Three scenarios playing out flawlessly

Every time the Campus Rail Jam Tour rolls through Salt Lake City three things are guaranteed to happen. First off, someone from the crew will feel the need rant for an hour about how weak the libations are. Second, that same person will end the night hugging the toilet from too much “weak” party sauce (A classic case of “over-hydration”). Lastly, the local shreds will completely destroy the setup and put on one of the best shows of the entire tour. Guaranteed.

Sure enough, all three of the aforementioned scenarios played out flawlessly and the SLC shreds left the crowd flabbergasted at the site of their rail destruction. Come rain, sun, snow, or sleet (all three actually happened that day) these kids couldn’t be stopped from slaying the setup. Hathbanger probably had something to do with the madness, keeping up stoke factor through all three heats. Local electro duo, Muscle Hawk, kicked off the finals and kept the crowd hyped until the last drop. When the U of U co-eds weren’t dancing their faces off you could find them lining up at the Cricket Wireless booth making their own custom t-shirts and getting hooked-up with all sorts of free gear.

Impressive and creative

As the first heat got underway it was evident that these kids meant business. Forget about sloppy tricks or half-assed presses, the riding was all textbook and the style was on point. Three twenty-person heats gave riders a chance to have some fun and impress judges in hopes of landing a spot in the finals, and that’s just what they did. While the comp was fun to watch there’s no telling how stressful it must have been to judge. Utah riders really knew how to utilize the features and got super creative with a mix of pretzels, presses, pivots and more degrees of rotation than the judges could count.

The lady shreds of SLC are scary good

Any other city besides SLC, and these girls would be making the boys look silly. Shred buddies Lynn Neil and Marley Colt came together and stood on the podium together at the end of the jam. Lynn took home some fresh new Roxy bindings for her third place finish. Marley ended up in second with a new board from Ford. Landing in first was Tour veteran, Erika Vikander. Erika has ridden the setup more times than almost anyone else, and you can definitely tell by her riding. Proper frontboards and smooth 180s over the gap stole the judge’s heart and sealed the deal for the win. Erika was awarded some cash money along with a new board from Roxy.

One of the many great things about the Campus Rail Jam Tour mobilized by Cricket and Ford is that it gives up-and-comers a chance to gain some exposure. This is most certainly the case for first place finisher, Jordan Morse. Jordan has won multiple events put on by Galvanic Design (three!), and is beginning to really make a name for himself in the SLC scene. Jordan took home a wad of cash along with a new board from Salomon Snowboards. Nipping at Jordan’s heels was Alex Gavic in second place. Alex killed it all day and was hooked up with a new outerwear kit from Bonfire for his hard work and smooth style. Rounding out the podium was Everest Arnold in third, taking home a jacket from Bonfire and a limited edition Neff x CRJT collabo hat.

Skiing boys and girls

Salt Lake City boasts some of the best skiers of the Tour, hands down. These kids were going for broke all day and getting the crowd more hyped than a ten year old on speed. If you weren’t 270ing onto one or more of the features than you didn’t have a fighting chance. The 30ft D-F-D of death got the most attention from the two-plankers and claimed a few casualties during the course of the event. One skier even tried to disaster to the down, check the event video to see how that ended up! Finishing in third place was Khai Krepela, followed by Karl Fostvedt in second. Both of these guys slayed it, and will be invited to the Tour finals in Portland. The man of the hour was John Kutcher, walking away with a fresh pair of Coreupt skis and bragging rights. Congrats boys!

Female skiers aren’t very common competitors in the Tour, and SLC was the first stop to have any lady brave enough to take on the setup. Braveheart, Veronica Kelly didn’t seem too phased as she powered through the rainbow box drop after drop and claimed the “W” for the ladies. Way to represent, Veronica!

A big thanks goes out to the Garrett, Jake, and everyone from the One Love Ski and Snowboard Club, the U of U Union Programming Council, Cricket Wireless, Ford and all the Tour partners for making it happen! It will be hard to top the level of talent that came to throw down in SLC!

With the third event of the Campus Rail Jam Tour wrapped up, the Galvanic Design crew is stoked to head to the plains of Boise for the next event at Boise State University on Thursday, March 11th!

Be sure to check the website at http://www.campusrailjamtour.com for more info!

Photo Credit: Darcy Bacha