Monday, August 31, 2009

Slope Sistair Rules The Ranch

If I was updating Freeride Foundation's Facebook status this weekend, the progression would have looked a bit like this:

Freeride Foundation is trying to avoid accidentally finding the peach pit (and possible piece of gum) that Gale failed to throw out of the passenger side window of her car last week.

Freeride Foundation is eating pizza at Pablo's in Grand Junction with the women of Slope Sistair.

Freeride Foundation is freaking out that I may have lost my phone in City Market...but I don't remember taking it into the store....why can't I hear it ring?

Freeride Foundation is at The Ranch! It's a freerider's paradise!

Freeride Foundation found my phone next to a dried out peach pit underneath an atlas, underneath the passenger seat. Ew and hooray!

Freeride Foundation is puckered up riding Pucker Up for the first time on my Trance. Hmmm, perhaps I need a 7in freeride bike after all.

Freeride Foundation is having dinner with the ladies of Slope Sistair and James from Grassroots. Lucky James!

Ok, you get the picture.

To fill in the gaps, The Ranch is quite literally a freerider's paradise located about 9 miles outside of Grand Junction, CO. It's a network of trails, jumps, man-made stunts, and a huge slopestyle course, all within a short push from a fairly civilized cabin (ie, running water, a 6-burner stove, huge fridge, and electricity).

Want to ride some of GJ's finest trails? A short jaunt down a dirt road will get you to The Ribbon, and a short shuttle ride puts you within access of Free Lunch, Pucker Up, Holy Cross, and more. Run by Grassroots Cyclery in Grand Junction, The Ranch was the site of the third installment of Slope Sistair.

Stephanie Nychka (left) founded Slope Sistair as a way to get as many ripping slopestyle girls together as possible for a weekend of riding, progressing, and inspiring. The weekend started with trail rides on The Ribbon and Pucker Up on Friday. On Saturday, pros like Tammy Donahugh and Gale Dahlager coached riders looking to improve their confidence on the dual slalom track and on jumps. There was plenty of time for everyone to session the slopestyle course, wall rides, and other jumps around The Ranch.

Sunday's slopestyle session started with a best trick contest off of a step-up that's separate from the slopestyle course. The slopestyle session was rider-judged, and it was no easy task, as Tammy and Darcy Turenne (below) put on a show that included tricks like no-handers and foot-buzzing x-ups.
After a lengthy jump session and a lunch break, everyone moved over to the slopestyle course. the course starts with a bridge to wood-ramp jump or two sets of doubles. Darcy got creative and tranferred fromt the bridge to the backside of the first double, while Tammy and Katie Hayes dropped the bridge to the wood ramp. After a few runs, those two were able to link up the bridge to the wall ride below. Tammy (below) took it even further by hitting doubles all the way down the course--and absolutely maching!

When it was all said and done, Tammy took home wins in both contests, and walked away with a new frame. She was so inspiring to watch, as she rode with the most confidence and style throughout the weekend. And Katie (right) is definitely one to watch. She couldn't get enough of the fire pit jump in front of the cabin, and she was the only other girl to hit the doubles on the slopestyle course. She has a calculated but aggressive style and a good eye for picking lines and judging her landings. We'll be seeing a lot of her in the future!

Best Trick
1. Tammy Donahugh
2. Darcy Turenne
3. Katie Hayes












Best Trick podium. How we do it at The Ranch.


Slopestyle

1. Tammy Donahugh
2. Katie Hayes
3. Darcy Turenne














Tammy slayed slopestyle.












Gale Dahlager has been to all 3 Slope Sistairs (along with Darcy and SS founder Stephanie).











Neven Steinmetz extends her World Cup 4X skills and busts a move on the wall ride.









Nadia Steinbrecher ramps it up.


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Such a cool event!

Carey said...

Awesome! I'd like to make it out to this next year if it's held in GJ again...Eddie Clark took some sweet photos as well!