HAS THE TRIPLE GONE TOO FAR? – ACTION RECON WEIGHS IN ON THE STATE OF THE TRIPLE CORK

The Burger King Triple Whopper packs 1,240 calories, 1,470mg of sodium, and 83 grams of fat. Is the triple Whopper taking things too far? Anyone with plans to survive to see their next birthday should respond with a resounding “yes.”

Here at Action Recon, we are taking a look at the progression of snowboarding and the road that has brought us to the era of the triple cork. Has the quest for the elusive triple taken things too far, and has it forever sacrificed snowboard style and changed the face of competition? This most certainly, unfortunately, is the case.

Double corks haven’t even been around for that long, relatively speaking. Only in the past several years have they been seen regularly in video parts and contest runs. Many top pros believe that there is still a lot to be done before the sport’s progression moves to triples, quads, etc. Doubles with held and tweaked grabs, doubles off of huge jumps that can be done slowly, not hucked, with stalls, reverts, etc.

Perhaps the hucked and whirly bird style stuff should be left for the freestyle skiers. This video below is amazing, and was taken from the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. Alexei Grishin is a talented athlete and this is a huge accomplishment. We aren’t trying to take anything away from his Gold Medal. But is this the way that we want snowboarding to start looking?

Vancouver 2010 Olympics: Alexei Grishin – Back Full Double Full Full for Gold:

In the 2008 Brain Farm release, “That’s It, That’s All,” Travis Rice came extremely close to landing a triple in the backcountry. Credit must be given to Travis and crew; the film editors could have likely cut out the slam and presented the air as a stomp. But they instead chose to allow credit to go where credit would eventually be due, showing the near make but a slam on the out run. Triples in the backcountry, with style, and over large jumps are amazing. We have every ounce of respect for anyone even trying these tricks. But do they belong in contests? Enjoy this section. (watch closely at 4:32 for Rice’s Triple attempt)

Travis Rice and Friends in “That’s It, That’s All”

Now fast forward to 2010, when none other than Norway’s Torstein Horgmo steps up on a massive booter to land the first ever documented triple cork. At this point, snowboard pros of the world were wondering just where things would go next. The jump is huge, and it was landed clean. Amazing? Yes. This is a trick that made history and took things to the next level. But is this considered an air that exemplifies the style, grace, and fluidity that Horgmo is known for?

1st ever documented landed triple cork: Torstein Horgmo:

At the next X Games (2011 X15), it was Horgmo who took the Big Air Gold, with the first triple landed in competition. This was a first for the sport of snowboarding, and it sent Horgmo home (deservedly) with a gold medal. He made history with this big air hit.

Torstein Horgmo at Winter X Games 15 2011 – Big Air Triple Gold Medal:

To date, only a very small number of the top pros in the world have a triple cork in their back pocket. Many riders feel that it may not truly represent the sport. There is no doubt, however, that its presence for purposes of contests and TV ratings cannot be ignored.

Some of the top pros of the world have their say on the triple cork:

Sounds like Tim Humphreys and PMac say it best.

“As far as throwing them on park jumps, it’s not really the direction I want to see snowboarding going.” – Tim Humphreys

“Just send what you want to send.” – Pat McCarthy

Mark McMorris Talks Triple Corks:

With obvious concerns being voiced about the place that the triple cork will have on snowboarding, it would appear that the consensus is that there is still plenty of progression to be had with doubles, and that most pros wouldn’t want to see triples in the contest arena.

Fast forward just a few months, and we have the 2012 Winter X Games 16. It became evident that doubles were a mainstay in slope style, and that only a triple cork would have a chance to take gold in the big air. The jump was huge, the landing was huge, and riders were forced to pretty much straight line the entire park to navigate this beastly gap. Impressive? Absolutely. But the traditional elements of snowboard style (unique grabs, tweaks, smooth spinning, etc.) are all lost in this big air huckfest. Below we have the gold and silver medal big air hits from X Games 16, with Mark McMorris and Torstein Horgmo taking home gold and silver respectively.

Mark McMorris:

Torstein Horgmo:

From a judging perspective, Horgmo had a cleaner landing, and perhaps should have been awarded the gold. But that’s beside the point. The real point here is that gold and silver were awarded because they were triples, plain and simple. Style and fluidity may have been on the judging cards, but for an event like the X Games, while being broadcasted to the non-snowboard world during prime time, the judges had no choice. 3 flips vs. 2 flips vs. flat spins, pretty simple right? The mass media and mainstream fans wouldn’t know the difference in the degree of difficulty between regular vs. switch, frontside vs. backside, or mute vs. japan.

In the pro interview video earlier, Aaron Robinson made perfect sense; that if it’s a bigger jump over 100 feet in the backcountry, then it’s sick. Horgmo’s soon to be released film is rumoured to have some backcountry triples in there, which is awesome.

Here is the trailer for Torstein’s anticipated upcoming release:

The Teaser from torstein horgmo on Vimeo.

The big concern that many have is regarding contests, and how snowboarding is portrayed to the mass media. Weekend contests are on prime time TV alongside football and Nascar, and the style and creativity of snowboarding cannot be lost when being showcased to the mainstream sports fans.

Perhaps we have a biased perspective, but we’d rather see a stylish trick with less spins and flips than the next 2880.

Case in point, here are two videos that illustrate just how stylish snowboarding (yes, even in contests) can be. First, we have Mr. Helgason with his 2010 X Games gold hits. Next up, we have Shaun White’s recent 100 point run from X Games 16. This was a 100 point run, and without any doubt the best half pipe run ever seen. With lots of doubles and mind blowing amplitude, we still find the backside air and the frontside 5 to contain the ultimate amount of style in White’s riding. I’ve thrown a thousand frontside 540s in my life, yet nothing like this, but White does them with more style and stall than anyone in the world. And he goes absolutely huge.

Halldor Helgason- Doubles to win X Games big air 2010- with style:

Shaun White X Games 16 Gold

To clarify this ramble, the progression of all action sports will always be moving forward, to the next trick, the next level, the next sized jump. The big concern is that the elusive triple is not only changing the face of contest riding, but also how these contests portray our sport, since snowboarding is now gaining more media coverage than ever before.

Go back and review a few of the videos from this article before you make your decision. Check out the jump in the 2010 X Games, then the 2011 X Games, then the 2012 X Games. Lastly, go back to the top of this article and check out the jump in the 2010 Olympic Freestyle Skiing video.

Notice a trend? Scoop jumps, sendy take offs, longer landings and insanely long run ins.

There is also the issue of slopestyle as an addition to the 2014 Olympics, but that will be another rant altogether.

Snowboarding for contest fans and for the TV crews just might be taking the style from the sport that was built upon individuality. Again, we thank Pmac, – “Send what you want to send.” Ride as though you’re out on a good day with some close friends.

We leave you with the king of style and one who has avoided any trends in the sport of snowboarding, always riding on his own terrain and on his own terms, and carving his own path of progression in the sport; Devun Walsh.

Related posts:

1. Pro Snowboarders weigh in on the Triple Cork
2. Triple Cork on a snowboard.
3. Mark McMorris lands a triple cork 1440
4. MARK MCMORRIS BACKSIDE TRIPLE CORK 1440 Video
5. Mark Mcmorris Talks The Triple Cork