- Local
- Community
- Journalism
Support the independent voice of Denver and help keep the future of Westword free.
Keystone hasn't yet fired up its snow guns in the race to open the first white ribbon of a run for early-season shred, but that's not stopping the mountain from hosting the first rail jam of the season: The A51 River Run Rail Series kicks off tomorrow, September 15 -- if you can believe it -- with a new Backyard BBQ Rail Session for skiers and snowboarders.
See also: - Ski porn! The Westword guide to this season's biggest ski and snowboard video premiere parties - Folsom Custom Skis, RMU, Icelantic dominate Freeskier Top 10 "Microbrew" list - Colorado filmmakers clean up at Chamonix Adventure Festival
"We're bringing in ten tons of double-frozen, ice-chipped snow that should ride like good, slushy spring snow," says Keystone Resort spokeswoman Tucker Burton. "We got a dusting of the real stuff the other night and it's been getting chilly in the mornings up here, so we're getting pretty excited: Winter's almost here."
The event is the first in a new series that will continue with the Back to the Grind Session on November 3 (the first official day of the season) and conclude with a closing weekend event on April 6, 2013.
The Backyard BBQ Rail Session will be held at the base of the resort's River Run on a multi-feature stair setup with a pole jam and two straight rails, Burton says. Prizes for the top riders include a Summit Epic Pass and free entry to the TransWorld TransAm at Keystone (for snowboarders) or Breck's Freestyle at Breckenridge (for skiers). There are also prizes for spectators, including season-pass giveaways, GoPro WiFi Backpack camera setups and swag from local companies, including Never Summer and Fat-ypus, which will be on-site showing off their 2012-2013 gear.
"We're giving away a ton of cool stuff," says Burton. "You should see my office: it's a disaster with all the swag everywhere. It's like a swag bomb went off in here."
Registration for the rail jam is $15 at www.KeystoneResort.com. Athlete check-in starts at 9 a.m.; preliminary rounds will start at 11 a.m., with finals starting at 2:45 p.m. And fair warning: this event will also be your last opportunity to purchase Epic pass products at the pre-season price.
Follow @WestwordCulture
Keep Westword Free... Since we started Westword, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver, and we would like to keep it that way. Offering our readers free access to incisive coverage of local news, food and culture. Producing stories on everything from political scandals to the hottest new bands, with gutsy reporting, stylish writing, and staffers who've won everything from the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi feature-writing award to the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism. But with local journalism's existence under siege and advertising revenue setbacks having a larger impact, it is important now more than ever for us to rally support behind funding our local journalism. You can help by participating in our "I Support" membership program, allowing us to keep covering Denver with no paywalls.
