Photos: Mike Estes

Snowboarding in August? Stranger things have happened, particularly in Oregon, where Mt. Hood sees world-class snowboarding action all year long at the both the High Cascade camp and at the Abominable Snow Jam contest every July. Mt. Hood’s silhouette was in the background last night as Jonas Michilot lead an elite list of snowboarding’s best jibbers in competition under the floodlights at the Vans Invitational.

Colin Langois

Michilot is having a surprisingly hot summer; his win at the Vans Invitational comes on the heels of another off-season win in June at Mammoth Mountain’s West Coast Invitational. Appropriately enough for the Vans Invitational, the 19 year-old rider from Blomington, Minnesota is a rider with the Vans team, as is his friend and 2nd place finisher Zac Marben from Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Keegan Valaika completed the podium pyramid at 3rd place.

Rotax

Riding one rail and one ledge/rail combo on a manmade tower at the Rose Quarter in downtown Portland, each rider had one intro run, followed by a 30-minute jam session where it was every man for himself. This is the second year Vans has hosted the specialty competition at the Portland stop on the AST Dew Tour and it just wouldn’t be the same with out it!