Words and photos: Tyler Orton
Two of many great events come out of Mt. Bachelor each year: The Dirksen Derby and The BigWave Challenge. This year’s Bigwave was nothing short of progressive and creative surf style snowboarding. It was as real as it gets.
The course was firing and so were the riders. Ben Ferguson getting inverted (naturally), Max Warbington with his fluid style, and Rip Zinger even made his way down the track with a broken collarbone. Not to mention he was shooting the event all day with one arm. Everyone was in their prime.
With almost 150 competitors, only 12 made it to a podium. Groms, Womens, Mens, and Surfers were the 4 divisions in the contest. Congrats to everyone who was a part of the contest and big shout out to Gerry Lopez for pushing snowboarding in an original and unique way. The Big Wave is a contest everyone should look forward to each year.
RESULTS
Men:
1st. Ben Ferguson
2nd. Max Warbington
3rd. Josh Dirksen
Women:
1st: Desiree Melancon
2nd: Colleen Quigley
3rd. Mary Price
Groms:
1st: Duder Brownrigg
2nd. Jared Elston
3rd. Louciano Billelo
Surfers:
1st. Ian Walsh
2nd. Chris Christenson
3rd. Shane Dorian
Award Winners:
Rip Zinger: Most Courageous
Alex Yoder: Best Style