Words: Gerhard Gross Images: David Rouleau
Friday the 15th marked the beginning of the first annual Westbeach Chinese Downhill and an effort to reconnect with the spirit of shredding often lost in the myriad of publicly traded companies, profit margins and share-holder accountability that make up the current snowboarding landscape. Although all in the name of fun and beer drinking, a definite air of competitiveness was present amongst the 35 or so contestants vying for the title of fastest shred.
Westbeach's Dave Short and posse, pre mayhem gondy ride.
Notable attendees included, Shin Campos, Rube Goldberg, Kevin Sansalone, Jon Cartwright, Colin Adair, Ryan Tiene, Steph Just, Beau Bishop, Wiley Tesseo, Robjin Taylor and all the local shreds that made this event great. The rules were simple: first person to reach the Creekside Underground skatepark from the top of Million Dollar ridge and successfully finish a beer would win the affections of his peers and $500.
Weather? Dude it was epic...of course.
Brian Hockenstein and Robjn Taylor. Check out the polar opposites of emotions.
In the end it was a mix of veterans Kevin “Snacksie-pants” Sansalone and Shin “Getsu” Campos racing spring-chickens John Caulfield and Anthony Weglan to the finish line. Their shred skills had brought them to the bottom in a possible record time of 4 minutes 53 seconds but the contest was ultimately decided by the beer chugging skills of Shin. Who says professional snowboarding doesn’t teach valuable life skills?
A couple peaches in a big pot of dude stew, Alison Pesemko, Jenelle Pritchard, Steph Just. The only girls brave enough to roll up on this shi*t.
Can i get a lens wipe? Filmer Corey G's rig under attack from the elements.
Perhaps the best part, and the intended effect, was the sense of camaraderie felt by everyone there. It was a great reason for people who are often segregated by work and busy winter schedules to come together and snowboard for the sake of snowboarding. Thanks Westbeach, see you next year.
Don't f*cking film me....ok, ok, just one photo. Nitro, Billabong's Rube Goldberg, shunning the paparazzi
"CCHHHHYYYYYeah! I think i see Caulfield coming -over." Brocklebank on race patrol.
kind of smells like updog around here.
Gnarcore.com's Willey Tesseo and Beau Bishop with Lucas Ouellette.
The man, the myth the legend, gnarcore.com's John Caulfield accepting the "hey-you-tried" award from Cartwright... and talk about shnetworking, is that a business card exchange?....call me we'll do lunch.
DC Canada team manger Gerhard Gross and DC am Ryan Tiene may not have won the race but they won a spot in our hearts. "Its ok ryan, it's not all about winning, its about having fun... i love you man." they would later hug for an hour straight.
Looky, looky who we ran into. Annum's Ian Gauthier, with homie Matt Macneil and Stepchild's Eman Anderson.
Women, clothing, money and beer.......folks Westbeach is in the house.
When younger legs have you beat, it comes down to good old fashion beer drinking skills, Shin Campos...aka the Creekside King.
why did we cover this event?
gnarcore.com fully backs companies like Westbeach and any activities dedicated to preserving the soul of snowboarding.
Stay up for the video. coming soon to gnarcore.com.
Now go f*ck shi*t up.
