RECCO® brings back the King of the Hill to Valdez, Alaska, this spring. On April 3rd, big-mountain riding's most legendary event returns to Thompson Pass. Four generations of riders will test their skill sets from the backcountry, halfpipe, snowboard cross, and slopestyle on 4,000-foot vertical of undulating natural terrain, littered with halfpipes, fins, outcroppings, cliffs and deep, pristine powder.

Tailgate Alaska: The World Freeride Festival presented by Alaskan Brewing returns to Thompson Pass this March for another round of riding the best mountains in the world.

The event kicks off Friday, March 26th, with an orientation meeting in the town of Valdez, followed with a concert by Salem at the Pipeline Club. On Saturday, March 27th, we will host our annual town Fish Fry, bringing together the people of Valdez and Tailgate Alaska participants in a unique social gathering and chow down.

ALASKA RETURNS TO VALDEZ MARCH 26 – April 11, 2010

We are honored to invite you to ride the best mountains and snow conditions of your life at Tailgate Alaska 2010. Come ride the Chugach this March and April and see the unlimited bottomless powder and mind-numbing peaks for yourself. Our goal is simple — to share the best of the best with you.

Boardercross. What about it? Everybody strap in, first one to the bottom wins.
Time to take it up a notch - it is an Olympic sport and Vancouver is not far away.

SBX is kind of fun - it's where speed meets big mountain free-riding and skills.
There's nothing subjective, no points for style. There's a timing device strapped on and the fastest guy wins. Wax counts.
Yeah, I know, the name of the game is less air, gotta keep the board on the snow...but it is fun to watch! Easy to follow, easy to figure out what happened.

Words: MTNOPS

The final episode of our 2009 Tailgate Alaska series, wraps things up on Thompson Pass. We can't wait until next year.

Check out Rob Kingwill's footage in Haines, Alaska in episode 8 of Tailgate Alaska.

We are hoping to hit this line tomorrow or the next day. It is 6600 vert and a 10 hour hike.

Words/Photos: Jeremy Jones

Europe has been an annual stop for me since first coming here over fifteen years ago. From the first time I laid eyes on these mountains until now I have been blown away at the size. Stack Jackson Hole on top of Whistler or times Snowbird by three or four and you get the idea.

Featured in episode 7 of Tailgate Alaska is up and coming big mountain rider Aaron Robinson.

Touch and go wall. This had us perplexed from the start and consumed me for days on end. It reminded me a lot of the TB spines in Tahoe but 4 or 5 times the length.

Words/Photos: Jeremy Jones

Today was the pinnacle of a lifetime of snowboarding for me. Hope was starting to slip away earlier in the day. The wind has stripped almost all aspects of snow. We finally make it to the one bowl we think is holding snow and the lines we want to hit are heavier then we thought and render us speechless once we get close to them. Big ice, bigger cornices, gnarly hikes and sharp spines.

Jonaven Moore

Words/Photos: Jeremy Jones

I have never been one to name first descents but now that I am hiking and riding these unnamed and unclimbed peaks I have started to name the special ones. Since Shane’s death I have been looking for one for him. We moved camp to a new zone that is a series of 6 peaks that range from mellow to mega gnar with easy access. This zone is the perfect spot I have seen for plane access riding and it is only twenty minutes from town. The biggest and baddest peak I decided to name after Shane.