Volcom’s 2009 Peanut Butter & Rail Jam tour wrapped up Saturday April 25th at Mammoth Mountain, CA with the $25,000 Championships!

Spring, for many like-minded individuals is notable for a few reasons; while the weather may be warming and the snow melting, the Peanut Butter & Rail Jam Championships is upon us. Melting the last of the wax, exchanging jackets for hoodies and goggles for sunglasses are just a few aspects of what makes spring a magical affair. For what seems to be only an instant, the world’s best amateur snowboarders shred together and remind each of us why we do it. The PBRJ Championships brings together the best of each region’s talent and places them on the same features at the same place and time. What results is something tangible for all the right reasons.

The 17th and final regional stop of Volcom’s 2009 Peanut Butter and Rail Jam Tour went off at Colorado’s Keystone resort on Saturday, April 11th!

This past weekend marked out second year at Keystone for a PBRJ. Jason, Tony and the terrain park crew worked until 4am the day of the contest preparing one of the best contest sites we have seen on the entire tour! Zone 1 consisted of a flat-down pipe, zone 2 was a gnarly up-corrugated pipe and zone 3 was composed of a flat-down picnic table. All the riders (including us) were stoked and that excitement was shown in the level of riding that went down.

Despite a forecast the called for wind and snow, the PBRJ began under sunny skies at high noon! The 15 & Under division were the first riders to get a crack at taking down Keystone’s setup and they jumped at the opportunity! Ben Kadow blew out of the starting gates like a man possessed and made the rest of the field play catch-up! Kai Wiggins, Brian Vander Baan and Seamus O’Connor were hot on his heels and didn’t take their feet of the gas pedal until the heat was over! All around, the 15 & Under competitors killed it!

The 16th stop on Volcom Stones North American Peanut butter & Rail Jam tour was one for the books with an unbelievable event site and a plethora of talent.

This year’s event site was one of the best we’ve seen yet consisting of three unbelievably progressive areas. Zone one was a three-featured hubba consisting of a flat-down box, a middle box, and a side rail with 10-foot drop off the edge of the feature. Zone 2 was one of the most interesting features we’ve run in to on the tour yet! It was made up of 2 offset butter pads, (1 box facing up to another facing down) split in the middle by a flat bar. This allowed the competitors to be as creative as they wanted. Zone 3 was a long and intimidating down-flat corrugated pipe (55 feet). After gazing for the first time on the amazing venue, we knew it was going to be an entertaining day!

The 15th stop on Volcom’s 2009 Peanut Butter and Rail Jam tour descended on Brighton, Utah on Saturday, March 28th!

There are a few resorts we visit each season on the PBRJ tour that are distinct for one reason or another. Brighton is a highlight for a few reasons; the weather always seems to be near perfect for the contest and competitors always seem to enlighten us with a new piece of flare. This year the highlight would have to be the rider who opted for sh*t kickers instead of snowboard boots! While not providing the best ankle support, they reeked of style and the attention they received was truly remarkable!

Photos: Ola Matsson

The clouds that day were as heavy as the kid’s head after partying the night away at Oxborn Session. Everyone hoped both of them would break up. The worst wind and cold gave up under the rigging and all in all it been okay weather for a rail session.

Already from start a lot of people showed up to the registration area, where about 25 of these eagerly started warm-ups. Several of the raiders had already the week before declared that they were raiding for victory. They wished and hoped to qualify for the Europe Finals in Switzerland and all the glory this would mean. Last year, 10 of the participants from Norway got to travel to the Alps and PBRJ Europe. Most of these were now back, psyched to fight for a new qualification for the Europe finals.

Volcom 2009 PBRJ Tour Stop #15 Brighton

Volcom PBRJ Tour Stop in Norway

The 14th Peanut Butter & Rail jam on Volcom’s 2009 North American tour went down at Lake Louise, AB on Saturday, March 21st!

This was our sixth consecutive season at Lake Louise and somehow it seems to get better each time! Ryan and all of the Lake Louise park crew put together a super progressive event site. This scene consisted of a sizable gap to flat box with a 5 foot drop off the end (AKA “zone 1”), a lengthy down rail (AKA “zone 2”) and a massive down-flat-down box (AKA “zone 3”). This feature was insane because riders from almost every division were charging it and gapping to the far down part of the box!

After registration, more than 180 competitors swarmed the freshly erected event site for some practice hits before the PBRJ madness ensued!

Following practice came an eager heat of 15 & under riders. These grom shredders had the task of setting the tone for the rest of the PBRJ mayhem. They took this responsibility to heart. Kids like Cody Huery, Kurt Layton, and Kade Phillips were a few of the pint-sized shedders that were throwing down tricks such as; gapping 180 to the flat box and 180 off the drop, greasy 270’s on the down bar, and solid board slides through the double kink box feature.

Stop lucky number 13 on the 2008/09 Peanut Butter & Rail Jam tour came and went in a flash this past weekend at Nova Scotia’s Martock Resort!

This season flagged our second annual visit to Martock for a PBRJ. If you’ve never been, Nova Scotia is like a different world (in a good way)! Looking at a map, it is nearly halfway to England from New York City! You can fly direct from Halifax to London in about 4 hours! Geographically stimulating facts aside, Nova Scotia also contains arguably the most polite people in North America. It’s such a refreshing/shocking thing when complete strangers show an interest in your well-being.

Last Sat March 7th, the Peanut Butter & Rail Jam event in Spain hit the beautiful resort of PORT AINÉ (Spanish Pyrenees). It was a crazy weekend weather wise, with a lot of snow, storms and wind! On the way up the mountain we got stuck in the snow on a small sketchy road. We had to spend a night near dangerous cliffs waiting for the stormy night to end.

The 10th stop on the 2009 Peanut Butter & Rail Jam tour went Wild at Powder Ridge Resort on Saturday, February 21st!

Minnesota is home to some of the best jib rippers on the planet! We have learned to expect an insane performance from all in attendance year in year out. 2009 was no different. Kids were at the resort early and lining up out the door to ensure their spot to compete for PBRJ glory. With the rising sun beaming from the east kids took to practice and never looked back from there!