The rail garden at Maloit Park in Minturn has revolutionized the development of Ski and Snowboard Club Vail freeski and snowboard athletes ever since director Chris Laske built it six years ago. Last month, the venue showcased SSCV's talent -- and the spirit of late Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy teacher Bindu Sky Pomeroy, who died snowboarding in the East Vail backcountry in 2018 -- at the inaugural Bindu and Friends Rail Jam.
"It's quite amazing to see how far it's come," Laske said of his park, which went from a couple features in its infancy to more than 20 -- plus a rope tow -- today.
"You can get over 100 laps in a hour of riding the rope tow," he continued. "Having fast laps like this really help you dial in any trick you set your mind to. This training tool has been monumental in the development of our team."
Samuel Bennett, the Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy teacher and director of the Bindu Memorial Fund, was blown away by the abilities of several of his students who competed at the event.
"The professionalism and skill of Laske's SSCV team was incredible," Bennett said. "Bindu would love nothing more than to have those rails out there and see people out there crushing it and enjoying that facility."
The event, a partnership between SSCV, Minturn Fitness Center, the Bindu Memorial Fund and the Town of Minturn, raised about $4,000 for the memorial fund, which awards scholarships to student-athletes every January at the Bindu Sky Memorial Fund film night.
"I consider it a success for the first year," said Bennett, who also runs a Memorial Day 5k for the fund. "I want the Bindu events to be recognized as supporting a good cause -- student-athletes and their passions -- but also a positive community space where people can get together and enjoy what we love about the mountains."
Bennett took inspiration from The Bomb Hole snowboarding podcast and past Red Bull rail jams to develop his own concept. While 'DJ Darren' maintained the sessions' relaxed vibes, riders launched on and off features. Considering it coincided with one of the heaviest snowfalls of the season, Laske was pleased with how the competition went down.
"Our event turned out amazing," he said. "Our crew of coaches worked long hours leading up to the event and during the contest to keep the course in top shape as we removed feet of snow. With the help of our parents, coaches and SSCV staff we had support to run a very smooth contest."
About 75 participants competed across open, U14 and U18 freeski and snowboard divisions for both men and women. Bennett said about 60-70% of the athletes were from SSCV, with others coming over from Summit and the Front Range. A pair of Never Summer pro riders, as well as U.S. Ski Team athletes Kade and Ollie Martin, Evan Wrobel, Hahna Norman, Brooklyn DePriest, Ryan Wachendorfer made appearances, too.
Athletes were judged on execution, difficulty, amplitude, variety and progression. The top-6 or top-3 from each division, depending on size, moved on to the finals.
Mae Morelli won the women's open snowboard while Wrobel claimed gold on the men's side. Keira Lahiff and Giada Brienza pocketed the silver and bronze, respectively, while Luke Leal and Lys Fedorowycz went 2-3 behind Wrobel. Fedorowycz wowed the crowd with a 'disaster' back 4 to the 'down' on the down-flat-down feature. On the freeski side, Lainey Steen took the women's title while Austin Abel, Colin Harris and George Redell made up the open men's podium.
"It was really awesome to see some new talent from kids not on our team show up and get after it on our rails," Laske said. From the SSCV side, he was particularly impressed with Emily O'Connor.
"She put down tricks that we haven't seen any girl do before," he said of O'Connor, who stood out with a front board through the down-flat-down.
In the youth categories, Henry Cuthbert, Rory Duncan and Johnny Fiens went 1-2-3 in the U14 snowboard while Quinton Tracey, Flynn Danielli and Leo Arnold made up the U14 freeski podium. West Merril was the 18U freeski champion and Becket DePriest took the 18U snowboard crown with Marcel Arnold and Will Nager coming in second and third, respectively.
"The most exciting part was getting to watch these kids really go off and try tricks they've never done before," Laske said.
Bennett is already brainstorming for year two. He hopes to add a beer garden, more live music, a Smith Optics rail jam limo and more.
"I received a lot of emails from parents, competitors and spectators that they can't wait for next year," he said. "Everyone had a great time."
"We are really hoping this contest will become an annual thing," Laske added. "It was a ton of work but also so much fun to have everyone come out and support our rail garden."