The Cholula Triple Air Show returned to Southern California’s Mountain High this past weekend. The event, which has been a resort staple over the past 14 years pitted riders against one another in the hopes of staking their claim on a portion of the $20,000 prize purse — the largest in SoCal.
It was a perfect bluebird day on the mountain with sunshine warming the air allowing the athletes to shed their heavy gear and ride light and tight. The men’s division attracted a number of top talents including Yale Cousino, Scotty Vine, Trevor Jacob, Ian Thorley and Garrett Warnic. In the end, it was local snowboarder and Mountain High team rider, Spencer Link who claimed the crown and the $5,000 top prize. He threw down an outrageous run that featured a Cab 9, Front 7 and a stellar Back 10 Double.
The women’s division saw riders like Lynn Neil, Mariah Dugan, Nirvana Ortanez, Jamie Madrid and Melissa Evans competing. The day’s competition went to Katie Williams out of Salt Lake City, Utah who captivated the crowd and the $2000 top prize with a stylish run that included a clean front 5 on the money booter.
The ski division showcased some true heavy hitters that included Patrick Goodhough, Max Peters, Noah Morrison and Time Gage. The skiers were clearly all about the double corks with McRae Williams landing the most flawless run, a thilthy double and snagging the $3500 top prize.
The Cholula Air Show was a really big deal this year due to its upgrade to a 3 star TTR (Ticket To Ride) event which allows competitiors to earn points toward their overall worldwide ranking. The TTR standard is of course the system competitive snowboarders utilize to rank themselves against each other, and to earn entrance into events such as the Grand Prix and the Olympics. So yeah, the Cholula is a pretty happening event.
Mountain High held the Cholula Air Show in honor of Chuck Allen, the Godfather of snowboarding and co-founder of the USASA, without whom this event would not exist.
Cash Purse Breakdown
Open Snowboard Men’s:
1st – Spencer Link – $5,000
2nd – Jeremy Page – $2,500
3rd – Trevor Jacob – $1,500
4th – Garrett Warnick – $600
5th – Ian Thorley – $200
Open Snowboard Women’s:
1st – Katie Williams – $2,000
2nd – Nirvana Ortanez – $1,000
3rd – Jamie Madrid - $500
4th – Lynn Neil – $100
5th – Danika Duffy – $50
Open Ski:
1st – McRae Williams – $3,500
2nd – Patrick Goodhough – $2,000
3rd – Max Peters – $750
4th – Noah Morrison – $200
5th – Tim Gage – $100
