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Rocky Mountain High

Sunday, 01 July 2007
It’s a lifestyle as much as someone could call it a hobby. Not the lifestyle you can suit and sale but a lifestyle that makes the eyes sparkle at the prospect of slinking through obstacles in the street and the smile evoked by that new board smell. It is wheel-shaped dirt marks on the walls and oil dots on the carpet that mirror the wheelbase of your deck. In so much as you can make every breath donated to the thought of skating, it’s a lifestyle. --Malakai Kingston Last week, I had several days of great skating in and around the Denver area that made me hope everyone reading this is having sessions just like mine. I think one thing that I know for a fact is that we on the ‘fish are lucky. People like us, Concrete Wave, Coast and Naphte are lucky. Not only do we get to be involved with the evolving sport, but we get to be presented with an overwhelming variety of riding, riders and terrain to hit. It’s just as simple as logging-in or turning a page, scrolling down seven pages and there you have it, a session with people that share your obsession and want nothing more than to get out and ride. It’s seriously just that easy, a ride at the end of your fingers! All you have to do it get out there and getting out there is why we are here anyways; to get out and skate. I met the boys for a skate session, I wanted to get some shots in and they had a ditch on their mind. A ditch in Denver isn’t highly unusual but the majority of the ones we do have are at least under 6’ of water and that makes for some soggy bearings and boxers. We got to the ditch and I had to hold my judgment, as a surfer might call Jaws rideable I would call this thing rideable, and it wasn’t the transition it was the flats that were the problem. Well that and the you-know-it’s-going-be-slimy little trickle that spread the middle of the flats. The monkeys did manage to get up on the walls and they were stoic, much of that small trickle was actually deep crack worn by water and ice so what you thought was just a small puddle was an axle grabbing beast. The great white flash was hitting the sides and had a really clean run. Then, when he hit the flats, the water got him. He did a perfect spin and ended up slapping the face of the tranny head to toe. We all heard the pop as his helmet split and we are glad it was his helmet and not his head! He was joking around with Monkey who was less than sympathetic. The great white flash promptly responded by slamming monkey’s hands in the trunk as we were leaving. Please wear your helmets. Then we hit up a underpass near the RTD station. It’s a crazy set of long slopes, mirrored by a split walkway between another two banks. The transition does a little dip and then rises. It’s kind of odd but once you get used to it, it is killer. Monkey rocked out his G Turns and we all had our times hitting the walls and spending the time chilling waiting for commuters to pass so we could have another run. The day before GSD, we drove up to Breck and hit the location of the 2005 Nationals where they ran the boarder cross. If you have ever seen the “Tuck” extra footage, there are a few shots of the course. It’s a labyrinth ride up two elevators and with all our gear on and board at arms I am sure we were quite a sight. One dude sitting off to the side commented as we passed, “I don’t know what you guys are into but I am soooo in” amusing none the less. All the roads in Breck had a bit of gravel but it was fun just slashing it and rocking out with an armada of riders down the streets. A visit to Mountain Wave, Big Hit and the burrito shack gave us plenty of push. With a few dollars slipped into the hands of one of the shuttle drivers, we managed to get lifts up 4’oclock and as many runs as we cared to take on the winding road, a classic Breck run in the winter when the snow is dumping. The shuttle saved our legs and as the sun was setting to rest we were on our boards and heading home. Our Go Skateboarding Day was organized by Robert McKendry III. Sponsored by Never Summer Longboards and Mangos Mountain Grill, Rob had arraigned for a shuttle to take us all over Vail Pass so we could hit a massive collection of sweeping runs that followed the contour of the land, part of the run was the old Vail pass and another section we hit was a bike bath of mammoth proportions that led from Vail all the way to Copper. There was a great turnout and the organizer took his time to explain to those in attendance what sort of terrains we would be hitting, always taking care to explain the dangers. With the exception of a hot Dubester seeking board loose cannon and an errant dog there were no other serious injuries. The terrain was exceedingly lush for this time of year, as there had been a good deal of rain. The mountainsides were all vivid and wildflowers were blooming as we pushed, cruised and bombed down the pass, it was an epic day hitting some seriously epic runs. I finished off the week by attending the Colorado Cup Solstice Session sponsored by Paris Trucks, All Boards in Boulder and Gravity Skateboards. It was a gathering of some of the hardest hitters in the slalom world. With the goings-on in the forums, you would think it would be nothing more than a nonstop Mexican knife fight, but it was a great event with a wonderfully festive atmosphere. Families were there in full to root for their favorite sons. The majority of all of the carnage was dealt on the cones with the Hybrid course, easily taking in my book the highest cone kill count of all time. With almost every run, it sounded like a pantry full of Tupperware was attacking you. The repeated runs eventually did result in clean runs and some amazing shows of skill but, by that time, the cone heads had all revolted in the 100+ degree heat, forcing COSS to hire a deer to count cones. For future reference, deer are highly unreliable. With a significant case of heatstroke, I remember little from the event. I got this much: Mitchell won it all, Pavel makes some swank looking boards, COSS riders are intense and Mike was nice enough to let me borrow a lens that made me look like a professional cameraman. As with all the other events I’ve had the chance to head out to, it was good yet again to put faces with personas. That’s what it comes down to. A number of sessions spread over a few days, the cast changes, the terrain is different and even the equipment riders are rocking is varied but one thing remains the same, be it shared or alone, the event of riding itself is the defining aspect of this passion all other aspects aside, two feet on a board getting out there. Wanna see some more shots? Check the longboarding gallery for shots from the Vail Freeride and the Coss Solstice Session. Shout out to the CCMF Sailing the Seas Of Stoke!
Last Updated ( Saturday, 21 July 2007 )