The second stop of the Empire Games took place last weekend at Mont Blanc and we had a blast. Presented by Monster Energy with the collaboration of Burton, Oakley and Volcom, we closed the Empire Games season with a bang in 2023!
The hard packed snow didn’t stop snowboarders from all over the province to show up at Mont-Blanc on March 18th for the second stop of the Empire Games 2023. Despite a few rainy days prior to the event, the sky was blue and the weather was perfect on Saturday, allowing for one unforgettable event.
The day started out with the preparation of our iconic course, where we, along with the guys from Today’s Parks, checked all the last details and made sure that our banked slalom course and rail jam set up were ready to be shredded. As all of our favorite snow brands were installing their tents and products at the bottom of the slopes, riders were preparing for the actual race.
The banked slalom competition was one for the books and was followed by our iconic Rail Jam session, where some of the best riders in North America fought for a piece of our $2000 cash prize. After the award ceremony, we had to close this awesome day in style with a good old fashioned Empire After Party. CHECK OUT THE PHOTO GALLERY BELOW AND REMEMBER THE GOOD TIMES! SEE YOU NEXT YEAR.
COURSE PREP
Although being perfect, our banked slalom course was a bit more advanced on that day. As mentioned earlier, Friday and Thursday were rainy and when the cold hit on Saturday, it made for really hard packed snow conditions.
Despite the hard snow, everything went well and no injuries were had on that day. To be honest, our course was one of the best ones we’ve made so far. Definitely the most advanced!
THE BANKED SLALOM
The banked slalom races were fierce and speed was the theme of the day. With best times under 35 seconds, it was a record breaking weekend. The icy conditions might have been scary, but were very helpful for those who weren’t scared to blast through the course at full speed. More than 100 riders showed up for the occasion and everyone carved through our course as if their lives depended on it.
All three categories went above and beyond for a chance to put their hands on a piece of our $1000 cash prize. Here’s a few flicks of the action that went down last weekend at Mont Blanc. Keep scrolling for the winners list!
THE SUPER DEMO
Monster, Burton, Volcom, Oakley, Salomon, Lib Tech, Gnu, Arbor, Union, Capita, Yes, Now, Jones, Bataleon, Nidecker, Flow, Bent Metal, Nitro, Rome, Sims, Ride, K2 and more. The best brands in the biz were at the bottom of the slopes to have fun with us all day and to engage in different activations, hook you up with free product and allow you to try out their products from next year. Keep scrolling for an overview of the brands on site.
Monster
Free Monster Sampling
Burton
Free Waxing Station and boards to try out
Volcom
Discover their new 2024 line
Oakley
Discover and try their new 2024 line
Vans
Discover their new 2024 boots and come get free goodies at the tent
Salomon
Boards and bindings testing
Lib tech, gnu, Ben Metal
2024 Boards and bindings testing
arbor
2024 Boards and bindings testing
DC
Discover their 2024 line
Union, Capita
2024 Boards and bindings testing
Yes, Now, Jones
2024 Boards and bindings testing
Bataleon, Nidecker, Flow
2024 Boards and bindings testing
Nitro
2024 Boards and bindings testing
Rome
2024 Boards and bindings testing
Sims
2024 Boards testing
Ride, K2
2024 Boards and bindings testing
THE RAIL JAM
This year's second edition of our Legacy Rail Jam was so action packed, it's hard to remember all the crazy stunts that went down on the rails shortly after the banked slalom races. As per our first stop in Stoneham, we gave the Rail Jam's main obstacle to Mont Blanc, the hosting mountain. After seeing all the destruction that went down on the kinked rail during the Empire Games Rail Jam, local kids will stay inspired as they keep shredding that obstacle courtesy of Empire, Today's Parks, Monster, Burton, Oakley and Volcom.
To get back to the actual contest, the Rail Jam was jaw dropping gnarly. Out of the 3 rails on the setup, the emphasis has mostly been on the big kinked pipe. More than 20 of the best riders in Quebec took part in the jam and were flying left and right on what seemed to be one of our heaviest obstacle to this day. Definitely one for the books and one hell of a show.
With the level of snowboarding here in Quebec, you know that the battle was fierce, but at the end of the day, only three riders would be going home with cash in their pockets. Congrats to our Mont Blanc Legacy Rail Jam winners!
1- Colton Eckest - $1250
2- Laurent Ethier - $750
3- David Tourigny - $500
THE AWARD CEREMONY
You can't have a great contest without a proper award ceremony to reward those who shined the most during our Banked Slalom event. Out of the 122 registered riders, only 3 per category would be able to leave with cash in their pockets. Congrats to our winners for killing it that day!
KIDS (55 riders)
Noah Tounkara
Leo-Paul Evey
Clovis Charbonneau
WOMEN (22 riders)
Marguerite Sweeney - $500
Claudia Biron - $300
Oceane Fillion - $200
MEN (45 riders)
Françis Bibeault - $500
David Soulières - $300
P-A Martel - $200
THE AFTER PARTY
You Know how it goes! There's no Empire Games without a good after party! Good music, good friends, good times. Here's a few photos to get you hyped up for next year's Empire Games!
