpoint, Dave Blunt and Josh Keyser were a menace to society and should be locked up for life.
A huge thanks to the entire Bear Mtn crew for all their hard work and support. Kim Hermon, Mindy Clark, Mary Ward and Rio are just a few of the names that made the day a great one! Thanks also to our celebrity guest judges, DJ Slipmat, and to Zac Hale for speaking his mind. Thanks to Brad and Mike from Nitro snowboards for helping with prizes.
Results:
15 and Under:
1st: Daniel Brown
2nd: Jordan Snyder
3rd: Nick Rockwood
4th: Brent Black
5th: Ryan Frear
16 and Over:
1st: Andre Burteson
2nd: Nikki Dale
3rd: Benjamin Stevens
4th:Nathan Sovich
5th: Chris Weston
Girls Division:
1st: June Bhongjam
2nd: Nirvana Ortanez
3rd: Missy Alkazar
4th: Tammie Varner
5th: Gabrielle Maiden
Open Division:
1st: Dave Blunt
2nd: Josh Keyser
3rd; Andrew Massey
4th: Eli Weiner
5th: Casey Timms
Best Trick on the bonus jibs: Josh Keyser
Click HERE to see all the pics
At Bear Mtn PBRJ