The Treble Cone Triple Comp is back in 2009 after a multi-year hiatus and went down at the end of TC’s season. The Triple Comp, as the name rightly implies, was a three-pronged event with the Harris Mountains Expression Session (something like a big mountain comp with a mellower course), the Base Banked Slalom and the Rossignol Big Air.

On Saturday, warm spring snow greeted the competitors and a few inches of fresh sat atop an-ever softening base from the bluebird skies. It was the makings of a great day.

The massive natural-halfpipe run Superpipe was the venue for the Expression Session and featured a cliff/tussock band that ran almost the length of the right side of the course. Riders were dropping cab 180’s into the gut and expressing themselves with handplants, power slashes, and more. For my run, I dropped some tussocks, didn’t fall and earned a 4^th place tie with two others. The finals were meant for the next day, but with the overnight freeze and resulting frozen coral, the judges called it Sunday morning and they went with day one scores. Ben Wooster (a boarder) had the best score out of anyone and won himself a day of New Zealand heli-skiing.

Also on Saturday the Banked Slalom, held on Shooter, showed that while we boarders may not spend our days racing gates as a career, we have a darn good time giving it our best. No new speed records were set, but the slushy course made for crazy fun with some nasty ruts in the curves by day’s end.

On day 2, under a light cloud cover, the Big Air was carried out jam format style. Riders had two hours to impress the judges, with the highest score winning. While not massive, the jump allowed ample room to spin, flip, and of course, hit the knuckle. Whether it was tricky speed or bad light or the fact that Treble Cone doesn’t maintain an ongoing park throughout the year, many riders ended up slapping on the flats, to the oohs and aahs of the crowd.

But on the bright side, Eli Pope laid out a slowly-rotated backflip oozing with quiet style, stomped the poop out of it and got a free snowboard. Well done. Others threw some mean rodeos, front-flips and sevens, while my throwback BS 180 earned a paltry sixth.

Given a year or two to iron out the organizational kinks, the Triple Comp could be a major southern-hemi attraction. The setup of talented riders, killer prizes and a creative format can only help it grow. I hope to be back one day.