This past weekend, Hot Dawgz and Handrails went down at Bear Mountain and it was one hell of an epic time. The air was crisp and it was the first weekend that you could really feel that the seasons were finally beginning to change. It was the perfect way to experience the first rail jam of the season. With the bite of the cool air and the sun peeping in and out of the clouds, you really felt immersed in the fact that winter is coming. It got all of us pretty excited for what is to come in the next few months, which hopefully is lots of powder, and good times on our snowboards with our friends.
The setup this year was innovative and gave our riders a chance to really showcase their creativity on snow. With a few down rails, a fun hip and some quarterpipes, there was a feature for every rider to throw down on in their own way. Signal team riders Kyle Roles, Bob Abrams, Matt Robinson, Keoni Kaimuloa, Daniel Brown and Kolman Lecroy all made the journey to Big Bear to compete for the top prize.
Rider Matt Robinson commented about the setup, and the uniqueness of the design. "It was a super fun course, especially because we were able to ride sick rail features and get airtime all in one line. That doesn't usually happen in a rail jam, which made it way more fun."
The team, along with other competitors flipped, pressed and spun all of the features, constantly looking for new lines and riding the features in a creative way. The most notable part of the setup was the mini pipe in the middle of the course, which people were skating while riders jumped over them, taking the landing straight into some quarter pipes to finish out the line.
After the contest was finished, we raffled off three snowboards to some lucky attendees, which made for a banger way to end the day. Thanks to all who came out and we look forward to seeing you all next September!
Photos: Marc Wierenga