After watching Iwabuchi land her world’s first trick, Laurie Blouin promptly dropped in and landed her own triple. “Honestly, when I started snowboarding, I never thought about doing a triple, and now we’re there,” said Blouin. “It’s pretty amazing to push yourself and push each other doing tricks. I really love that vibe.”

“I’ve been thinking about it for so long—it’s just hard to have a good jump for it,” continued the 26-year-old Olympian from Quebec. “The Nines is the perfect setup to try a triple because the jump is big, it’s good, it’s secure and you can just huck yourself.”

“After five attempts, Ogiwara landed snowboarding’s first-ever backside 2160”

After what went down last week, both Iwabuchi and Blouin now join the exclusive club founded by Anna Gasser — who stomped a cab triple 1260 in 2018—as the only women to land triples to date.

To continue the trend of first, set by the ladies, on Wednesday 6th of April, we saw 16-year-old Japanese Hiroto Ogiwara land the world’s first backside 2160. Ogiwara headed to the mountain planning to try a backside 1800, a trick he’d struggled to land the day before. “After my first hit, I thought the jump was perfect and I could go for the 1800,” said the young snowboarder from Ushiku, Japan. “When I landed the 18, I realized I still had some time left over, so I thought, ‘Maybe I can go for it [the 2160]‘.

After five attempts, Ogiwara landed snowboarding’s first-ever backside 2160. “On the last try, the take off felt so good and everything in the air was right, so I knew I had it,” said Ogiwara. “The instant I landed it, I was kind of shocked and wasn’t sure if I’d actually done it. I watched the video and was stoked and surprised to see that I had actually spun six full rotations!”

From top international stars like Marcus Kleveland and Laurie Blouin to beloved scene favourites like Fridtjof “Fridge” Tischendorf and Annika Morgan, snowboarders made an indelible mark on the 2022 Nines, while up-and-coming riders like Valentino Guseli (AUS), Judd Henkes (USA), Luke Winkelmann (USA) and 15-year-old Mia Brookes, who landed her first 1260 at the event, strengthened their claims to stardom with standout performances.

The event concluded on Friday, April 8 with a Gala Night where the week’s top performers were honoured by their peers in the categories of Best Trick, Best Style and Ruler Of The Week.

Riders Awards – The Nines 2022

Snowboard Women
Best Trick: Reira Iwabuchi (JPN), Front Triple 1260
Best Style: Mia Brookes (GBR)
Ruler Of The Week: Mia Brookes (GBR)

Snowboard Men
Best Trick: Hiroto Ogiwara (JPN), Backside 2160 Indy Tailbone
Best Style: Luke Winkelmann (USA)
Ruler Of The Week: Valentino Guseli (AUS)