The Kid is Alright.

Representing at the Burton European Open, Frequency TSJ 7.1 interviewee Kevin Pearce took the halfpipe win. Going into the final of three runs, KP was in third behind Swiss rider Iouri Iouri Podladtchikov (Ipod) and Shaun White. Dropping for his last shot at the title, Pearce threw down a banger run including straight airs, Mctwists, nines and tens, resulting in numero uno for the second year in a row.

The contest was impressive to say the least. While watching a few U.S. riders and handful of Europeans who will appear in 2010 Olympic games, I was quickly reminded of a culture of snowboarders who thrive on progression.

During the contest, Nicolas Muller stood at the drop-in watching his friends ride. I asked him what he thought about Kevin’s run. His response was “best run today…It’s like a global consciousness, everybody rides good and it helps snowboarding”.

Stay tuned for more photos and video footage with the heavy action from Laax, Switzerland.

Photos: Alex Pashley (air) and John Laing (podium).