Keeping the Pros on Their Toes

Amy Ram

Red Bull is definitely flying this flag with the new Red Bull Supernatural TV show which has just been streamed for UK viewers too. What a playground for the powder monkeys Red Bull has set up! They’re really pulling out all the stops for the exposure of extreme sports (12-year-old Tom Schaar stomping a 1080?) gaining huge exposure for riders and brands.

Rider: Kazu Kokubo
Photographer: Danny Zapalac/Red Bull Content Pool

The Red Bull Supernatural series brings you (finally) a rad combination of park and powder, set on a 55 degree slope on Baldface Mountain in BC, Canada. This has never before been done in a competition and with Travis Rice at the helm, this is the ultimate test for the world’s most talented snowboarding athletes. At last these guys aren’t making it look so easy: you realise this when Gigi Ruf hits the knuckle and Mark McMorris bails on most landings. It really goes to show that being an X-Games winner doesn’t mean that you are the best rider in the world.  A point well, proven, perhaps Red Bull is trying to show up the X-Games? Hmmm time will tell!

This unique competition is not based on the standard judging system with the high scores going to triple corks, double rodeos and 1200’s, but instead it’s the ultimate test of style, imagination, variation and creativity.  This for me is what snowboarding is all about. It shines a light on how snowboarding should be and sets a good example to youngsters who think snowboarding is all about slopestyle, jibs, or half pipe. At the end of each run all the athletes, however well they performed, have a huge smile on their face.  They’re having fun, shredding pow, hitting booters and they’re competing – definitely something worth a toast…someone pass the Jäger!

Rider: Scotty Lago
Photographer: Danny Zapalac/Red Bull Content Pool

The competition certainly separated the men from the boys, with the experienced older riders conquering the course, leaving the less experienced younger riders to watch and learn from some of the masters in the field. Nevertheless it was likely to be an interesting lesson and hopefully a learning curve to the younger snowboarding generation. 

The one and only disappointment of the event, (one probably glaringly obvious to our readers) was the absence of a female category! I mean come on, we all know that there are female riders out there that could have shown Red Bull a thing or two about flying, even all of Red Bull’s female athletes, like Marie-France Roy. Hopefully next year Travis Rice might turn over to his wife one morning and realise that women do exist and should be competing in the 2013 series!

Overall Travis Rice did a great job and did even better to win the competition as well. A unique and well-thought out competition with a well-funded sponsor bought the ultimate snowboarding viewing for both snowboarders and non-snowboarders alike – but come on Trav, there are some Shred Betties out there who could really bring it!

Red Bull Supernatural Course Overview
Photographer: Danny Zapalac/Red Bull Content Pool

If you’ve been hiding under a rock and not seen the Red Bull Supernatural, get up to speed on what’s what here!

Posted by Amy Ram on 04/29/12