8 Events We Love for This Week

From banked slalom snowboard races to epic all-mountain competitions and fatbiking adventures, here’s what’s up this weekend, in eight events we love for this week.

6-8 | 7th Annual Slash & Berm Banked Slalom, Killington

A banked slalom just for snowboarders at Killington’s The Stash terrain park, which features natural terrain and mountain features. The actions starts on Friday with a Shop Team Invite Only banked slalom event (hint: these guys and gals will be really good). Shops across the area can enter their teams to compete for the title.

Then on Saturday, the event is open to all snowboarders, with individual timing. Action continues on Sunday with the new Grom event at the Lil’ Stash at Ramshead.

This event benefits the Burton Chill Foundation.

6-7 | Red Bull Slide-In Tour, Killington

Don’t miss Red Bull athletes sessioning through Killington Resort on Saturday, March 7 as part of the Red Bull Slide-In Tour.  There will be a variety of rail jams and park sessions, as well as an apres party hosted by Red Bull. You never know who you might see on the hill or on the chairlift, but the following athletes will be on the hill for certain:

Sean Neary – is a local native to the Mountain Creek region, first learning to ride at the resort after school, and still rides the park at Mountain Creek to this day.

Zeb Powell – a Vermont resident originally hailing from North Carolina, put his name on the map at the 2020 X Games in Aspen, taking home the Gold Medal in Knuckle Huck. Rocking rose-tinted glasses over the traditional goggles, his coffin slide 360 method proved unbeatable in his first Games appearance. After graduating from Stratton last year, Zeb turned down multiple opportunities to head west, instead choosing to stick to his roots and ride in the Northeast.

Jesse Augustinus – is a Dutch Slopestyle and freestyle rider, Jesse rode alongside Zeb during the 2019 Slide-In Tour and is a mainstay in the region. Known for his incredible rail-riding skills, Jesse will bring his creativity and positive energy to Slide-In again in 2020.

7 | Ski for M.S. Vertical Challenge, Stratton

Partake in this national fundraising ski event taking place at seven mountains across the country, and at Stratton for the first time ever. The goal? To ski 5 million vertical feet across 7 mountains and raise $250,000 for families living with MS. Join the Stratton crew and help carve out 450,000 vertical feet of skiing on the day of the event in 5 hours.

Fundraise $1,000 and you will earn a free lift ticket for you OR a friend for the day of the event.

7 | Down Rails & Double Kinks, Mt. Ellen

Sugarbush hosts this inaugural rail jam for skiers only at its park, with no practice laps, no qualifiers and no finals. It’s a straight ode to freeskiing’s most iconic rail tricks, with special competition classes for different age groups.

The challenge will be open all day, with prizes going to the first person who lands one of the many tricks posted on a board by the park, from a KFED w/afterbang to a one-footed grind.

7 | 3rd Annual Master of the Mountain Extreme Biathlon, Magic Mountain 

Head to Magic Mountain for this annual competition to crown the “Best Overall Skier & Rider in the East.” Contestants get one extreme run down all of Black Line, with the first half of the race set up as an extreme skiing competition. Skiers flow directly from that into a Giant Slalom course.

The fastest time wins, with points deducted for free ski tricks. There is a $1,500 cash purse, with $1,500 to the first-place finisher, $350 for second place and $150 for third, plus great prizes from Magic Mountain.

For more about what this raucous skiing event and party is like, check out our story from last year about the winner.

 7-8 | Ryan Hawks Memorial IFSA Junior National 3*/FWQ2* Competition, Mad River Glen

Mad River Glen hosts a two-day IFSA sanctioned event. Test your mettle on some of the East Coast’s most challenging terrain. This event is open to all ages and is part of the Ski the East Freeride Tour. The competition is named in honor of professional freeskier Ryan Hawks, with the goal of raising awareness and support for the Flyin’ Ryan Foundation. It’s both an IFSA 3 Star Junior National Event and an IFSA Adult Freeskiing World Qualifying 2 Star Competition. All in all, it’s a weekend of freeskiing and community.

8 | Wooden Ski Race, Woodstock

Dig out your wooden skis, bamboo poles and pine tar for a 5km tour on the carriage roads and trails of Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller Park. The adventure begins before the race with a 3km ski out to the Nordic Center’s Mt. Tom cabin. Awards will be given for best vintage gear and best vintage outfit. The race is followed by a pancake brunch and awards.

8 | North America’s Toughest 10K: Ski, Shoe & Fatbike to the Clouds, Gorham, N.H.

After covering 4k on Great Glen Trails’ White Mountain Nordic trail system, racers will tackle the 2,200 vertical feet of climbing at an average grade of 12 percent that awaits them on the snowy, 6km Mt. Washington Auto Road, to the highest point in the Northeast on fatbikes, snowshoes or skis.

Featured Photo: Sean Neary snowboards the Stash Park at the Red Bull Slide In Tour at Killington Resort. Photo courtesy Red Bull.