The weather was perfect – 70 degrees. The nicest weather I have ever skied in.

The snow was cold, and in excellent condition. Lots of people were out there to enjoy it.

I couldn’t have asked for a more fun time. Skiing really is a family sport!! What a way to end the season and celebrate the 4th of July weekend.

Have a great summer, and see you all next year!!!

And, going into the semi-finals, it was a stacked gate.

You have Chris Delbosco, who won last year; John Teller, who is on point this year, has been 3rd in a World Cup, and won another one.  We also have Tomas Kraus, who is a 3 time world champion; and you can’t count out Daron Rahlves who is America’s best downhill racer to date.  And last but not least, you have the Canadian Davey Barr, who was 6th at the Vancouver Olympics.

It was a stacked semi-final.  I got out to a good start and slotted in there in fourth.  I was drafting, and almost made a pass on Tomas Kraus into third, and was just right on his heels.  He had a little trouble over one of the jumps, and I was able to get around him, and get into that 3rd and final qualifying spot.

Now, here we go, we have a trip to the finals, and I had a great feeling going into the finals.  I was real excited.  I got out of the start and slotted into fourth place and, coming into the first set of big banked turns, I got tangled up with the guy in fifth.

I skied inside, and we hit and got tangled up together.  I ended up coming out sideways, and now the leaders were just gone.  That wasn’t too much fun.  But, I finished up 5th place.

I made the finals at Winter X Games 2011!  Not much to complain about!

Now we are on our way to World Championships.  Last time out, I got tenth.  I am looking to improve on tenth place at the World Championships in Deer Valley next week.

Jamaica Ski Team

The Winter X Games is going amazing.

Every year, after the first inspection down the course, we are saying, “Wow!  Really!  I am going to be able to go that far?  Is that really going to work?”

And then we start training and work our way up to it.  By the end of the day, we are hitting all the features.

It looks like it is going to be an amazing event this year.  Gathered together are 30 of the world’s best ski cross racers, and we are here to do it “live” on ESPN.

It’s going well!!  We will keep you posted as the week goes on.

In the meantime, check out a teaser of the last jump on the course above!

Marcus Caston took the surprise win from Alpine Meadows’ Jamaican Ski Team Errol Kerr, who had been dominating both days right up until the finals. Brian Sheehan rounded out the podium for men’s skiing.

French phenom Sylvian Duclos took first in men’s snowboarding, followed by Graham Watanabe and Matt Clark.

Shannon Rahlves, sister of the Banzai Series’ creator, Daron Rahlves, took first in women’s skiing, making for three wins in three years in the Banzai format. Shelly Robertson and Chloe Georges took second and third.

And in women’s snowboarding, Alison Martin, Courtney Baker and Amanda Spence took the podium positions.

Go to the Rahlves Banzai Results Page to see complete results.

And check out all our photos here:

And don’t forget to check out the next stops of the Rahlves Banzai Tour, at Kirkwood on February 5-6 and at Sugar Bowl on March 12-13.

Check out a playlist with all the videos we can find from the inaugural Beaver Bowl Banzai below. There is some great helmet cam footage in the mix. Click the red button on the player below to see all the videos in the list.

Further coverage:

Check out the links below for more coverage, great photos and videos from the Beaver Bowl Banzai.

Competitor and photographer Patrick McIntosh’s take on the race

Alpine Meadows’ Beaver Bowl Banzai race – leg one of the three-race Rahlves Banzai Tour – is going to be this Saturday and Sunday. And it’s going to be an amazing event.

If you are coming out to watch the race, you can be standing on the deck of Alpine Meadows and see practically the whole race. You will be able to watch me and all the other skiers and riders entered in the competition go for broke – straight from the top to the bottom over ungroomed terrain.

Come enjoy the sport of ski racing in it’s finest head-to-head in-your-face action.

This race is for any man (or woman) that can ski fast. Competitors will line up four abreast, and the first to the bottom wins.

I’m expecting to see some up-and-coming new skiers mixing it up with guys like Daron Rahlves and myself that are out there racing World Cup, on World Cup stock GS skis, and now we are going to take this to the back country.

I’m planning on racing on three-year-old twin tips.  This race will throw all the equipment advantages, all the clothing advantages out the window!  It’s pretty much “go for broke,” and any big mountain skier can be just as competitive as we are.

Looking ahead

After the Banzai Tour, my next stop is the Winter X Games. The X Games is what our whole culture is geared around.  Everybody wants to be extreme. Everybody wants to send that line farther than somebody else, and X Games is the place where we all need to go do it on television, and then show the world what we’ve got.

The X Games will take place January 27-30 and will be live on ESPN, so you can watch me go for gold on the biggest stage there is.

Errol spoke with Truckee Tahoe Radio Station KTKE about the Beaver Belt Banzai; if you missed it, here’s what he had to say:

101.5 studios

The first stop of the Rahlves Banzai Tour is at Alpine Meadows.  It starts at the top of the Beaver Bowl.

JD Hoss: Are you going to let anybody steal your beaver?

Errol: Absolutely not.  That is my turf.  I know that inside and out.  For everybody else in  the Tahoe area, you guys are coming to my house.  I don’t know how you feel about people coming to your house, and taking something from you.

JD Hoss: Well, I guess you feel strongly about that, I would have to say.

Errol: It is going to be next Sunday.  It’s going to be an amazing event.  You can be right there on the deck of Alpine Meadows, see practically the whole race and watch people go for broke.  Straight from the top to the bottom over ungroomed terrain.

JD Hoss: The honor was bestowed upon me to go with Mr. Daron Rahlves and actually do a course inspection and watch him lay out the course on your mountain.  It’s pretty impressive.  How big is that drop in, right now, at the top of Beaver Bowl?  What does that look like right now?

Errol: Well, you know, the winds – we have an overhanging cornice about 15 feet up there right now, so right from the get go, you are going to go zero to 60 in about 3 seconds.

JD Hoss: About 3 seconds!  And it was only probably six or eight feet when I was up there, and on my third attempt, as his personal hotdog, ‘cause he kept sending me first.  “You go first, JD, and I’ll get there.  Just go down there.”  On the third attempt, I landed straight on my ass, and rolled backwards down the Beaver Bowl.  Basically, it is the Mad Cow Downhill …

Errol: Put on steroids ….

JD Hoss: … for big pockets of cash.

Errol: And for people to watch.

JD Hoss: And what’s cool … you said it right on the button – People can come out to Alpine Meadows, and they can watch this from the deck.

Errol: You don’t even have to ski.  You don’t even have to buy a lift ticket – come out.  They probably have great drink specials out there, live band, and enjoy the carnage.  And come enjoy the sport of ski racing in its finest head-to-head, in-your-face action.

JD Hoss: We haven’t talked about this.  I am going to just tell you what my thoughts are about this.  It is like the Chinese Downhill in the movie “Hot Dog.”  This is where ski racing is going.  I love Marco and all the guests I have that are out there racing for America, and yourself that are out there on World Cup and doing those races in the Olympics, but this is for the common man.  This is for the common man that can ski fast does not have a big pocket of cash. Just show up at a mountain, line up 4 abreast, and first at the bottom. We are going to see some up-and-coming new skiers.

Errol: Absolutely! You have guys like Daron Rahlves and myself that are out there racing world cup, on World Cup stock GS skis, and now we are going to take this to the backcountry.  I am racing on 3 year old twin tips.  You take all the equipment advantages, all the clothing advantages – out the window!  It’s pretty much “go for broke.”  Any big mountain skier can be just as competitive as we are.

JD Hoss: Yep.  That takes it right there.  So, it is your mountain; it’s your turf; it’s your Beaver Bowl.  And nobody is going to steal it.  Is that your stance?

Errol: I want somebody to come in your house and take something from you without you putting up a fight.

JD Hoss: (Laughter)  Well, you can’t steal my pow ‘cause that is my line.
Errol Kerr.  Be right back.  Next, we will talk about X Games.

This is a guy who started skiing, then went snowboarding, then went back to skiing, and never looked back.  Tell my listeners about your career here in Tahoe, and where it is taking you throughout your life.

Errol: Growing up in Tahoe, you know, your parents drag you around on skis from the time you can walk, so I skied until I was about 6 years old, and then grabbed a snowboard ‘cause that was the new thing on the block, and what everyone was doing, and was really into that, and then at about the age of eleven, I was watching TV, and happened to see a downhill race on TV, and Daron was racing.  I thought, any man that goes 80 mph with just thin layer of spandex on – that is a super hero.  So I grabbed a pair of skis, and never looked back.  I came up through the Far West program here in Lake Tahoe, racing out of Squaw Valley, and then reached the age of 19, when it’s time to go to college, and I was a speed skier.  I was either going to have to hang up the long boards, and go ski slalom and GS – you know, something that is not that cool.  And then right about then, ski cross was coming of age.  I went to my first ski cross race in Telluride.  I ended up 6th, and that qualified me for the US Freestyle Ski Cross team.  Next thing I know, they are booking tickets, and I am on my way to Europe to race my first World Cup, something that I dreamed of doing in Alpine my whole life, but now all of a sudden, I was reborn and doing it in ski cross.
I went to my first world cup ever.  I started 89th, and finished 12th, and I think the rest is history.  Now I am 9th in the world.  I got 9th at the Winter Olympics.

JD Hoss: Yes, you did, and I was there to witness it.  It was really cool.  So much fun to watch you get to the pinnacle of that part.  And now, before this, we have Rahlves Banzai downhill, and that is happening.  But right after that, you are heading straight out the Colorado for the X Games.  This is an “invite only.”

Errol: Yes, it is.  I mean, you have Olympics – you are the top tier.  Then X Games.  That is what our whole culture is geared around.  Everybody wants to be extreme.  Everybody wants to send that line farther than somebody else, and X Games is the place where we all need to go do it on television, and then show the world what we got.  So, it’s the last Sunday of this month, so obviously 3 Sundays from now.  It will be live on ESPN.  You can watch me go for gold.

JD Hoss: There you go.  Go for gold in the X Games.  Errol Kerr and “defend your beaver” at Alpine Mountain.

Here’s a video of one of my heats at the Winter Olympics 2010.

He said that the recent sunny days here in Tahoe produced a soft snow surface, similar to the snow that Olympians in early competition have been experiencing, making this practice time very valuable. Also, a chance to spend some quiet time away from all the pre-competition excitement is beneficial.

Errol and his lifelong friends and training partners, Scott and Trevor, tore it up in the ski cross training course Monday, let off some pre-race steam, and chatted it up with hundreds of future Olympians. It’s all part of Errol’s style – he’s as kind and open-hearted as he is committed to his sport.

Tune in Sunday, February 21 to check out Errol Kerr’s Olympic debut. Best of wishes to you Errol! Soak in every minute of it – you’re the best!

Just days before his Olympic competition