PDX Downhill Wrapup

Billy Meiners quickly recaps the Mt Tabor Downhill challenge after the jump. Photos by Dabe Alan.

This Sunday PDX Downhill hosted Portland’s first (legit) downhill skateboard race on Mt. Tabor. The Skate Gods blessed us with beautiful weather for the maiden voyage of this race. Roughly 50 people showed up to participate in the downhill, slalom or freeride. And I think it’s safe to say that fun was had by all.

The first half of the day started with the giant slalom race. The track was set on the lower half of Run 1 on Mt. Tabor. Local slalom expert Skip Marcotte was in charge of the slalom race and he put together a very fun/challenging course. Everybody was able to get a in a few practice runs and the two timed runs before lunch time. The runs were all cataloged and the winning time was set by Robin Mcguirk who beat Jordan Huotari by about .4 seconds.

After a quick pizza party, provided by Hot Lips, the downhill racing started up. All riders competing in the downhill race had to adopt an “old school” style tuck. Basically this meant riding with your feet next to each other (at least those were the loose guidelines). Most people began to find their old school steez after a run or two and then the racing began. The heats started off as 4-man but by the end of the day they became 6-man. Many riders were looking fast and the heats began to get stacked as the day progressed. After several rounds of elimination the finals were set with Chip Wood, Billy Bones, Jon Huey, Joshua Torres, Robin Mcguirk, and Tim Del Rosario. The racing was tight in the upper section but Billy and Chip pulled out front and battled towards the finish line. It came down to a photo finish with Billy ahead of Chip by about a wheel.

-Billy Meiners

Slalom:
1st – Robin Mcguirk
2nd – Jordan Huotari
3rd – William Royce
4th – Jon Huey

Downhill:
1st – Billy Bones
2nd – Chip Wood
3rd – Tim Del Rosario
4th – Joshua Torres