Words and video by Ted Borland

Photos by Mike Yoshida

Ahhh, spring event season seems to have finally come to a close. For those of us who start snowboarding early in the fall, this time can often feel like we’re dragging our boots across the finish line of the snowboarding marathon that we call winter. Event setups often close the public parks for exclusive shoots, inviting riders from far and wide, but often shunning the locals that pay hard-earned money for their season passes. They watch their normal parks get a huge boost and have to wait until the shoot is wrapped up and the park crew is exhausted to get a piece. It’s something that those of us in the privileged section of the snowboard world often take for granted. But Max Warbington and Tre Squad like to do things a little differently for Brain Bowl. Brain Bowl Sessions are little DIY pop-up parks that invite literally anyone who wants to show up. And whether you show up to bust ass and help shovel or just show up once it’s done, it doesn’t matter. It’s just about making a good time for everyone.  

The original plan for this was to do another full-on QP Campout but, due to scheduling conflicts, that event is going to take another year off. So, the main plan for this final Brain Bowl was to build a quarterpipe and then figure the rest of the setup out from there. For the first two days, we could count the build volunteers with one hand.  The group piled snow brick after snow brick, forming a giant wall. Then we bored into the snowpack above the wall, strategically leaving the sides piled high.  Boom, another feature: the QP had a nice mini pipe to run through on your way in. For all you nerds complaining about not having a gauntlet at WQP, you woulda loved it here. The next few days of building really got out of hand as the volunteers started multiplying. It was truly a group effort to build this park. Different people came up with different features to create and Max was there to guide people with his expertise of Brain Bowl processes.  There were bowl corners between trees, berms into other berms, trees in the way that became obstacles - there was no space left unused.  After five days of building, it was finally time for the event day.

The @brainbowlsessions marketing campaign worked, and people from throughout the northwest made their journey to the Dutchmans Flat Sno-park.  This zone sits directly across the street from Mt Bachelor, and required a quick five minute walk directly up the hill. Mason Lemery hauled up a small grill, the homie Mosely brought up a full DJ booth. 10 Barrel Brewing Co. made sure the forest freezers were stocked with Pub Beers, Tokyo Starfish had some goodies, Die-Cut Stickers provided signage, and Max brought up a collection of prizes to decorate the area. Between all of that and all of the snow features, it was honestly hard to find a good view to see it all.  But it was easy to feel everything that was going on, as the energy was high throughout the crowded forest.  

During the contest, the QP saw most of the action. It was 12 feet tall from the flat bottom, with about two feet of narrow deck on top and a tree stall on the west side. She wasn’t necessarily built for speed or airs, but everyone was able to get a piece. Baden and Jared Mctwisted their way back to the barbecue after a few drops, where some kebobs and Phat Gabe were getting fried. Parker Gonnet took out a big ol’ branch via Andrecht on the tree. Demetri Bales tore apart the entire run, linking together a big hip/mini ramp redirect with a full flow down through the bottom snake run. Marissa Krawzcak was seen linking an Andrecht on the hip right into the log jib run after run. Patrick O’Connor went for the Freddy-Perry-Switch-Mctwist Award, but unfortunately his binding blew out during the battle. Considering that Freddy usually blows something out no matter what he's doing, it’ll count for this year’s event.  Mike Yoshida was seen flapping his wings all over the area, shooting his last batch of photos for the year (before getting his gear stolen the next day in Seattle. Go buy some prints from him to help him out to recover!)

The overall winner, Adrian Rasmussenn, skated his way from Snoqualmie in Washington, earning his spot as the first snowskater to win a QP Campout award. He made the entire course look easy, getting tricks on every inch of the place, sans bindings. All in all, there was way too much action throughout the day for us to try and recap here. The woods of the Dutchman Flats Sno-park were filled to the branches with people who were hyped to come up and join in on arguably the most inclusive event out there. We highly recommend catching one of these events if you are ever in the vicinity. And stay tuned in the fall for an extended look inside Max’s brain during the build…

Awards: 

1st place women's: Zeia Rose 

1st place men's: Adrian Rasmussenn

Best line: Demetri Bales

Freddy Perry Switch Mctwist Award: Pat O’Connor

Best trick: Ben Hayden  

King of the session: Ethan Zark