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 High and Dry
 Back for its ninth year and one of the best dryslope events in the country.
It's a little bit sad. This is the 9th High and Dry, yet the first one I've ever attended. It's a great event, but being on good old Dendix put off many of the riders that had come down south for the AIM Series on Bracknell's PermaSnow the day before, so we were lacking any Halifax riders. On the flip side, there are a number of riders who step it up on Dendix simply because it's not the sort of surface you want to stack on. Luke Paull and Cody Hierons were two such riders, with Luke impressive on the jumps and Cody styling it on the rails. The Chatham slope is a long, wide, steep, rolling slope that provided a great landing for the three kickers set up down the slope. The width also allowed for numerous lines during the freestyle and provided ample space for some of the biggest toys in the dryslope business, including the 60' box, Animal Rail and Rollercoaster rail, all set up next to an easier gaspipe at the bottom of the slope. The slopestyle event ran as a jam session and despite the hot, sunny weather, most riders were getting the speed they needed to hit the big kickers and long drop off rail at the half-way point. Sunny Ellmore was impressive all day long and one of the few who was making it to the end of the rollercoaster. Luke Paull also said he felt at home on the Dendix and many people commented how good it was to see Sheffield's Mark Hartley throwing down his almost trademark back flips and christ airs off their big kicker. The Dendix did take its toll however, with dislocated fingers and a nasty gashed chin added to the list of prizes on the day. The view of the Tom ???sticking his still gloved fingers into the hole in his chin and asking people if he needed stitches was quite unpleasant. "Yeah, perhaps one or two!" Dendix riding always impresses me. I learnt on the stuff (in hard boots no less), but haven't really gone back. I'm no fan of riding it, but watching people ride it is a different matter. It earns much respect and can bring out the best. The large crowd certainly appreciated the day's riding. Kat Miller was sliding well and won the big air, even after her beating at the AIM Series event of the day before. Emily Spicer was throwing caution to the wind in a cropped shirt. But it was young Samantha Rogers who ruled the day for the ladies and walked away with top prize in the freestyle. Thankfully her normal youth challenger, Rebecca Cullum was on a modelling assignment and couldn't make it and it was great to see Samantha in first place overall for a change as she's come on so much over the last few years. The big air was run on length only and after a few practice runs, people were eliminated until just three riders remained for the final. Luke Paull cleaned up with corked 5s and stomped landings. Rumours are that Chatham will convert it's main slope to PermaSnow this October, with the learner slope already done. It's going to be a very, very fast slope once they've done that and whether they intend to do an re-contouring remains to be seen. Event organiser Alex Spence is also trying to convince them to convert the spare land they have to a permanent fun park. Now that would be good. Alex Spence, Chris Woods and the rest of the organisers would like to thank the following sponsors for their help, prizes and enthusiasm for the event. Never Summer, T-Boards, Beca Boards, React, Snowboard Club UK, Method Mag, Dark Summer, Nike ACG, Natives.co.uk, Euro Boys, Spunky, Not Wax, Barb, Puzle and SP/Demon/Wild Duck. The High and Dry event page can be administered by dunx (Dunx), stu (Stu Brass), spencer (Spencer Claridge) and office (Office). Page views: 8226 |
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