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

The first ever North American Open by Simon Dumont and Jon Olsson was thought by many to be the best open event ever. The NAO has set the new standards for open events. Saturday was the slopestyle event where the top 32 guys who qualified on Friday had three runs to put together their best run. The riders had to battle wind and snow all day but the speed stayed good and the riders threw down. In the end it Jacob Wester from Sweden coming out on top with a nine to switch nine into a sick double 12. Jon Olsson took second with his signature smooth style. Jon’s run consisted of a ten into a misty nine, and finished with his kangaroo flip. In third was Tanner Rainville with his effortless style. His run was a misty nine, switch nine, and he finished with another nine. The slopestyle comp had so many kids throwing down. There were several kangaroo flips being thrown, a switch double front, and a slew of 12s showing that the level of slopestyle skiing was brought to a new level this weekend.  

Sunday was the pipe comp with the top 32 guys moving on again to finals. The weather wasn’t the best, but the Breck. event staff keep the pipe in the best possible condition all day. In the end, it was Simon getting back on track taking the first place spot. Simon started his run with a huge 9 tail into a seven to a 12 foot switch 7, then finished his run with an alley-oop nine. Dan Marion took 2nd with solid skiing all day. Dan’s run was a nine into a right seven into a switch seven, and he finished his run with an flat spin. In third was Matt Duhamel, a CVA kid. Matt went big while adding some technical tricks to claim the third place spot.

As for the EMPIRE team, Pete Olenick skied well all weekend; but just couldn’t put it all together in his final runs. In slopestyle his run was switch right ten, switch ten, then he went for a 12 and just couldn’t bring it around. In pipe he put down a solid run, but got no love from the judges. Pete continues to look for the podium this year. The NOA was the first event Colby has missed the podium this year. In slopestyle Colby did a switch seven, misty nine, into a huge switch 10 bring it all the way to the bottom. In pipe Colby, was never able to put together a clean run. As for Jossi Wells, he continues to ski well; earning himself another win in the slopestyle at the Nippon Open in Japan.

Make sure to check out the whole EMPIRE team at the World Super Pipe Championships, in Park City.

Posted: February 28th, 2008 under Events.
Comments: 1

EMPIRE had another big weekend at 48 straight (formerly the Honda ski tour), which was held in Squaw Valley, CA. The youngest member of the team Jossi Wells showed that he’s got what it takes to compete with all the big name pipe skiers. Jossi went big his entire run while spinning both ways and also adding a switch-hit for the win. This was the biggest pipe-comp Jossi has won in his young career. Colby West continues to ski well. While waiting until his last run in finals to put down a solid run, he secured the 3rd place to round out the podium.

Simon Dumont was still battling his shoulder injury and couldn’t put together a solid finals run. After the comp Simon was obviously disappointed and at the next pipe comp look for him to throw down some tricks he has never done before. As for Peter Olenick he continues to struggle to put a complete run together. But once he figures it out he should find himself on the podium.

The Empire team is currently doing some back-country skiing in Idaho and Austria. Then they will all return to Breck for the North American Open.

Posted: February 15th, 2008 under Events.
Comments: 4