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As Olympic snowboarders launch into the air in pursuit of gold, KSHB 41 sports anchors Mick Shaffer and McKenzie Nelson decided to see what it takes — trading the studio for the slopes at Snow Creek.
With the Winter Olympics showcasing gravity-defying tricks and split-second races, snowboarding remains one of the Games’ most dynamic sports.
The Olympics added snowboarding in 1998, and since then, the sport has evolved rapidly, with stars like Shaun White and Chloe Kim redefining what can be done in the air.
There are five Olympic snowboarding events.
Three take place in what’s known as the park: halfpipe, slopestyle and big air. These judged events feature qualifying rounds and finals, with riders scored on the complexity of their tricks, execution and amplitude — or how high they soar above the snow.
The other two events are races. Snowboardcross sends four riders at a time barreling down a winding course filled with jumps and turns, while parallel giant slalom is a head-to-head race that most closely resembles Alpine skiing.
On television, it looks thrilling. In person, it’s humbling.
At Snow Creek, our instructor Ryan started us with the basics: how to strap in, how to balance and, most importantly, how to fall safely. That last lesson proved useful.
We did, in fact, make it down the hill. Eventually.
There were no flips, no spins and certainly no big air moments — just cautious turns and plenty of laughter.
By the bottom of the hill — cold and slightly sore, but smiling — we agreed on one thing: watching Olympic snowboarding will never look the same.
The next time athletes fly above the halfpipe or race side-by-side toward the finish, we’ll know firsthand that even the smallest slope is no easy feat.
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