The Launch: Day 2

Day two of SNOWBOARDER Magazine and Nike 6.0 mega-collabo started off in the wee hours of the morning at Northstar. Registration saw less faces than the first morning as most were already checked in and eager to get to shredding. The SPT crew had THE LAUNCH course dialed and the riders were chomping at the bit to hit the features, but first, we hosted a token halfpipe shoot.

Greg Bretz, Trevor Jacob, Matt Ladley, Ross Baker and Broc Waring from the Nike 6.0 team led the charge, as others would soon follow in hitting the overhead mark in Northstar’s perfectly groomed dude tube. Trevor and Greg took to the doubles tip as Trevor planted down a frontside invert while Greg blasted over his head. Kelly Marren attempted a few backside nines, immediately placing her in a hyper-elite group of female halfpipe riders, and by our calculations, young Kelly will be gracing podiums across the world from here on out. 10 year-old Kyle Mac proved that the smaller they are, the bigger they go. Kyle nabbed the most photos of the group as well as a banger frontside 7 sequence that pushed the overhead mark. Baker and Broc also dabbled with the doubles line, while Australian sensation Kye took to the sky with some massive airs of his own. There’s oh so much more to tell about the pipe session, but we’ll let the photos take it from here, cause there are a lot of kids at THE LAUNCH, and they’re all killing it, which is rad, yet makes my job a bit harder come time to punch the action down on my keyboard.

The afternoon hip session was insane. Some less-than-awesome weather rolled in, but the photographers set up their flashes and the riders never faltered, dropping hammer after hammer all afternoon. Johnny Lazzareschi slaughtered the entire length of the hip, and the Nike 6.0 team showed their air awareness as Baker, Broc, Jacob, Ladley and Bretz killed it. Lake Tahoe local and LAUNCH underdog Ian Bigley turned some heads after earning his spot in THE LAUNCH. Crested Butte transplants Tucker Andrews and Zepplin Zeerip (holy crap, his name is awesome) killed it as well. We even witnessed some of the famed “Midget Mafia” leaving the ground, and quite impressively at that, silencing all doubt that these kids only jib. Again, I am in a situation where I could rant about the action for hours, but I will let the photos talk for all of us. Make sure you stay tuned to snowboardermag.com for all the up-to-date action from SNOWBOARDER Magazine and Nike 6.0’s THE LAUNCH.

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THE LAUNCH: Day 1