Photos: Annual Nate Chute snowboarding event at WMR
Three racers take the first jump at the Nate Chute Banked Slalom and Boardercross event on Sunday at Whitefish Mountain Resort. (JP Edge photo)
Emotions were high at the starting gate for Sunday's competitors. (JP Edge photo)
Race coordinators cheer on the competitors right before the start. (JP Edge photo)
A racer tucks and passes two competitors. (JP Edge photo)
A competitor slides through a turn at the Nate Chute snowboarding event on Sunday. (JP Edge photo)
The last racers check-in before the drop. (JP Edge photo)
Racers weave through tight turns on the course. (JP Edge photo)
Racers pull off the metal bar to drop into the boardercross style course. (JP Edge photo)
Competitors speed through the course. (JP Edge photo)
A racer pulls through a fast corner. (JP Edge photo)
Racers prepare to start their race on Sunday. (JP Edge photo)
A race officiator checks every racer before he drops the gate. (JP Edge photo)
The 23rd annual Nate Chute Banked Slalom and Boardercross was held last weekend at Whitefish Mountain Resort.
It is the second-longest-running snowboard banked slalom in the country and third-longest in North America, according to WMR. The event raises money for the Nate Chute Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to suicide prevention in western Montana.
On Saturday competitors raced in the banked slalom, navigating hand-built turns and rollers through the trees into George’s Gorge. Best time wins and seeds racers for the Sunday boardercross.
Sunday was one of the biggest boardercross events in the Northwest with 125 riders competing for the title and trophies. Two to five riders race through a course of jumps, banks, rollers and traffic off the Goat Haunt trail.
In the Pro-Open Men’s division, Chase Matteson took home the title over the two-day competition. He placed second in both events, which totaled enough points to grab first overall. In the Pro-Open Women’s division, Audrey Herbert crushed both courses. She nabbed first on both days which gave her the overall title.
Several other categories from the Ol’ Joes and Josies (35-plus) down to the boys and girls ages 10-12 categories. Full results can be found at: https://skiwhitefish.com/results/
