Story and photos by John Isaacs
The 2016 Burton US Open featured the world’s best riders competing in the Slopestyle and Halfpipe. The event started with the Junior Jam, where amateur halfpipe riders aged 14 and under competed on the 22-foot superpipe.
Mammoth Mountain Snowboard Team riders Tessa Maud (USA, 12 years old) and Judd Henkes (USA, 14 years old) took first place and earned a chance to compete against the pros in the halfpipe semi-finals. Tessa Maud took the top score on her second run, while Judd Henkes took the top score on his first run.
The Burton US Open Slopestyle semi-finals were cancelled for both Women (due to snow from the night before) and Men (due to high winds). So all competitors were moved up to the finals with the number of runs reduced from three to two.
Jamie Anderson (USA) took the top score in the Women’s Slopestyle from a field of 16 riders. Karly Shorr (USA) and Cheryl Maas (NL) took silver and bronze. Kyle Mack (USA) took the top score in the Men’s Slopestyle from a large field of 31 riders. Eric Beauchemin (USA) and Sebastien Toutant (CAN) took silver and bronze. Shaun White (USA), who later won the Men’s Halfpipe, fell on the rails on both runs, and finished last.
Burton US Open Halfpipe semifinals consisted of a field of 16 women (with 6 women advancing to the finals) and 30 men (with 10 men advancing to the finals). Chloe Kim (USA, 15-years old) took the top score in the Women’s Halfpipe on her first run, following a second place finish in 2015. Xuetong Cai (China) and Kelly Clark (USA) took silver and bronze.
Shaun White (USA) took the top score in the Men’s Halfpipe from a field of 10 riders with a dominating performance on his first run that hit the 25-foot tall height meter.
He also earned the second highest score of the day, and won the halfpipe event for the sixth time. Benjamin Ferguson (USA) and Taku Hiraoda (JPN) took silver and bronze.
