By Lindsey Sine, USSA

MAMMOTH — There couldn’t be a more exciting and poignant story told in Grand Prix history that the one that unraveled at Mammoth Mountain on Wednesday. Danny Davis (Detroit, MI) put down a historic run in the name of friendship, and Kelly Clark (Mt. Snow, VT) laid it all on the line for her third Olympic team berth to each win the Sprint U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix.

Davis led through both runs of the halfpipe competition, followed by Olympic champ Shaun White (Carlsbad, CA), and Scotty Lago (Seabrook, NH) in third.

Hannah Teter

Looking down on a crowd full of signs supporting Pearce and his recovery, Davis stood atop the 22-footer and channeled his friend, who remains hospitalized in Salt Lake City, before landing a monumental second run that included a landmark three double corks.

“I had Kev on my mind and right before every run I was making sure I had him in spirit. I know we’re sending vibes back to each other and it was good,” Davis said. “I asked Kev to help me through that one. He’s not up, but we’re mentally on the same wavelength now. He’s helped me through my runs and it’s been nice to have him.”

After he dropped the double cork cab 10, front 9, straight air, double cork front 10, switch double back rodeo, Mammoth’s spectators brought the noise and family and friends ran to the finish to embrace Davis, whose run was nothing short of epic.

It was the first time Davis had ever landed three double corks in one run.

“It was a decision by all. Jank [U.S. Snowboarding Halfpipe Head Coach Mike Jankowski] and Bow [U.S. Snowboarding Halfpipe Coach Rick Bower] helped me decide what tricks to do and we came up with a plan of just trying to land that third double cork,” Davis said. “I hadn’t landed it in practice, so it was a gamble but I landed it.”

As for the historic nature of his run, Davis shrugged it off saying, “It feels good. It’s snowboarding, it’s supposed to be fun so as long as I have fun then that’s what matters.”

For White, the second is a fuel to his fire as he heads into Saturday’s competition hunting for the win and an Olympic spot to defend his title.

“There was some great riding today. This was by far the heaviest contest I’ve ever been in and being at the top with one run to go, I pulled the trigger and went for it, never surrender,” White said.

In the women’s pipe Clark’s consistency and her overall riding quality were undeniable as she stomped a clean frontside air, backside 5, frontside 9, backside air, frontside 7, cab 7 for the win.

The gold medalist, who stuck a claim on her third Olympic Team spot, was reeling after her victory lap.

“I couldn’t be happier with my result today and it’s a privilege to be going to my third Olympic Games,” Clark said.

Being able to ride so solidly thus far in the season was a huge source of pride for halfpipe’s strongest woman.

“Being able to come out and win the first two Olympic qualifiers is great and everything now will be practice for me,” Clark said. “I’ve been getting ready for these qualifiers for a long time.”

At the end of it all, there was just one word Clark could think of to describe how she felt.

“It’s a pretty overwhelming thing and I would just say I feel privileged right now to be 26 years old and heading to my third Olympics. It’s a really incredible thing,” Clark said.

In the second place spot, Hannah Teter’s (South Lake Tahoe, CA) smooth style was a shout out to the world that she’s still going strong and, after not being able to compete due to injury at Copper’s Grand Prix, the Vermonter was happy to land her run.

“I feel really good. It’s nice to come back after having a slight injury in the first Grand Prix. I’ve been doing a lot of visualizing, and seeing everything in my head then just putting it out on the snow,” Teter said. “It definitely boosts it up bit to have a good result.”

And, if you guessed that her money has a one-way ticket to the village she sponsors in Africa through the production of her maple syrup and the donation of all her contest earnings, you guessed right.

“I’m excited to donate the money I won from second place to the kids and elevate the charity,” Teter said.

The exciting outcome of Wednesday’s pipe is going to be hard to beat, but the athletes have a shot to do it again on Saturday as they drop into the pipe at Mammoth for the third of five Olympic qualifiers. Stay tuned.

Mammoth Mountain, Jan. 5, Halfpipe

Men

1. Danny Davis, Detroit, MI, 49.20

2. Shaun White, Carlsbad, CA, 46.20

3. Scotty Lago, Seabrook, NH, 45.00

4. Louie Vito, Sandy, UT, 45.00

5. Elijah Teter, South Lake Tahoe, CA, 44.90

6. Greg Bretz, Mammoth Mountain, CA, 44.50

7. Jeff Bachelor, Canada, 43.50

8. Mathieu Crepel, France, 43.00

9. JJ Thomas, Golden, CO, 41.30

10. Jack Mitrani, Mammoth Mountain, CA, 40.30

Women

1. Kelly Clark, Mt. Snow, VT, 48.40

2. Hannah Teter, South Lake Tahoe, CA, 45.20

3. Holly Crawford, Australia, 44.40

4. Gretchen Bleiler, Aspen, CO, 42.50

5. Elena Hight, South Lake Tahoe, CA, 42.40

6. Maddy Schaffrick, Steamboat Springs, CO, 38.70

7. Ellery Hollingsworth, Stratton, VT, 31.00

8. Clair Bidez, Minturn, CO, 39.90

Sammy Hagar and The Wabos will play at Harrah’s South Shore Room May 7-8 at 7:30pm.

Tickets are only available through TicketMaster outlets. They are $75 plus tax, general admission. Must be 21 to attend.

Hagar returns to Lake Tahoe with The Wabos to help celebrate the sixth anniversary the Cabo Wabo Cantina, his restaurant and bar inside Harveys.

Elizabeth Karam, USSA

ZAGREB, Croatia -– Italy had a solid day taking the top two spots in Wednesday’s night slalom in Zagreb. Giuliano Razzoli was on top with Manfred Moelgg in second. Jimmy Cochran (Keene, NH) was the lone American to qualify for the second run, finishing 25th.

Razzoli added a win to his belt, beating out teammate Moelgg. Finishing not far behind the Italians was France’s Julien Lizeroux.

The race hill at Zagreb proved to be a bit more challenging this year with outside factors coming into play. The weather has been quite erratic creating an inconsistent snow track for the racers.

“It was just tricky snow, it had been rained on, then it had been warm then it got cold then it snowed,” said Cochran. “They were trying to scrape the snow off, but it was just really inconsistent and tough for sure.”

Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) was a having a solid first run before crashing near the bottom of the course. Ligety was uninjured, but did not finish the run.

“I was skiing OK but it wasn’t super clean,” Ligety said. “The course preparation is good considering they had no snow and it’s kind of warm here.”

Cochran has been skiing incredible slalom, scoring World Cup points in every slalom race this season improving his standing to 25th in the World Cup start list.

“That’s good, I mean I had wished I finished a little better,” said Cochran. “But it’s nice to score some points and maybe move up the rankings a little bit. I’ll take it.”

Cochran put forth a strong performance on Wednesday, finishing 13th the first run. He was knifing the second run, over a half a second ahead at the split, before experiencing trouble when he leaned in too much. The mistake forced him onto his side and set him instantly four seconds behind the leader.

“I had a solid run, nothing special but it was solid,” explained Cochran. “Second run I was trying to go for it a little more and I just paid for it.”

Tim Jitloff (Reno, NV), Dave Chodounsky (Crested Butte, CO), and Paul McDonald (Bellevue, WA) have all been skiing and training well. Unfortunately, all three experienced a bit of unlucky and difficulty in attempting to attack the course.

“We wish Cody [Marshall] was here,” said McDonald. “He dominates this hill.”

The World Cup slalom and giant slalom racers will be busy in January with almost every weekend filled with races. Next up for the tech team is Adelboden, Switzerland.

“This is our time to go to work, slalom month. I’m a little nervous,” said Cochran. “They come at you fast, if you are not dialed in for this month you can sort of blow your season. I feel pretty good and confident.”

World Cup, Jan. 6 Men’s slalom

1. Giuliano Razzoli, Italy, 1:50.00

2. Manfred Moelgg, Italy, 1:50.23

3. Julien Lizeroux, France, 1:50.49

4. Mitja Valencic, Slovenia, 1:50.75

5. Reinfried Herbst, Austria, 1:50.84

–

25. Jimmy Cochran, Keene, NH, 1:55.43

DNF: Tim Jitloff, Reno, NV, Ted Ligety, Park City, UT, David Chodounsky, Crested Butte, CO

DNQ 1st Run: Paul McDonald, Bellevue, WA

Soroptimist International Tahoe Sierra meeting Jan. 28, 7:30am at the South Lake Tahoe Senior Center.

Arturo Rengal of Lake Tahoe Community College and the HOPE Club is the guest speaker.

Soroptimist International Tahoe Sierra meeting Jan. 21, 7:30am at the South Lake Tahoe Senior Center.

Lauren Thomaselli from Explore Tahoe is the guest speaker.

Soroptimist International Tahoe Sierra meeting Jan. 14, 7:30am at the South Lake Tahoe Senior Center.

Bob Hickman, Bijou Community School, will speak on Bijou’s scholarship fundraising for graduating seniors who attended Bijou and on their leadership program.

Mt. Rose-Ski Tahoe has canceled Elvis Day on Jan. 9 and is replacing it with a community appreciation day.

Community appreciation day includes a Bavarian-theme beer garden at the Winters lodge, a snow-building contest, and a dual slalom race.

North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District will conduct avalanche training classes on Jan. 8, Jan. 11 and Jan. 13.

Training will be in the Tahoe Meadows area off Mt. Rose Highway.

For information, contact the Sierra Avalanche Center at www.sierraavalanchecenter.org or the National Ski Patrol Avalanche Program at www.nsp.org.

Swing by the Sierra Pub at Sierra-at-Tahoe from 3-4pm on Jan. 7 and Jan. 21 for a taste of Lava Cap Winery.

Guests with a lift ticket or season pass will receive a 20 percent discount off any wine purchase through the end of this ski season.

During College Weeks, college students can receive a $54 lift ticket at Sierra-at-Tahoe Resort when they present a current college photo ID at the ticket office.

College Week Dates:

Jan. 4 – 8

Jan. 11 – 15

March 22 – 26

March 29 – April 2

April 5 – 9