Campus Rail Jam Tour mobilized by Cricket and Ford – OREGON STATE RECAP!
Photos: Darcy Bacha
For the full photo gallery click HERE!
After three months on the road, the crew finally made it back to Corvallis, Oregon, birthplace of the Campus Rail Jam Tour. Welcomed with cloudy skies and wet weather, the crew was ecstatic to jump off the bus and into their own beds before the ninth event of the Tour at Oregon State University. With summer right around the corner, carloads of Mt. Hood-bound riders made the pit stop at OSU for a chance to win some food money to get them through the summer months in Govy. With over 150 riders applying to ride, it was clear that the competition would be stacked with the best shreds from all over the west coast.
As the rain began to fall, thousands of OSU coeds battled to take shelter under tents in the sponsor village and participate in the snowboard design contest at the Bonfire booth. Those who were brave enough to get a little wet waited in line for the always-popular custom t-shirt heat press at the Cricket Wireless booth.
The OSU event always boasts more ski competitors than any other stop. Everyone knows one another and pushes each other to progress. The skiing was as ridiculous as expected, and riders found themselves landing tricks they didn’t think were possible on the setup. The men’s ski podium was full of familiar faces and Tour veterans. Pete Arneson crushed the rails as usual and wound-up in third place, walking away with some cash. Last year’s winner, Colin Wright took home second place followed by Joey Vandermeer in first. Joey scooped up some Coreupt skis, along with some cash money and an invite to the Portland finals.
(L-R) 2nd place – Colin Wright, 1st place – Joey Vandermeer, 3rd place – Pete Arneson
With only three lady skiers in the contest, it was sometimes easy to loose sight of them in the crowd of dudes, but let it be known, these ladies killed it! The girls took slam after slam without hesitation, trying to one-up one another for the win. In the end it was Kristie Giles in first, followed by Ellie Miller in second and Katie Powers in third.
(L-R) 2nd place – Ellie Miller, 1st place – Kristie Giles, 3rd place – Katie Powers
The men’s snowboard division was stacked. The top three shreds have all stood atop the podium in the past, so they were in familiar territory. Colin Tucker took home the third place spot with his stylie 50-50 to 270 frontboard on the kink. Long-time CRJT competitor, Blake Geis, landed in second place for his presses and 180s onto the DFD. Blake got hooked up with a custom snowboard from Ford along with some product from Neff. Jordan Welter took home his second straight victory and looked ready to dominate at the Portland finals. Jordan was awarded a Salomon snowboard, boots from Celsius, and a big wad of cash.
(L-R) 2nd place – Blake Geis, 1st place – Jordan Welter, 3rd place – Colin Tucker
It seems like at every stop of the Campus Rail Jam Tour mobilized by Cricket and Ford, the girls get gnarlier and gnarlier. Since when are these ladies 180ing onto the DFD and 270ing onto the gap box?! Pretty ridiculous stuff. The boys were struggling to keep up as the females dropped hammers on every feature. Alexa McCarty stopped by the contest on her way to Hood, wound up in third place, and made some quick loot to blow in Govy. Randa Shahin is no stranger to the podium, and looked right at home in the number two spot. Emily Blewitt threw down the heaviest trick of the day, landing a 270 to front board on the gap box to take home first place. Emily scooped up a new board from Roxy, some Celsius boots, and a stack of paper.
(L-R) 2nd place – Randa Shahin, 1st place – Emily Blewitt, 3rd place – Alexa McCarty
A big thanks goes out to C.ORE Freeride, the ski and snowboard club at OSU for all the help in making this annual event so legit! The Portland finals just went down and were even more epic than expected. Pouring rain, 40 tons of snow, and the west coasts best up-and-coming riders…a definite recipe for madness. Check back soon for the full video and recap!
