Freestyle snowboarders and skiers throughout the Northwest converge at Mt. Hood Meadows this weekend to compete on a unique and challenging rail jam course built right in the base area. reVEGETATE is presented by Ninkasi Brewing and proceeds will benefit the Eagle Creek Fire Restoration Fund.
All the jams will be held on Sunday, May 1.
- 10 - 10:40 AM: Women Ski and Snowboard
- 11 - 11:40 AM: Men Snowboard
- 12 - 12:40 PM: Men Ski
- 1 - 1:40 PM: Finals for all divisions (top 3 from each division will compete)
- 2 - 2:30 PM: Side comp - Jibbin' for Jacksons
- 3 - 3:20 PM: Awards
The event will be in a jam format, where heats compete for 40 minutes and competitors can take as many runs as they want, making for continuous action. The top performers of each heat advance to the finals. Podiums pay $750 for first place, $500 for second and $250 for third in each of the divisions.
There will also be a Groms (10 and under) event on Saturday at 10 AM. And so everyone can have fun, impromptu side events called “Jibbin’ for Jacksons” will be held with celebrity judges awarding distinctive, progressive and enthusiastic riders with $20 bills. Jibbin’ is an expression for hitting or riding rails, and this event is all about having fun and sharing the stoke.
reVEGETATE Village will feature demos from Burton, Fix Bindings, Slash Snowboards and Deviation Skis. Village sponsors include Dakine, Rising Hammer Lightworks, Findlay Hats and Toyota. DJ Kyle is a curator of fun, infectious and upbeat grooves, and he'll be creating a party atmosphere in the base area throughout the weekend. Manny’s Lonchera food cart will serve up authentic and flavorful Mexican food and the Ninkasi beer trailer will keep everyone refreshed. A unique piece of artwork from Rising Hammer Lightworks (who designed the championship trophies) will be auctioned off to raise money for the Eagle Creek Fire Restoration Fund. Also, 50 cents from each pint of Ninkasi sold over the weekend will benefit the fund, as well as half of the competitors fees.
Resort ambassadors Sean FitzSimons, US Snowboard Team member who competed in the Beijing Olympics; and Erika Vikander, who took second in this year's Freeride World Tour, will be signing jerseys to raise money for the fund at noon Sunday in the Village.
In 2017, the Eagle Creek Fire burned 48,000 acres in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. The fund was established to help the ecosystems, trails and wildlife habitat recover. In 2018, the National Forest Foundation used funds to reopen over 60 miles of hiking trails and reduce rock slides and erosion. However, there is a lot of work that needs to be done including reopening hiking trails, restoring wildlife habitat and planting native plants.
reVEGETATE honors the original Vegetate event conceived 25 years ago to draw attention to Meadows sustainability efforts, including the award-winning native wildflower revegetation program. Meadows pioneered what have now become best practices in our industry when there is new construction causing ground disturbance by transplanting native vegetation in these areas to be replanted after the construction. Meadows also worked closely with the Mt. Hood National Forest to collect the seeds of native wildflowers and grasses to be used for planting and hydroseeding in revegetated areas. The original Vegetate was one of the first freestyle snowboarding events and the environmental theme resonated with young snowboarders. The event was revived in 2018 and 2019, but COVID prevented events from being held at Meadows the past two seasons.
The rail jam arena is set up right in the base area, viewable from the South Lodge Deck and the Snow Beach. The event is free to watch - it does not require a lift ticket or admission to enjoy. Competitors can register in advance for the open rail jams at SkiHood.com/reVegetate.