By Brooke Geery
Portland, Oregon-based professional snowboarder Erik Leon kicked off his “CORENATION” jam session tour on Saturday, Dec. 11 at Killington. The charity event — this stop to benefit Vermont Adaptive — has a goal of making snowboarding fun and accessible, in response to the insane level of riding the general public sees in events such as the X Games and Winter Olympics.
Erik Leon does a frontside indy at the CORENATION charity jam this past Saturday, Dec. 11.
“We’re not focusing on necessarily the biggest, baddest snowboarding, we’re focusing on who’s having the most fun with their friends around them, promoting them, and just like, sharing that energy,” Leon explained.
Accordingly, the judges skipped the clipboards and many were riding right alongside the nearly 30 competitors (ages 4-49) who chipped in $20 to sign up, and in many cases, donated extra to the cause.
The jam started at the top of Mouse Park, with a box session, then moved to a down bar for some more standard competitive snowboarding. But the energy really picked up when the riders began to congregate around the cone line — where some people ollied and others turned, and it didn’t matter, as long as you were smiling (everyone was). Finally, everyone took turns on the wall ride/down tube, where options were endless.
“I wanted every rider to be able to hit every feature and have fun,” Leon said, as he watched 4-year-old Harley Ruffle carve his way down the course with a huge smile on his face.
