Joe Mango and Jessica Rich Win the Aspen/Snowmass Open
OutdoorHub 02.27.12
The Aspen/Snowmass Open went down this weekend at Buttermilk mountain in Aspen, Colorado. The event utilizes the same slopestyle course as the Winter XGames making for one of the best setups in the world for the open event. Over 40 men and women competed for a prize purse worth $15,000 USD and in the end, it was Joe Mango (USA) who took the win for the men and Jessica Rich (AUS) claimed the victory for the women.
The men’s competition began on Saturday with semi-finals, but after the first heat finished the event had to be postponed due to some harsh wind blowing through the slopestyle course. Competition resumed on Sunday where the second heat of men got their runs in and the 15-rider final was fixed for later in the day.
The winds calmed down for men’s finals which featured a best of three run format. Joe Mango came out on top and took home the top prize of $5,000 USD for his run that consisted of a Cab 270 to regular on the first jib and a frontside blunt to 450 out on the second jib. On the jump line he put down a switch backside 900 mute, frontside 720 melon, a double back flip and finished up with a backside 720 tail.
The women’s competition was a straight-to-finals format. The wind was gusting during the women’s competition making for some difficult conditions on the large jumps, but Jessica Rich (AUS) persevered and landed a solid run that included a frontside boardslide and a 50-50 on the jib section and a backside 360 tail, two straight airs and a backside 180 mute to take first place. Heather Baroody came in second place and Molly Wilson took third.
With the Aspen/Snowmass Open wrapped up, many riders are hitting the road and heading straight to Mammoth Mountain for the 5Star US Snowboarding Grand Prix taking place February.
