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Perhaps the most distinct separator between snowboarding and any team sport is that there is no element of competition necessary to participate. Sure, you can toss a ball back and forth, but by definition football is a contest. So is basketball, and so is soccer. Snowboarding doesn’t have to be. But competing is fun, and sometimes you want to beat your friends and make them buy you beers. The banked slalom craze that has swept snowboarding makes sense. A combination of community and competitive components come together to create something easy to latch onto, as a snowboarder and a person.

But before this trend caught on, sanctioned competition in snowboarding was stuck in a state of existence primarily at two levels. We’ll call these tiers USASA and US Open. Sure, there were exceptions, but by and large, there were scant chances for most snowboarders to bet a round of drinks on the results of an official time clock or scoring system.

For the last three years, Slash & Burn has given that opportunity to snowboarders living in Steamboat or willing to make the trek to the little mountain town three hours northwest of Denver. This year’s course rode like a banked slalom should. It wasn’t a waxing game, but a contest of who could hold it together through thirteen hairball berms. If you didn’t feel a little out of control and entirely out of breath by the bottom of the course, your time reflected that, negatively.

Steamboat’s massive contrast in temperatures from day to night during this time of year thawed and froze the berms enough times to create a course that swallowed people up and spit others out. But regardless of the difficulty level of a banked course, it is by default something that anyone with the ability to confidently turn a snowboard can participate it. Slash & Burn, like any banked slalom, is an excuse for snowboarders to get together and snowboard. The time on the track is only a few minutes out of an entire day, leaving ample room for sidehits and celebration — despite your race results.

Results:

Men’s Open Class

Women’s Open Class

Men’s Amateur Class (18-34)

Women’s Amateur Class (18-34)

Men’s Masters Class (35+)

Women’s Masters Class (35+)

Boy’s Teen Class (14-17)

Girl’s Teen Class (14-17)

Boy’s Youth Class (9-13)

Girl’s Youth Class (9-13)

Boy’s From Class (8 & Under)

Girl’s From Class (8 & Under)

Full results here.

2015 Slash and Burn coverage.