Last Weekend, Whenever: Mount Southington’s Under the Lights Interstate 84 Rail Jam

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You may not think of Connecticut as an epicenter for snowboarding, but a mere 5 minutes off exit 30 of Interstate 84, Mt Southington is quickly establishing itself as a destination for those who fancy themselves part of the New England snowboard community.

“A little over 10 years ago the now-General Manager, Jay Dougherty, started the terrain park at the bump, Mount Southington,”Freestyle operations manager Kordian Stanecki said. “When Jay became the general manager he made a commitment to renew the mountain. A lot of money was invested into the infrastructure and face of the mountain.Today we have one of the most powerful snowmaking systems out there which really gave us a huge advantage this year with such a bad winter. The freestyle department has been so undervalued and underbudgeted in the past and we have really opened that up to provide the best freestyle experience and terrain in Connecticut. We also have one of the few mini pipes on the east coast! Each year we plan on going bigger and better including building new features this upcoming summer to add to the 17 new features built this season and 30 total features currently.”

And while those words may sound convincing, nothing proves it like an event, so on February 24, 2018, the crew at MTS Parks scrounged up $4000 in cold hard cash to help entice some of the best snowboarders in the region to brave a little rain and make the trip for the Under The Lights Interstate 84 rail jam. Cutting Edge, Vans and Nimbus League also provided support to make it like, a real thing.

The set up was described as “pretty cool” through the mega phone, but the riding was nothing short of amazing. While the antics of the Carinthia Parks crew have been slightly less-documented this season (RIP C Sessions) it doesn’t mean the riders are any less ripping. So it came as no surpise that the naturally slippery set up was manhandled confidently by those who call the other MTS (MT. Snow, that is) home. And choocing straight outta Killington, Savannah Shinske took home the W for the women. This is where a better, more serious snowboarding website might list the names of the tricks performed in the above video, but since we’ll definitely fuck that up, we think you should just click play and watch it instead.

Following the distribution of cold, hard cash money, the party moved into the Mountain Room for the official Connecticut premiere of Vans 16mm instant-classic movie Landline. Once the credits rolled, those who were wise enough to bring dry clothes (or didn’t have to work too hard in the morning) contined to celebrate until the calendar read February 25th.

Results

Men

1. Shaun Murphy $1500
2. Jeremy Ellenburg $1000
3. Levi Gunzberg $500

Women

1. Savannah Shinske $500

Best Trick

1. Casey Willax (50-50 Front Flip disaster on the Flat-Down-Flat-Down) $500

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