The final contest, Sunday's Slopestyle competition was as spectacular as it was challenging to asses. The Rail Jam and Halfpipe competitions concentrate the obstacles and tricks within a limited viewing area so that spectators can simultaneously observe contestants full runs. The Slopestyle competition, on the other hand, is situated high on the mountain and stretches over a lengthy slope limiting spectators’ ability to watch more than one or two obstacles. The course includes massive jumps, rail slides and "down boxes", and due to the much longer course, riders are capable of achieving higher speeds and hence "bigger air".

Aside from the thoroughly impressive spectacle of snowboarders catapulting through the ether while twisting, spinning and flipping, I found it incredibly difficult to imagine how the judges could evaluate each competitor's runs from a single vantage point. Maybe I missed something essential, but the running commentary and the eventual results lacked obvious context for the eye candy I enjoyed. Of course, I should probably admit that the exotic lexicon used to describe what I was witnessing also lacked any sort of relevant context… Nevertheless, winners were declared.

"Slopestyle superstar Janna Meyen [competing for the sixteenth consecutive year] stomped an impressive second run to take the title with a frontside 5, backside 5, Cab 3 and Cab 7. Her Cab 7 on the fourth hit also earned her the $5000 Tylenol Best Trick award, increasing her paycheck to $25,000 for the day." (www.usopen-snowboarding.com)

Did you follow that? If so, then you'll understand this too.

"Finnish rider Risto Mattila stole the show with his switch backside 7, Cab 9, frontside 9, Cab 5 and a frontside boardslide on the flat ledge. Jussi Oksanen earned the second place spot on the podium as well as the $5000 Tylenol Best Trick Award with his switch backside 9 to Lein. And Andreas Wiig earned third place with a super solid second run that included a Cab 7, switch backside 9, backside 7 and frontside 5." (www.usopen-snowboarding.com)

Of course, if your snowboarding slang fluency is no better than mine, you're probably just hoping I'll cut to the chase: who were the overall winners of the US Open Snowboarding Championships?

This year's overall stars were in for more than just a heap of glory. The top female and male rider would each win a brand spanking new Volvo V50 Sports Wagon. And the top up-and-coming female and male riders would each receive a Ski-Doo Summit Adrenaline 600, a snowmobile designed specifically for back country snowboarding. Both had been on display all week in front of the Sun Bowl lodge for us to drool over. So on day three of the finals, when the results were in and the snow settled, the winners were announced: Canadian rider Leanne Pelosi and Finish rider Risto Mattila took home the slick new Volvos and Spencer O’Brien and Danny Davis took home the Ski-Doos.