After 30 years as the biggest contest on North America’s east coast, the US Open goes west to Vail, CO. Although the move may be bittersweet for some, Vail offers a powder day during slopestyle finals and perfect, sunny conditions for the superpipe ender. Imagery from the 31st US Open.

For 30 years, the Burton US Open was a mainstay of the East Coast snowboard scene—the best riders in the world gathered at Stratton, VT, for what began as a party, then morphed into the premiere event of the North American competitive season. But as the party died down in the early 2000s, the US Open became more of a contest and less of a gathering. Moved to the backside of Stratton, it needed a lift. That lift came in the difficult decision to move west—not all the way west, mind you, but to Vail, CO and the heart of the Rocky Mountains. There, snowboarders mingled with Al Pacino (yeah, he was there), Texans adorned in full-length fur coats and a bronze statue on every corner. The night before semifinals, I walked into the Burton store to find a girl chugging beer out of a shoe, while Jake Burton, Shaun White and a host of other shred-world heads looked on. Macklemore and Santigold played the village square while thousands of teenagers slipped out of their parents’ view to have a little fun…Subscribe to start your collection of frequency TSJ.