The time is just a few minutes before 10 a.m. Sunday at the top of chairlift five on Mount Baker. Friends, families and snowboarding professionals alike are all hanging out, taking in some great food and spectacular sights while anticipating an amazing day filled with great riding and great people.

This is a typical scene at Baker’s Legendary Banked Slalom, and this year’s 24th annual event was no different. Snowboarders from all around the world came to speed their way down the somewhat icy course in hopes of taking home one of the event's coveted duct tape trophies.

The legendary slalom stays true to its casual nature by holding sideline events such as a one-dollar raffle for a heli-skiing trip in addition to an annual bonfire and salmon barbeque across the parking lot from the White Salmon lodge.

“My favorite, is all the stuff that goes on around the event,” Western Junior Michael Anderson said. “The salmon barbeque after the second day qualifier is a fun time to chill out and see all your friends.”

The slalom serves not only as a place to reconnect with friends, but also as a place to test your skills while trying to carve the fastest path through the slalom gates for your chance at some tape.

Unlike other resorts that hold international competitions, Baker does not hand out medals and big novelty checks. Instead, the coordinating staff at Baker looks to promote local artists and organizations. Hand-crafted silver belt buckles, acoustic guitars and of course new snowboards, were just a few prizes up for grabs this year.

While the Banked Slalom is known for maintaining a small-town vibe, the race has turned out to be anything but. It started out in 1985 as a 25-person, one-day event and has grown into a 3-day weekend family festival where all are welcome, from 60-year-old masters to 10-year-old amateurs.

The event has changed in one significant way: the number of racers.

“Last year 800 people applied for the 115 available lottery spots,” said Amy Trowbridge, Baker’s marketing co-director and one of the coordinators for the event.

With the event growing so rapidly, the effect of people riding all day seemed to take a toll.

Gwyn Howat, Baker’s operating manager and one of the event coordinators, was constantly out on the course Sunday working to maintain a smooth ride for competitors. Howat said she never had to do so much shoveling before.

All the extra work may also be related to the unusual weather patterns the mountain has been experiencing this season, including a warm-air temperature inversion in January. The two-week-long inversion not only stopped the accumulation of this season's snow, it also caused a significant drop in the mountain's snow pack.

Apart from last year, weather related issues have not affected the event.

“Last year’s Saturday qualifier was forced to be cancelled for the first time in history because the highway was closed due to avalanche danger," Trowbridge said.

Despite this year's low snow levels, the event seemed to go off without a hitch. With the awards ceremony starting around 4 p.m., winners were announced for all 12 categories and all 39 duct tape trophies were passed out just after 5 p.m.

The awards ceremony was held in the White Salmon lower lodge. Crowds of people hung over the upper floor's balcony and many more crammed around the sides of the room, creating not only a slightly stale fragrance of beer but excitement and suspense toward the announcement of the year’s winners.

The local favorite to win was last year’s three-time winner, Temple Cummins.

Boulder, Colo. participant Matt Simon said, “Growing up, I saw coverage of him riding at Baker. I think he makes younger people realize what the sport is all about.”

Cummins is a true Washingtonian and local legend. Living in Gig Harbor, he travels the extra distance to ride Baker at least once a week for the mountain’s snowfall and amazing terrain.

As last year's defending winner, Cummins was able to provide unique insight into what it is that makes Banked Slalom so great.
“It breaks the barrier of freestyle, free riding and Olympic people,” he said. “You get to meet a bunch of different people from a whole spectrum of snowboarding.”

Waiting in suspense for the ceremony to begin, Cummins talked about his competition. “There’s a ton of super fast people, always,” Cummins said. Nate Holland, Seth Wescott and Lucas DeBari were just a few notable names mentioned.

In the end, Nate Holland took first, Graham Watanabe made second and Temple Cummins placed third in the men’s Pro division, which is just one of 13 divisions.

“I grew up in north Idaho, so I’ve always really wanted to be in the Banked Slalom,” Holland said. “So to come here and actually win it, I am completely elated, fired-up, stoked, all of the above.”

As the scene died down, the remaining friends and family stuck around and reflected on the day while making plans for next year. It is sure to be bigger and better than before—but still devoid of novelty checks.

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