Stratton Mountain School's Louie Vito, 20, wasn't getting the height he wanted in the halfpipe, so he sought out fellow American snowboarder Kelly Clark, 25, for help.
Known for her big air, Clark (West Dover, Vt.) quickly straightened out Vito's amplitude issues at Saturday's U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix halfpipe presented by Sprint at Copper Mountain, Colo.
"She said, 'Tell yourself you have to do it and do it,'" Vito said to the Associated Press.
It was sound advice that served both well. Clark and Vito went big in snowy conditions to win the Sprint halfpipe—Vito over Steve Fisher of Breckenridge, Colo. and Clark over Soko Yamaoka of Japan.
Clark and Vito are the defending champions in the Grand Prix series, a three-event competition that began at Copper Mountain this season.
Bellevue's Kaitlyn Farrington, who turns 19 Thursday, finished seventh after qualifying in the fifth position. The Sun Valley Snowboard Team product and U.S. Rookie Halfpipe Team member was watched closely by Idahoans.
Sun Valley program director and "B" Team head coach Andy Gilbert said, "Kaitlyn had a podium quality run. She has to learn how to channel her timing so it happens for her during the competition itself, but she is riding with the world's best."
Alluding to the field's depth with its multiple X Games and Olympic medalists and established professionals, Gilbert said last weekend's Grand Prix offered "the heaviest field in halfpipe I've ever seen."
"That's the great thing about taking our kids to Colorado—all of their heroes were there," said Gilbert about the Grand Prix field of about 120 men and 50 women from 21 countries.
Sun Valley "B" teamer Kenny Ballou was the only other local rider in the halfpipe competition. Gilbert said, "We figured Kenny might be in the high 50s or maybe 60s. He exceeded our expectations by placing 41st, and that was with a B-caliber run, for him. Kenny is capable of moving up."
Others training for Sun Valley in Colorado were Hayden Burdge, Chase Josey, Mal Prior and Cary Reinemann. Head "A" team coach Jacob Tyler and Gilbert took the five-rider Idaho contingent to Colorado.
Sun Valley riders will be "seeking out some terrain," in the next few weeks before returning to Copper Mountain for the Revolution Tour Jan. 14-17.
Kaitlyn Farrington Photo by
