A couple weeks ago I was discussing Janna Meyen’s riding with a friend of hers. Janna’s been one of my heroes for almost as long as she’s been a pro shred. She’s such a badass. So I’ve always wondered why, since she’s so friggin’ good, she only throws 540s in her slopestyle runs, when her arsenal of tricks is so much bigger. “Because she can win with them,” her friend answered. And she usually does.

But not this time. Because this time, Leanne threw down a Cab 720. Only she sketched out on the landing. (She stomped a f/s 7 right after that, though.) So Janna had to step it up. And she did, stomping her Cab 720 to take the win—and, in the span of two short runs, the bar for the level of riding in women’s slopestyle contests was raised forever. The moment gave me goosebumps.

And if that, my friends, is what the U.S. Open has turned into…I can live with that.

Contest Results

*Note: The U.S. Open of Snowboarding is one of the only events to offer an equal prize purse for both men and women. Which is, by all accounts, pretty cool.

Rail Jam
1. Leanne Pelosi, $10,000
2. Hana Beaman, $5,000
3. Spencer O’Brien, $2,000 4. Marie-France Roy, $1,000

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Best Trick, Rail: Alexis Waite, f/s 5-0 on the down ledge, $2,500

Halfpipe
1. Gretchen Bleiler, $20,000
2. Torah Bright, $10,000
3. Hannah Teter, $5,000
4. Tricia Byrnes, $2,000
5. Junko Asazuma, $1,500
6. Elena Hight, $750
7. Lindsey Jacobellis, $500
8. Meg Pugh, $250

Best Trick, Halfpipe: Torah Bright, McTwist, $5,000

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