“What kind of wax you got in there?”

It was midday Friday, day one of qualifying at Mt. Baker Ski Area’s 36^th Legendary Banked Slalom. Josh Dirksen was having a minor wax crisis. I dumped the contents of my tuning kit onto frozen ground, and he sifted through them, landing on some finely aged One Ball Jay.

“Stay here for five minutes,” he said, and went off in search of further counsel. As a veteran of this race with many podiums under his belt and that culminative gold duct tape in 2018, Dirksen was still feeling the nerves. He returned, as planned, five minutes later with a new board in hand. He’d consulted with Canadian halfpipe Olympian Justin Lamoureux. Dirksen would be riding a longer board. And he’d be bringing that little puck of wax with him.

The top two-thirds of the course, seen from afar on Friday.

Temple and Cannon Cummins tune together before their finals runs on Sunday.

Mary Rand ready to drop. Spoiler alert: she won.

Josh Dirksen knows wax.

Dirksen wasn’t the only one feeling that unique LBS buzz of nervous excitement. Under unprecedented cold and clear skies, the course was tighter than usual, due to erratic weather patterns that had left Baker’s natural halfpipe more vertical than normal for this time of year. Temps were in the teens and the sun was shining. The mountain, after an atypical three-week dry spell, had finally gotten a big storm, and both Mt. Baker’s inbounds terrain and surrounding backcountry had been riding well all week. Four hundred-plus gathered racers and sideline attendees were gifted Baker at her finest.

As for that buzz: dropping into that course is like nothing else in snowboarding. There’s the weight of history associated with this gathering that first happened 40 years ago in 1985, with everyone from the world’s best freeriders to Olympic gold medalists, halfpipe champions and all in between pulling through the start shack. The anticipation of turn 5. And the impending dominance of youth, trying to claw a priceless roll of duct tape away from riders up to three decades their elder.

Hans Mindnich, pre-race powder slash.

Nils Mindnich, pre-race pillow bash.

Jen Tofte Jones, en route to first place in Grand Masters Women.

Matt Cummins with roughly a minute and a half of leg burning ahead.

Speaking of youth, the next generation dominated qualifying. Cannon Cummins, age 20, seemed set to fulfill his familial destiny after landing in first place for Pro Men on Friday and again Saturday. Same for Amalia “Billy” Pelchat, the child of Canadian snowboard royalty, who did the same for the Pro Women at age 17. But there was Dirksen in third for Pro Men on Friday, Nils Mindnich in second, Harry Kearney in fourth, Blair Habenicht in fifth, Lucas Debari in sixth—a generational spread of former winners and podium threats nipping at Cannon’s heels. As for the ladies, Pelchat and fellow teenager Ellery Manning held the two fastest times heading into the weekend, with Katie Anderson, Gillian Andrewshenko and Shawna Paoli rounding out the top 5 by Saturday afternoon.

Lest we forget about the full gamut of racers. Folks from ages 9 to 70 ripped that course, the great equalizer. Grom or grandfather, everyone runs the same berms under the gaze of Mt. Shuksan. Gwyn Howat ran the show behind bedazzled sunglasses, encouraging all to sign a commemorative snowboard for her father, Duncan, who is finally retiring from the family-run mountain after an unprecedented 56 years.

Gwyn Howat running the snow with a smile.

Ellery Manning showed up in a big way for the next wave of Pro Women racers, landing in fourth place.

Tucker Andrews set the bar for speed on multiple days of the event.

Baker’s own night time parking lot attendant TK Kromer, en route to the W for Masters Men.

Duncan had something left to give the event, of course: a series of rollers closed things out, followed by an abrupt, 180-degree turn, a last test which sent some flying through two layers of netting at the end. He built “Duncan’s Wall” in the cat himself, and he was proud of it.

“If you die with good knees, it’s a waste,” Duncan said later Sunday, on the mic at the awards, as he accepted his commemorative snowboard. He had a few more truisms, all pointing to the same message: live and love fully. Take a few risks and you’ll be rewarded, one way or another. Provide space for others to do so as best you can. Amen.

Mervin Mfg. honcho Pete Saari introduced Duncan with a few stories of the old days, and collectively, they reminded those gathered how Baker opened its arms to snowboarding in the mid-80s, when few resorts were willing to do so. How snowboarding’s heart still beats loudly underneath Baker’s pillowed façade, where four decades of legends have cut their teeth with an enduring focus upon the natural on-hill experience above all else. How Baker will remain an endearingly independent space by design, in stark contrast to the growing number of homogenized and sanitized resorts around the globe. As Duncan hands the keys to Gwyn to usher in the next generation of Baker lore, that generational through-line holds strong.

Leanne Pelosi adds her thanks to Duncan’s commemorative snowboard.

Gwyn’s very informative course notes.

Xavier Lamoureux low and powerful through Duncan’s Wall, en route to thierd place for Next Gen Boys.

Noah Elliott into second place for Para Snowboard.

Next to Duncan’s Wall, I ended my weekend on hill. After all the racing had finished, I was heading down to the lodge for the awards when I saw a lone figure hiking up to launch a popular side hit rider’s right. Turned out it was Seth Wescott. At 48 years old, the two-time Olympic boardercross champ wanted a proper method in front of Shuksan to send off the weekend. Mark Fawcett—former fastest snowboarder in the world and now 53 years old himself—pulled up, race board in hand, and, still as strong and stoked as ever, hiked with Seth. Both were content, start shack nerves now settled, basking in a moment of airtime as they have since the ’80s, as they will for the foreseeable future.

While they booted up the edge of the natural halpipe talking story, a train of rippers came through at 40 mph, blasting to flat. Behind them in the distance, a few figures dotted the horizon, getting a last lap in the shadows of Shuksan Arm.

Racing aside, this is the undercurrent of the LBS: that simple joy of snowboarding in all its forms. A shared connection beyond typical societal boundaries. The snowboard community as one, as it should be. And that’s timeless.

A well dressed T. Max en route to second place in the Non-Binary category.

Amalia Pelchat winning the switch race for the Women. She finished second in the main event for Pro Women.

Seth Wescott sends a method straight to the lodge for awards.

Postscript: As for who won? Harry Kearney managed to pull out a blazing run on Sunday, just edging out Idaho’s Chase Josey, and Glacier resident Mary Rand surprised those young standouts of Friday and Saturday to win Sunday. Cannon and Amalia, respectively, settled for 3^rd and 2^nd, but I imagine their times will come sooner than later, with BC’s Katie Anderson rounding out the top three for the Pro Women. If this year’s any indication, they’ve all got at least a few decades of chasing the podium ahead of them. And a special shout to new business owner Tucker Andrews, who threw down the fastest time of the weekend while racing in the Men’s Masters category.

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Your Pro Men winner, once again, Harry Kearney.