Now it could be just us looking through archaic rose-tinted glasses but it seems like banked slalom events are all the rage these days. Of course, the Mt. Baker Banked Slalom is still going strong after 28 years but more recently K2 put on their own one to celebrate their 25th birthday and Nike got in the action with a very current and ridiculously rad looking Snake and Hammers events.

Amongst all of the jib action going on at High Cascade, the second annual Rat Race recently went down at Mt. Hood and brought together a real assortment of riders and riding styles. The course – the brainchild of Bryan Fox and Austin Smith of Drink Water looked as challenging as it did fun and was filled with whoops, a kicker into a berm and plenty of tight turns, and by the looks of things the whoops were the reason for many a wipeout, even resulting in chipped teeth and a broken wrist…

Old timers were cruising with the young guns with Scotty Whittlake and Temple Cummins stamping their authority alongside riders like Zak Hale and Forrest Bailey but at the end of the day, nobody could match Terje Haakonsen’s effortless mastery of the course.

What would you rather ride, the High Cascade park or the Rat Race course?

2013 Rat Race Results

1st: Terje Haakonsen

2nd: Temple Cummins

3rd: Curtis Ciszek

4th: Blake Paul

5th: Zak Hale