N.H. snowboarders Scotty Lago and Chas Guldemond head to the U.S. Open

Snowboarding today is all about going big and going west, but, for many, the popular sport started out small, here on the East Coast. The U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships is one of the reasons snowboarding got to where it is now. The history of the annual contest in Vermont, currently in its 27th year, parallels the development of better riders, better boards and better terrain.   

Again this year, New Hampshire will be represented in the men’s slopestyle and halfpipe competitions by Seabrook resident Scotty Lago and Laconia native Chas Guldemond. Both of them, like most pro snowboarders, travel the world to compete, film videos and shoot photos in the best conditions possible, but Lago still calls the Seacoast home, while Guldemond now has a house in the Tahoe area.

In all, 13 snowboarders from New Hampshire, both professional and amateur athletes, are competing at the annual competition at Stratton Mountain Resort from March 20 through 22.

In addition to men’s and women’s halfpipe and slopestyle, there’s a junior halfpipe competition for ages 13 and under. This year, there’s also an invitation-only quarterpipe competition, which Lago, the 2004 World Quarterpipe champion, will compete in. But other events are open to all riders who register.

Lago started snowboarding more than 10 years ago in small spots like the Amesbury Sports Park, where he met his former manager, Amesbury resident and former pro snowboarder Scott Millette. He said Millette, founder of Kapital Snowboards, taught him almost everything he knows about snowboarding.

When he started out, this area was all Lago knew. “To be honest, the East Coast doesn’t have the best conditions, but you make the best of it,” he said. “Riders are more driven. They work really hard.”

Lago only spends a total of about three months per year in Seabrook, and the rest of the time he’s traveling. He’ll probably only be in town for one day before the contest. Still, he said he takes pride in his hometown, and other snowboarders he meets from the area feel the same way.

Traveling with all expenses paid and riding the best mountains in the world are among the top perks of being a professional snowboarder, Lago said. But snowboarding has become a job, and he has to meet sponsor obligations rather than just ride for himself like he used to. He’s riding for Flow, Billabong, Grenade Gloves and other sponsors.    

“If you really want to make it,” Lago said, “live, breathe and eat and do everything snowboarding. You’ve just got to live it. It’s a lifestyle. It’s a culture. So you really have to live the sport.”

Lago prefers getting his name out there with films and photos over competing, but he says contests have become more important in recent years, especially since snowboarding became an Olympic sport. He’s been competing this year while still working on video parts. Lately, he’s been filming for “Get Real” with Transworld Snowboarding. Fans can also see what Lago and the rest of the “Frends” crew have been up to on www.wearefrends.com.

Lago has never missed the U.S. Open since he started snowboarding, sometimes just attending as a spectator. “It’s the contest with the biggest history,” he said. “It means a lot to me.”

Chas Guldemond learned to ski and snowboard on the slopes of Gunstock in New Hampshire. “Conditions there weren’t always the best,” he said. “It made me a solid rider no matter what the conditions are.” He sometimes takes on steep, icy slopes or moguls on his travels.

Guldemond said he always wanted to go faster and his parents had to keep him on a leash—literally. He started out ski racing before committing to snowboarding. Now, he competes more than most other pro snowboarders, with about 20 contests this season. He said he got his strong work ethic from growing up on the East Coast, and he’s got to be one of the hardest working snowboarders out there.

The mountains out west offer Guldemond more snow and longer seasons, along with progressive parks and watchful sponsors. He said he moved west “in order to really make it happen.” He’s now riding for DC, Electric and Northstar Resort.  

“I just wanted to snowboard and win contests and do the best I could,” he said. Now he has a new house to “come home” to in Truckee, Calif., and another “family,” his girlfriend of three years and their two dogs, he said.

Guldemond says contests are becoming the biggest part of snowboarding. “I work hard for the feeling I get of landing a run and placing high,” he said. “I’ve always been competitive.”

He said taking a run in the U.S. Open is following in the footsteps of the likes of Craig Kelly, a three-time winner in the halfpipe, who paved the way for younger snowboarders. “The U.S. Open has so much history. It’s just a classic event,” he said. “It’s following in the footsteps of snowboarding.”

Guldemond won the silver metal in slopestyle in the 2006 Open. He’s also known for landing the first 1,440-degree spin (four full rotations) in a slopestyle event last year in Vail, Co., but he said the jumps at the Open aren’t big enough for that.

The U.S. Open has showcased the world’s most progressive riding longer than any other snowboarding competition. Past Olympic medalists Shaun White, Kelly Clark and Hannah Teter plan to attend the event again this year, along with many other famous and future pro snowboarders. It is free of charge to the 40,000-plus fans who typically attend.

Founded by Jake Burton, the Open has grown from a local event to several global spectacles. The U.S. Open is the last of them, and often the last competition of the season for pro snowboarders.

This year, there’s a different competition schedule with all events and concerts at the Sunbowl area of the mountain. The contest starts at 6:15 p.m. on Friday, March 20, with the quarterpipe competition. Halfpipe competitions take place on Saturday. Sunday, March 22, begins with the junior jam halfpipe competition, followed by slopestyle finals, then an awards ceremony. Prizes include the $100,000 Burton Global Open Series titles and a new car for the top two riders.

The Open is also the last contest of the Men’s Swatch TTR World Tour, and the champion of that series will be awarded $50,000. This contest was founded by legendary Burton snowboarder Terje Haakonsen, who first won the U.S. Open in 1992. Guldemond is currently in the number one position to win the TTR.

Guldemond plans to visit his friends and family in New Hampshire for a couple of weeks around the competition, riding at Waterville Valley and Loon Mountain.     

The 2009 U.S. Open can be seen on NBC on Sunday, March 29 from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., or live on Go211.com. For more information, visit www.opensnowboarding.com.