Jay Hergert, smash pow and life, simultaneously.
Words and photos Garrett Read
The 5th annual A-Rob Smash Life banked slalom went down at Alpental on January 16th and 17th. A fundraiser for the A-Rob plant a seed project, it was started by Aaron Robison’s Family after we lost Aaron in a snowboarding accident in Chile in 2011. The A-Rob Plant a Seed Project is a non-profit that gives underprivileged youth a chance to experience the fun of snowboarding and that is just what the Smash Life Banked Slalom is all about.
This Season at Alpental has been one for the books. With the 2nd deepest snowpack in the country, the team was able to construct a course with huge waves that snaked down this natural gully, which made it “challenging but fun,” according to Blair Habenicht. And much like the previous month the snow was falling hard, so hard that on Saturday the course was buried and the powers that be decided to qualify everybody and the racers all went and ripped pow. On Sunday the snow had not let up, and competitors were riding pow between their runs, a proper tribute to A-Rob!
Blair Habenicht took the win in open class and when the results are final they will all be available at smashlifebankedslalom.com
Aaron Cardwell turning.
There’s a little bit of snow at Alpental. 
Blair Habenicht, not as fast going up as down.
Snowy wonderland.
Dropping!
The local color. 
Aggressive turning.
Pitted on course.
The winners.