Every March since 2000 (minus 2020-21 when the pandemic had other plans), brick and mortar institution Eastern Boarder has brought together a motley collective of the East Coast’s finest along with riders-from-away, all looking to test their mettle on the [potentially/usually] brick-hard jumps that have churned out so many gnarly New England riders. EB’s infamous Last call at Loon Mountain has been, since the year it was started by Eastern Boarder’s Andy “Bub” Bubnowicz, James, and Tabor Coates, an institution of East Coast snowboarding.
When it comes to beloved events that have shaped the landscape of snowboarding, Last Call is a proving ground on packed powder. The contest is a king-and-queen maker of bragging rights, a place where [the occasional] bulletproof conditions mean nothing to the line up happy to huck their meat, and a springboard for lore and local legends–the kind that extend far beyond the White Mountains (see: Timmy Sullivan, Timmy Sullivan, and Timmy Sullivan). It is an end-of-season reunion and unofficial cap to the contest season created twenty-two years ago. As such, it draws a crowd every single year, who are primed for Last Call’s perfect and unique reunion of talent and guts, wrapped up in a beautiful and jaw-dropping wreckless abandon. If there is one day on the East Coast which embodies what it’s like to grow up snowboarding in New England, Eastern Boarder’s Last Call is it.
This year marked the 20th anniversary of the beloved event, no small benchmark considering all of the shifts in snowboarding, climate, economy, and then some that have happened in that time. On Monday, March 28th, the largest and longest running contest on the East Coast was back after its two-year hiatus, and if it was even possible, the riders were even hungrier than usual for the proceedings.
If you haven’t been to Last Call before, in addition to a showing of snowboarding guts and glory, it’s also an exhibit of terrain park prowess. The Loon Mountain Park crew builds out three distinct sections, generally a jump section of some sort (see: the Agro Crag), a rail section, and a transition section. The event moves through each in jam format, crowning a winner for each area as well as overall podiums. The roster of competitors vying for oversized checks and infamy was thick. Zeb Powell, Miles Fallon, Rob Roethler, Austin Visintainer, Alex Caccamo, Casey Savage, Danny Garrity, Eugene Stancato, Dylan Gamache, Timmy Sullivan, Kaleah Opal-Driscoll, Athena Comeau, Ty Schnorrbusch, Abby Ronca, Lily Calabrese, Joey Leon, LJ Henriquez, Johnny O’Connor, Benny Milam, Mike Rav, and many more were on the start list. This year, EB teamed up with Burton to add Last Call as a stop of the Mystery Series, as well.
Gus Noffke, longtime Loon-based photog was on hand with his long lens to capture a few images of the contest. So take a look through the gallery of Gus’ photos and then watch the full video to see what went down at the 20th Anniversary of Last Call. There are few days in the winter season more embedded in the East Coast’s heritage than Eastern Boarder’s Last Call, and every March we are reminded why that’s a really great thing.
Woman’s Podium:
1st – Ty Schnorrbusch
2nd – Athena Comeau
3rd – Kaleah Opal- Driscoll
Mens Podium:
1st – Jed Sky
2nd – Zeb Powell
3rd – Joey Okesson
