Like all great movements, Protestantism, Women’s Suffrage, Rock ‘N’ Roll … snowboarding and “newschool” skiing inevitably grew outside from the establishment, in this case the FIS (Fédération Internationale de Ski), ski sport’s governing body.
No doubt Moreno Valley High School seniors Nick Cherniske, Jake Colenda, Nadia Gonzales and Braun Paynter, all of the Moreno Valley have already found a way to weave this into one of the daily spirited seminar discussions that are a regular part of that school’s curriculum.
The rest of the time? Well … they just want to ride.
Before they move onto college. Before they move on to the “real world.” Before they are saddled with mortgages, etc., these teens are enjoying another year hanging out at Angel Fire Resort’s Liberation Park, the premier terrain park in New Mexico.
Head out any weekend and you will find them, along with about a dozen other kids, hanging out at the park, listening to the rock music blaring from speakers mounted on lift towers, and practicing their 1080s, Cork 900s, and Flying Squirrels (don’t ask).
Why do they do it?
The answer is simple: It’s fun. But for each of these kids it’s also so they can compete … and win. Luckily for them, the resort offers a series of USASA (United States of America Snowboard Association) competitions that, for this year’s top finishers, will culminate with a trip to USASA Nationals at Copper Mountain Colorado in April.
For these seniors, though, that trip will be old hat: All are veteran competitors … and winners. At last year’s nationals, Braun brought home four snowboarding medals: 3rd in slalom, 5th, giant slalom,
35th, boardercross, and 8th, overall. Nadia, a skier, placed 1st in slopestyle, 2nd, skiercross. Nick was 5th in skiercross; and Jake,
35th in snowboard halfpipe.
Jake says he had skied since age 3 and raced since age 5, but it was his younger brother Cameron’s passion for snowboarding that changed his direction (Cameron has been to USASA Nationals every year since 1998, when he was 6). “It looked like fun,” Jake says.
At age 9, Jake gave snowboarding a try and by 2001 he, too, was headed to nationals and has competed almost every year since (he bowed out in 2003), more recently focusing on the “big-trick” slopestyle — a freestyle event in which participants are judged on tricks performed while riding over a series of assorted jumps — and the highly competitive halfpipe (Shaun White is a USASA alum).
Jake said he loves the sport because, “When you’re competing, your best friends are your hardest competition. You’re all pushing each other to do better.”
Nick agrees. “The atmosphere is all about fun instead of being totally competitive.”
Nick was a veteran ski racer and had even competed for two years in the regional Junior Olympics before coming to a realization: “I was a little burnt out.”
He found freedom, and fun, competing instead as a “new school” skier in exciting events like slopestyle and skiercross — similar to motocross, participants race through turns and obstacles and jumps in heats of four to six riders. For this event, he says his ski racing experience helps “100 percent” though in this case instead of racing the clock you’re racing in a tight group. At last spring’s nationals, Nick says, “I was in second and I was passing for first when I got caught on the guy’s skis.”
He recovered enough to finish fifth but adds, “I caused a little bit of carnage for the people behind me.”Nick, an all-around athlete knows preparedness can make the difference between placing first or back in the pack. Both Nick and Jake spend a fair amount of time in warmer months working out on a trampoline, all four seniors are accomplished soccer players (the MVHS boys’ team won the district championship this year), all four enjoy a variety of sports, but the formula for their success still boils down to this: They spend every available day on the snow in winter, hanging out with their friends, perfecting the tricks they know will make the difference.
“I like the terrain park,” Jake says. “That’s where it’s at for me. You can totally push yourself.”
Black Lake native Nadia Gonzales agrees with two things: One, the only way to get better is to spend time on the snow, and two, nothing beats “hanging out with my friends. I know pretty much everyone in the park.”
Newschool skiing resembles snowboarding in its culture, the tricks they do, the way they talk and the way they dress.
“It’s becoming quite a big fashion scene, actually,” Nadia says, then added, “It doesn’t really matter what you wear as long as you’re warm.”
Like Nick, Nadia was a champion ski racer for Team Angel Fire before switching to the “Dark Side” and donning twin-tip skis. She, too, had competed twice in the Junior Olympics but found, “The stress of ski racing was a big factor. Angel Fire seemed to be becoming very supportive of freestyle so I figured I’d try it. I like it a lot.”
Also like Nick, Nadia finds her racing background gives her an edge in the skiercross but “once you’re in the air, that all goes away.”
So she skis — just about every day she’s not in school — and she works on her tricks for the slopestyle. “I can do 360s and 540s. I’m working on a 720.”
Jake says his best trick is a front-side 900, air with two-and-a-half rotations. Nick, a 1080, the triple spin jump that has been the hallmark of top competitors. “I don’t land it very often.”
Braun says, “I did a front flip off the Smith limo last year. It was kind of hard but I did it.”
Braun was 9 years old when his family moved to Angel Fire from Hawaii where he had grown up in the water playing on boogie boards and surfing, so it was a no-brainer that he and twin Austin would take up snowboarding, a sport he embraced immediately. He has competed at nationals just about every year since 2002 (like Jake, he missed 2003), and finished in the top 20 every year. “I’ve been dong better the last couple
of years.”Braun says racing is his first love. “Sometimes I like getting out on my carving board more than my freestyle board. I like riding powder. I like the glades (at Angel Fire), that’s a really fun area.” Really, he likes it all. He loves spending the day at Liberation Park, soaking in the sun (“even when it snows out, it’s really fun”), and trying new tricks.
The tricks have to get harder to stay in the winner’s circle but that comes with a price. With the exception of Nick, these kids have all suffered injuries ranging from concussions (yes, they all wear helmets), to broken wrists, to a ruptured kidney: Seems Jake was in Chile last summer snowboarding and making a film for his senior project when he landed a little too hard. “That pretty much took it,” he says with typical understatement.
Yeah, freestyle has its risks but for these kids, it’s worth it. All four are sponsored by big-name gear and apparel companies, all four plan to attend college somewhere near the slopes.
“I enjoy it,” Braun says. “I just like riding all my new gear. It’s pretty sweet.”
So much to do …
• Burton Snowboard Demo Day, Dec. 22
• Never Summer Snowboard Demo Day, Dec. 23
• USASA Slopestyle Competition, Feb. 3
• No Drama Days, Feb.16, Ride with the pros and learn some tricks and tips from Twin Tip Nation
• USASA Boarder-X and Skier-X races, Feb. 23
• USASA Halfpipe Competition, Feb. 24
• Experience Snowboards Jedi Challenge, March 1, 12th Annual USASA-sanctioned Boarder-Cross and Skier-Cross races
• No Drama Days, March 15
Where to go in the snow
Angel Fire Resort sports three options including Liberation Park, New Mexico’s only freestyle terrain park with its own dedicated chairlift. Features include table tops, jump/roller, rails, boxes, a 20-foot bus and adjacent halfpipe ending in a quarterpipe with tree-tap (conditions permitting). Lowrider freestyle park is the perfect place for experienced skiers and boarders to hone their freestyle skills on short rails, fun boxes, jumps and rollers. Newbies can try a two-hour Freeride Workshop to learn how to catch big air in no time!
— Story by Ellen Miller-Goins
