Big Bear Today March 2018

Page 2—March 2018
From the Publisher
From PyeongChang
to Supergirl Pro,
Jacobellis moves on
indsey Jacobellis was fresh off a
plane after finishing fourth in
snowboard cross at PyeongChang LOlympics, yet she was about to drive
snowy roads up to Big Bear.
Jetlag? Definitely. “It feels like the
middle of the night,” Jacobellis, arguably
the most decorated female snowboarder
ever said, at 9:45 a.m.
Such is her dedication to Supergirl
Snow Pro, which arrives at Bear Mountain
March 17-18 featuring halfpipe and
boardercross contests, concerts and more,
all free (story page 4). Even as pundits are
pontificating on why she didn’t medal—
Jacobellis was a mere .03 seconds from
the bronze after leading much of the
way—Lindsey has moved on to the next
big adventure in her life: Supergirl.
“I’ve been looking forward to this
event, especially the last two years as it
started to get traction, so it’s easy for me
to move on from the Olympics,” Jacobellis
said of the women’s Pro-Am halfpipe and
boardercross event that evolved out of the
Supergirl Surf Pro competition held in
Oceanside each summer, the largest
women’s surf event in the world. “I’ve
never helped start an event before and I
want to be involved.”
Then again, moving on is something
Jacobellis has experience with. She started
riding at Stratton Mountain in Vermont at
age 11 and by 15 she competed in her first
X Games, an amazing progression!
Lindsey has 10 Winter X Games titles
to her credit, five world championships,
and perhaps most impressive, an astounding
29 World Cup victories. Not all in
snowboardcross either; when she was 18
she posted a halfpipe victory over 2002
Olympic gold medalist Kelly Clark and
was bronze medalist at the 2003 X Games
in slopestyle.
Yet for some people all those accomplishments
are overshadowed by one run
in the 2006 Games at Torino, Italy, when
she ironically won the only medal—so
far—in her Olympic career. Jacobellis was
on her way to gold in snowboardcross on
the next-to-last big jump when she
hammed it up with a method grab that instead
sent her sprawling. She still managed
to nab silver after getting back up—
that’s how far ahead she was—but for
some her career has been defined by that
single mistake at age 20.
Jacobellis has since paid her penance
but there are those who just won’t let it
go. “That’s all the media talked about at
the Olympics,” she said, adding that she’s
“definitely” tired of answering questions
about Torino. “It happened 12 years ago.
I just finished fourth in the world (at
PyeongChang) and no one talks about
that.”
Indeed Jacobellis was happy to make
it to the finals again after flaming out in
the semis in 2010 in Vancouver where she
finished fifth and crashing four years later
again in the semis in Sochi, resulting in a
seventh place finish. For those demanding
redemption after the Torino incident,
those results weren’t enough.
Last month in South Korea it looked
like Jacobellis would break through. “This
course just didn’t work out for me,” she
said. “It was such a windy course (several
events through the Games had to be rescheduled
because of gusts) so getting out
in front wasn’t really an advantage. The
other riders dropped in behind me as I created
draft. I heard them gaining on me and
I still had the head wind. But it was a really
fun race and I’m over-the-moon excited
to make the finals again.”
At age 32 she’s one of the older competitors—in
fact she actually coached
Olympic teammate Meghan Tierney at a
Mt. Hood camp when the latter was 11—
but Jacobellis isn’t ready to call it quits
yet. “My goal would be to qualify again
for the Olympics, which would be my
fifth,” she said. “That would be pretty cool.
We’ll see how things go.
“I’m still traveling the World Cup
tour, still making the finals and winning
World Cups, so I’m not stopping anytime
soon,” she added. “I would never make
the Olympics my last event anyway. I
would finish the season and then retire.”
Her World Cup season is over but
Supergirl gives Jacobellis plenty to focus
on. She was invited to the beach version
to surf in the celebrity event three years
ago by event producer Rick Bratman of
ASA Entertainment and was immediately
impressed.
“Seeing how this female, all-surf
event had grown in seven years at the time,
I wanted to make this happen on snow,”
she said. “The main focus is not just on
the pros. We want mentorship. Young girls,
teens getting to interact with top pros they
really like, how cool is that?”
Jacobellis thinks she might eventually
coach and probably will be good at it. But
I hope she tries again in Beijing in 2022.
Shaun White just had his redemption story,
why not Lindsey?
Have a good one.
Marcus
ON THE COVER: Olympian and 10-time X Games gold medalist Lindsey Jacobellis hosts
Supergirl Snow Pro at Bear Mountain March 17-18 with competitions, concerts
Volume 29, Number 9 March 2018
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7
8
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Publisher
Marcus G. Dietz
Associate Publisher
Sandra L. Dietz
Publishing Consultant
Bret Colson
Technical Consultant
Charles Dietz
Photography
Steve Dietz
John Daskam
Mark Gauger
In This Issue...
Lindsey Jacobellis, back from Olympics
and ready for Supergirl; pages 2, 4
Big Bear Today
Supergirl Snow Pro Arrives at Bear Mtn.
Elite pro female snowboarders—including much of the U.S.
team from the PyeongChang Games—highlight the biggest
event to come to town in ages March 17-18. There’s two
concerts each day, Festival Village with expos, Pro-Am
events and more. Best part is, it’s all free! Plus the 22nd
Victor Alvarez race is back and so is Bear Break.
Resort Shorts—Happenings at Bear, Summit
The iconic new Ikon Pass goes on sale this month, valid in Big
Bear and a lot of other places, just one of several ways to
save a buck on the slopes. Ski-A-Thon is back, last USASA
and Goldsmith’s events are happening, and get a free Cali4nia
pass just by taking lessons.
Powerman 5000, RJA, Tributes at Cave
There’s lots of madness in March at Big Bear’s intimate
concert venue with shows by PM5K, Red Jumpsuit
Apparatus, and tributes to Led Zeppelin, Sublime and Oingo
Boingo. Plus a terrific musical shootout between the “Beatles”
and “Rolling Stones” that makes for one awesome evening of
music. All at The Cave Big Bear, up close...
Mardi Gras Dance Party with Blues Boss Wayne
It’s a Big Easy-style party benefitting the Chamber of
Commerce when Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne heats up the
Convention Center for the annual gala. There’s auctions, lots
of surprises, shrimp creole and Southern-inspired beverages.
Get ready to boogie down!
Add Two to Last Bald Eagle Count
There’s at least two more bald eagles than the last count on
March 10 will tally after two chicks hatched from wellpublicized
eggs last month. First Greenthumbs volunteer day
is also this month plus animal track, nature walks and more at
Big Bear’s recreation destination, on The Back Page.
DEPARTMENTS
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3
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From the Publisher
Potpourri
New! Area Map/
Calendar of Events
The Almanac
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