Photos: Volcom

STOP #8 OF VOLCOM'S NORTH AMERICAN PEANUT BUTTER AND RAIL JAM TOUR

The 2007/08 North American Peanut Butter and Rail Jam circus continued this past weekend with it’s 8th stop going down at Montana’s beautiful Moonlight Basin Resort!

Most of the PBRJ crew had never been to Montana so were looking forward to seeing what the state was all about. Mountains, mountains and then a few more mountains! We landed at the small airport in Bozeman and made the 1-hour drive South to Moonlight Basin from there. Right off the bat we saw a wolf peering at us through the darkness and even a white-tailed deer! Even though the deer’s neck was bent and in an odd position, I’m pretty sure it was one of those deer that sleep on the shoulders of busy highways in the middle of the day. When I was younger my Dad would pull over and take pictures of my brother and I “riding” wild animals such as this. Ahhhh memories…

Moonlight Basin is fresh into the terrain park scene but seems to be making up for lost time. Christopher Mountjoy heads up the program and personally hand crafts each park feature! For the PBRJ he and Brent Mach dropped in two large propane tanks to form a flat-down, a standard box and a daunting double-barreled down-flat-down rail!

The inaugural Moonlight Basin PBRJ kicked off at 10am with the 15 and Under Division getting first crack at Mountjoy’s diabolical playground! This being our first visit to the area, we weren’t sure what to expect as far as the caliber of riding was concerned. A hot minute was all it took to see that Montana’s riders could more then hold their own! Mathew Mullaney, Cole Schneider and Caden Micnal, were hot out of the gates and all were vying for top honors! As the day unfolded, it would be Caden taking first, Mathew 2nd and Mr Schneider coming in a very close 3rd!

The 16 & Over Division had the unenviable task of following up the aforementioned ripping. I think it would be fair to say they swung at the first pitch and knocked it out of the park! These guys weren’t messing around as hammers were spread evenly among the three custom PBRJ features. Switch front boards, 270 to boardslides and switch nollie 5-0s are just a few of the tricks that were thrown down in short order! When the dust settled it was our old friend Ethan Anderson jibbing into 1st, Jacob St John 2nd and Eric Gronneberg 3rd.

The ladies were up next and while not numbering many; they made up for it with their hustle and technical prowess! Sarris McComb comes to mind right away due to her aggressive riding and positive energy supporting her fellow femme shreds. The Moonlight girls are a tight knit bunch and continually pushed each other to reach the next level. From back tails to front boards, these girls were in it to win it and put on a great show! After all was said and jibbed, it was Cindy Kilmer in 1st, Sarris McComb taking 2nd and Melissa Riitano 3rd.

The day rounded into form as the Open Division show began right where the girl’s had ended. This group had the crowd going nuts as they boosted 270s and 450s onto and off of everything! Christopher Mountjoy’s once-large features now looked considerably smaller in the face of the thrashing they were receiving courtesy of the Open Division riders! While the riding was super competitive, the riders themselves kept things fun and supported each other’s bold attacks. As we caught our breath and shook our heads, Tizer DeMers was taking 1st, Josh Mangum 2nd and Brent Mach 3rd. See the complete results below!

We want to give a thanks the size of Montana to Michelle Jondahl, Jennifer Philipps, Christopher Mountjoy, Brent Mach, the registration girls, cat drives, park crew and everyone else at Moonlight Basin for all their hard working making the 1st PBRJ a success! It wouldn’t have happened without everyone chipping in and we really appreciate it! Thanks also to our judges Papu, Jay Moore and Johnny Baer for being men of reason amidst chaos. Last but not least, thanks to Vestal Watches and Celtek Gloves for kicking in some product to help us stoke the kids!

Results:

15 & Under:
1st: Caden Micnal
2nd: Mathew Mullaney
3rd: Cole Schneider
4th: Jonathon Starkey
5th: Brian Rapaport

16 & Over:
1st: Ethan Anderson
2nd: Jacob St. John
3rd: Eric Gronneberg
4th: Jason Rowe
5th: Clint Root

Girls Division:
1st: Cindy Kilmer
2nd: Sarris McComb
3rd: Melissa Riitano
4th: Kaili Hagen
5th: Mariah Starkey

Open Division:
1st: Tizer DeMers
2nd: Josh Mangum
3rd: Brent Mach
4th: Christopher Mountjoy
5th: Donovan Bell

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