Many of the world’s top snowboarders were on hand in Jackson Hole, Wyo. on Jan. 25, for the second annual Natural Selection Tour (NST)—an event many in the industry consider to be one of the best snowboard competitions ever created.
“I think the NST captures the essence of the soul of why we snowboard,” said Whistler snowboarder Leanne Pelosi. “We all crave powder and community, and this has both of those in a contest vibe without feeling too competitive. The vibe is just unmatched.
“Seeing somebody ride a line that they’ve never truly ridden before in fresh powder has got to be one of the most difficult things you can do on a snowboard and that’s why I think [the NST] is the pinnacle of our sport.”
Building on the simple idea of bringing together the world’s best park and backcountry snowboarders to compete head-to-head for the crown of best all-around snowboarder on the planet, the NST, as it is today, has been years in the making.
It all started in 2008 with the first Natural Selection, a singular event in Jackson Hole that brought together freestyle and freeriding on a mix of natural and semi-natural terrain.
“I think we kind of struck something unique, even way back then,” said contest founder and snowboard superstar Travis Rice. “However, being very critical, I could see the areas and the improvements that needed to happen to really bring this thing into its full incarnation, so we stepped back and actually spent about the next five years looking for the right place and the right venue to do what was then called the Super Natural.”
After spending the summer of 2011 preparing terrain at Baldface Lodge, near Nelson, B.C. for the second and third incarnation of the event—the Super Natural and Ultra Natural, which ran in back to back years in 2012 and 2013—it still wasn’t perfect in Rice’s eyes. It needed to be a tour.
So once again, Rice and his team took a step back and spent the next few years scouting locations to find the best spots for a future Natural Selection tour. Finally, in 2021, the stage was set with stops in Jackson Hole and Baldface Lodge and finals taking place in the Alaska’s Tordrillo Mountains.
“Each location has its own unique set of characteristics and identity. Being here in the Rockies in Jackson, it brings its own style of riding. The type of snow we get, the type of terrain that we ride in, it’s got its own unique identity,” said Rice. “And then you go into Interior British Columbia and the terrain is different, the snow is much cakier, you get pillows, there is a higher water density in it, and then Alaska, which is more of a true coastal range, you are riding at much lower elevations, there is even more water content in the snow, that’s why you get snow that sticks to such steep slopes up there. Each area offers its own unique set of challenges and I think that’s the beauty of this event.”
Returning in 2022 with the same three locations as the inaugural 2021 tour, the Sea to Sky was well represented at the first stop in Jackson Hole with Spencer O’Brien, Leanne Pelosi, Marie-France Roy and Chris Rasman all putting their skills to the test.
Unfortunately, no Whistler locals made it through the first round, with O’Brien, Roy and Rasman all losing their heats, and Pelosi pulling out last minute due to challenging snow conditions and the risk it posed to her in the early stages of her pregnancy.
Although disappointed she couldn’t compete, and hoping to be able to return to the competition next year, Pelosi was still stoked about the level of riding she was able to witness first-hand at the Jackson NST stop.
“The riders blew me away. Everybody had such a positive attitude, and they all brought their A-game regardless of the snow conditions. People were just truly psyched to be a part of this cream-of-the-crop crew of athletes that are the best in the world at what they do,” she said.
“It felt like it was a celebration of the sport to be there. It felt like a wedding of sorts, it was just so good. It feels good to be a part of a really strong community and to me it was just really what snowboarding is all about—just good community, good friends, good support, progression and powder.”
Just two of the five Canadians present in Jackson Hole made it through to compete in the second leg of the tour. Last year’s winner on the women’s side, Robin Van Gyn, and Revelstoke’s Dustin Craven won their respective first-round matchups. While that was as far as Craven would go, losing to eventual stage one runner-up Jared Elston in round two (Elston lost in the final to Sage Kotsenburg), Van Gyn would go on to win her second matchup before coming up short in the final matchup against American Elena Hight.
However, when the second stop gets underway at Baldface at the end of February, some fresh blood will be added to the pack in the form of Mark McMorris, last year’s third-place finisher, as well as New Zealand’s 20-year-old phenom Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, each fresh off Olympic-medal-winning performances in Beijing.
With two of the world’s biggest snowboard stars joining the already talented field, Pelosi believes the title is anyone’s to win when the third stop in Alaska comes around in late March.
“I’m rooting for Dustin Craven at Baldface; he’s kind of the dark horse of this crew,” said Pelosi. “And then for girls, Zoi is probably going to destroy again. It will be awesome to see Zoi, but it will be awesome to see how the girls decide to compete with her because nobody knew how strong she was last year, so I think everybody is going to try to bring their A-Plus game against her. Honestly, it could just be anybody’s game, that’s why it’s so exciting.”
