Candide and the EMPIRE team met up for the first time this year!  He received his first pair of EMPIRE gloves and was pumped about them.  Candide is in the middle of designing his mitten right now and should receive the first sample in the next week.  

The EMPIRE team was in La Clusaz, France for the sixth annual Candide Inventional, where the event most definitely lived up to its hype. The weather wasn’t the best; snowing three of the four days. However, Candide, like the true professional he is, still took care of all the riders. He provided lunch and dinner every night, along with VIP parties all week long.   

Candide is still recovering from his back injury. But was out there ripping around the mountain and looks like he will be back to his old self for next winter.  Once again, Candide came up with the biggest and craziest features of the year. He had a log jib, where you had to jump at least 20 feet high to clear it. He also built a loop that no one was brave enough to try.  He also had the big bretha, which was easily a 120 foot step down. It was by far the biggest jump I have ever seen.  It was so big only two riders hit it, while all the others passed on it.  Overall, Candide had the biggest and craziest features; proving that you had to be on your game if you were going to attempt any of them.  

Make sure to look out for future EMPIRE products like the Candide mitten, and also a couple more products that Candide is going to help us design.

Posted: March 28th, 2008 under Events.
Comments: 2

This past weekend at Sun Valley, Idaho, the sun was shining and the riders were going huge. Saturday was the qualifier; where the field was knocked down from 20 to the top 10 riders. In the end, it was Colby West taking the win with a 92. He did what he always does: skiing very consistently, spinning both ways, and a switch hit. Colby continues to prove that he is one of the best half-pipe skiers in the world. He was also crowned the overall winner of the 48 Straight Tour. Colby’s run had a right five, switch seven, and finished with a big 10 at the bottom.

Simon ended up third on the day. He had the biggest airs overall, but was only able to get four hits in when everyone else was getting five or six hits. Simon continues to spin both ways, but he just hasn’t figured out a run yet that the judges will score him well on. On his second run, he went 3 or 4 feet bigger then anyone on his entire run but fell on his alley-oop nine on the bottom.

Peter Olenick finished fourth on the day, getting his best finish of the year. On his final run he put his hand down on his first hit but was able to maintain enough speed to finish his run. After the comp was the "monster hit", which was a one hit super hit. Peter brought out his whiskey flip to take home the 15,000 dollar first place prize. Pete didn’t do a whiskey flip all day until the super hit.

Jossi Wells injured himself Saturday in practice and was forced to miss the competition. Jossi will be out for the next month or two. The whole Empire Team is off to Europe for the Candide’s Event. This will be the first time the whole EMPIRE Team will be together. Make sure to check back for the update from this event.

Posted: March 21st, 2008 under Events.
Comments: none

Jossi Wells continues to kill it this year, with another win this weekend at the World Super Pipe Championships (WSC) in Park City, UT. Jossi had the biggest airs and spun both ways to take the win. Jossi has now three major pipe comps with wins at 48 Straight, Nippon Open, and the World Super Pipe Championships. He is showing people this year that he is a strong force in both pipe and Slopestyle.

The Park City pipe was the biggest pipe of the year with 22 foot walls that allowed the riders to go huge the whole day.  All the riders claimed it was the best half-pipe of the year! The WSC continues to be one of the best pipe comps.

Simon ended up forth on the day. Simon showed everyone that he can spin to the right with a big right nine on his second hit. He skied solid, but just missed the podium and will look to get back on track next weekend at Sun Valley. 

 Pete stepped up his game with both his amplitude and his level of tricks. With a left nine, right nine, and finished his run with a ten, Pete stepped up both his amplitude and his level of tricks. Pete will try for his first podium next weekend at Sun Valley. Colby West has been in Monaco filming with MSP, but will also compete next weekend at Sun Valley.

Overall, the WSC was an awesome competition with a big pipe and big crowds.  Make sure to check back for the story on the comp from Sun Valley next weekend. 

Posted: March 11th, 2008 under Events.
Comments: 4