But I’m kind of a “back in the day”-er, and am becoming increasingly frustrated with snowboard contests in general, so take what I have to say with a grain of salt. Because, when it comes down to it, despite Stratton’s best efforts to ghettoize and sanitize the very event that made the resort a household name in the first place, and despite everyone and their brother thinking that the best way to support snowboarding is to add another contest to an increasingly crowded roster of events, the U.S. Open is, and will always be, world class—and, by virtue of its place in history, somewhat beyond reproach.

And, maybe because it is one of the oldest, most beloved and respected events in snowboarding, the level of riding seems to elevate accordingly, so that a win here always means just a little bit more than a win somewhere else.

For example, to read the roster of first- through third-place finishers this year is to look upon familiar names: Leanne Pelosi won the rail jam. Gretchen Bleiler won the halfpipe event. Janna Meyen won the slopestyle. Sure. Don’t they usually win?

Fair enough. But what the results don’t tell you is that Gretchen did a 900 on her first hit in her final pipe run. This is maybe the first 900 a girl has pulled in a halfpipe contest, and she did it after she already had her win in the bag. She could have slashed and no-grab straight-aired the entire run, but instead she threw down one of the sickest runs seen this entire year—and the crowd went nuts.

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