The 33rd annual US Open kicks off on Wednesday, March 4th with men’s and women’s slopestyle semi-finals featuring defending US Open champion Mark McMorris, 2015 X Games silver medalist Stale Sandbech, Olympic gold medalist Jamie Anderson, 2014 Olympic silver medalist Enni Rukajärvi and 2015 X Games gold medalist Silje Norendal, along with Maxence Parrot, Roope Tonteri and Darcy Sharpe.
“The US Open is one of those events that everyone respects and looks forward to,” says back-to- back defending US Open slopestyle winner Mark McMorris (in the picture). “There’s such good vibes and it really wraps up the year for me.”
Next, the highly anticipated halfpipe semi-finals take place on Thursday, March 5th in Vail’s 22-foot superpipe featuring back-to-back X Games gold medalist Danny Davis and seven-time US Open champion Kelly Clark. Brothers Ben and Gabe Ferguson as well as Olympic gold medalist Iouri Podladtchikov and Olympians Christian Haller, Ayumu Hirano and Greg Bretz are also set to compete in this legendary event steeped in snowboarding history.
Kelly Clark (in the picture) is really looking forward to the Open and says, “The US Open is one of the best events of the season—everyone has been riding all season and they get to showcase their efforts. If there ever was a peak in riding during the year, it’s at the Open.”
Then on Friday and Saturday, it all comes down to the finals when 10 men and 6 women compete for equal prize money in slopestyle finals on March 6th followed by halfpipe finals on March 7th.
In addition to world-class competition, there’s also plenty of action to enjoy off the hill, with three nights of live music on the Solaris Concert Stage, including Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros following slopestyle finals on Friday, and Girl Talk following halfpipe finals on Saturday. And if you can’t experience the US Open in person, catch all the action online via the live webcasts at www.Burton.com/USO.
Photos: © Dean Blotto Gray Blotto Photto
Source: http://www.burton.com/USO
