Big Bear Today March 2018

Page 4—March 2018
Olympians star at Supergirl Snow Pro
Elite female riders at Bear Mountain for 2 days
of competition, Pro-Am, concerts...all free!
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T○ he chance to compete with top female
pro snowboarders like Olympian
Lindsey Jacobellis, just back
from the PyeongChang Games, Hannah
Teter and others. Not one but four concerts
on the deck plus festival village. And all
of it free!
Toyota Supergirl Snow Pro moves to
its new location at Bear Mountain March
17-18, easily the biggest on-snow local
event in years. Previously held at
Breckenridge, it’s one of the first major
post-2018 Olympic events and the World
Cup worthy cash purse is expected to draw
many top ranked snowboarders.
Yet Supergirl Snow Pro, held from 9
a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Sunday, aspires to do more than just showcase
the top female snowboarders. Over
100 ladies will get to participate too during
pro-am snowboardcross and halfpipe
competitions as they get to ride side-byside
with the world’s best. Registration is
free ($20 reservation deposit is refunded
at the event, register online at
SupergirlSnowPro.com) and the idea is for
pros to mentor, nurture and encourage the
next generation of snowboarding pros.
Jacobellis (story page 2) leads
Saturday’s snowboardcross event featur-
ing four divisions with pros plus ages 8-
11, 12-15 and 16 and over. And there’s no
one better to learn the tricks of the trade
from; she finished fourth in PyeongChang,
a mere .03 seconds from bronze, and is a
10-time X-Games gold medalist.
On Sunday it’s halfpipe for the pros
along with divisions for age 10-15 and 16
and over. Hosted by three-time Olympian
Teter, who won gold at the 2006 Torino
Games and silver in Vancouver in 2010 and
is an eight-time World Cup medalist.
“Yes the racers will put on a show but
we’ll not have any coaches around,”
Jacobellis said in an interview right after
the Olympics. “But we’ll also ride the
mountain while the girls tag along and interact
with us. It’s a family-friendly, teamoriented
environment with top U.S. pros.
“It’s incredibly important to lay the
foundation for the future of women’s
snowboarding, and this event does an
amazing job of empowering women and
putting pros and amateurs together in a
unique environment so that we can pass
along our experiences to the next generation,”
Jacobellis said.
Even if you’re not competing, there’s
a lot happening at Supergirl Snow Pro. Two
concerts each day in the afternoon feature
top talent on stage.
At the Festival Village there’s fitness
and yoga classes, female DJs, workshops,
autographs, giveaways, sponsor booths and
more. Recent snow and aggressive
snowmaking has made for the best conditions
of the season just in time for Supergirl
Snow Pro, with Southern California’s only
halfpipe in prime condition.
“I’d love for girls to make new friends
at Supergirl, maybe international ones at
that,” Jacobellis said. “And to find their
love of sport, this one or others. And to
develop the confidence that they can accomplish
anything in life.”
This is the first event of the 2018
Supergirl Pro Series, now in its 12 year,
the only large-scale, all-female action
sports competition series. Over 250 top
women athletes from around the globe will
Festival Village with two days of lifestyle expo, concerts, more! Park is prime too...
What began out of tragedy and
evolved over two decades into the
Southland’s premier ski race returns to
Snow Summit on March 10.
Victor Alvarez Memorial Ski Race
attracts top competitors from around the
state, partly because of the $2,000 cash
purse but also to pay respects to Alvarez,
who was well known in the California ski
industry after working at Summit and
Bear Mountain as well as Mammoth. First
place takes home $400, with payouts to
16th place for men, 8th for women.
Top skiers put on a great show on the
Widowmaker race course as they compete
in head-to-head giant slalom racing
down a pro-style course (no pro bump).
Each racer gets two timed runs. The “Village
Championship” format begins with
morning qualifying runs as the men’s field
is trimmed to 32, ladies 16, followed by
afternoon elimination races as winners advance
to the next heat and losers go ski.
It’s a great show that’s free to watch
from the base area. People still talk about
watching Olympian and World Championship
bronze medalist John Teller from
Mammoth Lakes take first several years
ago as he charged past Tahoe’s and Big
Bear’s best with a dazzling display
through the gates at the Jim Bollingmo
Finish Arena. See it all from the base area,
where there’s also a terrific silent auction
in SoCal Marketplace from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Just as important, the race in its 22nd
year has grown into an important
fundraiser for the Snow Summit Race
Big Bear Today
Supergirl Snow Pro comes to Bear Mountain for the first time March 17-18 with
snowboardcross and halfpipe events, Pro-Am, concerts and more
compete in the events.
Past participants include Jamie Anderson,
Gretchen Bleiler, Christy Prior, Kjersti
Buaas, Sarka Pancochova and others, so
expect the sport’s biggest names to show
up including most of the U.S. Olympic
team from PyeongChang. The lineup is expected
to include some 26 elite pros plus
still more top amateurs.
February’s natural snow plus the best
snowmaking conditions of the season—finally—are
making for some real March
madness on the slopes as skiers and
snowboarders scramble to get their turns
in. At press time there’s 30-plus open runs
between Snow Summit and Bear Mountain
with over 120 jibs and jumps.
All of which makes for great Spring
Break skiing and riding that should continue
through March, maybe even to Easter
Sunday. “Bear Break” is a week-long
bash with fun in the sun at Bear Mountain
March 24-April 1. Look for events like
pond skimming, great product demos and
giveaways, and music on the deck that may
even include big-name concert acts, so
check bigbeartodaymag.com for updates.
Call (844) GO-2-BEAR.
Alvarez race back with cash purse, fun
Team. Development and race team members
along with masters and adventurous
skiers from the public compete in a fun,
family-friendly fundraiser.
The $80 entry fee ($50 ages 15 and
under) includes lift ticket–worth the price
of admission in itself—plus T-shirt,
goodie bag and race fees. Season pass
holders save $10. Register from 8-9:30
a.m. in the race room in Tyndall House
above ski patrol before qualifying races
start at 10.
The terrific silent auction is worth
checking out even if you don’t race.
There’s always a great selection of items
to bid on including ski and snowboard
gear, destination getaways, gift baskets,
sports tickets and memorabilia and much
more. The auction is open to the non-racing
public as well so come on up and get
some great deals.
Alvarez’s passion was skiing so the
event is a fitting way to pay homage to
the late instructor who died in 1997. He
was just skiing a flat section carrying gear
to set up for the next day’s Pro Ski Tour
event when he somehow slid off the side
and sustained severe head trauma.
A helicopter landed at Snow Summit
to take Victor on his final ride, to
Loma Linda hospital where he was pronounced
dead. A few weeks after he
passed, family and friends got together
for the first ski race, which became an
annual tradition though tough snow conditions
have led tosome postponements.
Call (909) 378-0525.