Gnu Girls podium The North Face Masters, Luebke takes second for men!
Seattle, WA (February 22, 2012) – Mervin built snowboards are winning the biggest mountains on the freeride circuit this season. Most recently Gnu and Lib Tech riders have topped the podium at The North Face Masters, Red Bull Supernatural, stops on the Swatch Freeride Tour and the Legendary Banked Slalom. What do all of these winners have in common? C2 Power Banana and Magne-Traction developed by the experiMental team at Mervin Mfg are underfoot of the riders topping podiums worldwide this season.

At the first stop of the North Face Masters event of the season held at Crystal Mountain, WA, Maria DeBari and Maribeth Swetkoff-Kramer placing second and third respectively riding Gnu B-Pros. Shannan Yates won The North Face Masters season opener on a Lib Tech Jamie Lynn Phoenix, which like the B-Pro features C2 Power Banana and Magne-Traction.

From high-speed descents to huge cliff drops and perfect powder turns, the women displayed an all-around confidence. Yates navigated her way through a band of rocks, stomping two airs before making some smooth pow turns and finally dropping a sizable cliff. DeBari took a daring run straight down the rocky face to a perfectly executed cliff drop at the bottom earning her second place. Finishing off the podium in third place was Swetkoff-Kramer with a fast paced, smooth run.

“I love riding the C2 because it’s really aggressive and will take me anywhere,” says DeBari. “It gets me down the mountain fast no matter if it’s perfect pow or Volkswagen sized moguls.”

The next day at The North Face Masters Sammy Luebke’s run included multiple cliff drops, huge pow turns and a giant front-side 360 indie off the lower cliff landing him within a fraction of a point from first place. “Stoked that I could be a part of this event,” says Luebke. “The weather was pretty gnarly, but we pushed through and were able to get it done. Everybody was ripping!”

Riders on the Gnu B-Pro have chalked up a number of wins in the park and pipe over the years, but this season it’s also the most winning women’s board in freeriding. Maria DeBari, who rides the Gnu B-Pro, is the current women’s leader on the Swatch Freeride World Tour having won both events held so far this season along with the Dirksen Derby and third place at the Legendary Banked Slalom at Mt. Baker. ?Barrett Christy, won the Women’s Pro Masters at the Legendary Banked Slalom on her namesake B-Pro benefiting Boarding for Breast Cancer, as Temple Cummins took home third in the Men’s Pro division on the Gnu Billy Goat. “Honestly, I’ve never felt more comfortable in my setup before,”says Christy. “The 149 B-Pro is my favorite go-to board for every condition and the LBS really put it to the test this year.”