POWDER Superpark 6 - Day Three
by Jamey Voss
Mark Abma's hand shook as he raised the fork to his mouth. People stood on tables to see over the heads of those huddled around him. The crowd of about 50 shouted the final seconds as Mark jammed the last scoop into his mouth. Everyone erupted in cheer. Nine cups of potato salad in seven minutes and Mark walked away, to hang over the railing of the deck, $40 richer.
Superpuke 1 was the highlight of the rain soaked, hail pelted morning, other than a small window of sunlight early on. John Symms was doing handplants in the rain and the weather situation looked bleak during lunch, but the sun broke suddenly as Abma stuck his fingers down his throat. He never threw up, but rather threw down as photographers and athletes scrambled to take advantage of the light.
Sage Cattabriga-Alosa started things off on the "Excitebike" jump, which features a 20 foot long step up jump onto a table into a 25 foot dropping step down. Spinning natural 360s to unnatural 360s, Sage inspired Candide Thovex and Abma to experiment with the feature. In the end, Abma stole the show with switch 3s to corked unnatural 5s. Other goings -on in the Superpark included large rodeo 720s from Rex Thomas off the jump from the previous day, rail madness with the Bad News Bears (Sean Pettit, Calum Pettit and Kye Peterson), and Grete Eliasen throwing tail grab 3s with more style than most of her male peers.
Like the volcanic cone atop Mt. Bachelor, the big step-downs and hip loom above, still untouched. With a just a little more sun these, along with the 112-foot table one run over from the main park, will get hit in the morning. Athletes will be looking to prove themselves in the days to come, including Saturday night during the rail jam where one skilled rider will walk away with $1,000. Keep checking POWDERmag.com for continued updates.
