This is it. The final showdown. After five months and 15,000 miles of searching the western US for the best amateur shreds, the Campus Rail Jam Tour has landed back in Portland, Oregon and rallied the troops for the third annual downtown showdown. 80 of the top rail riders made the trek from all over the nation in hopes of taking home the crown and a piece of the $10,000 in cash and prizes.

Riders were welcomed to Portland in true Oregon fashion with cloudy skies and wet weather. Anyone who was expecting a sunny day of spring shred was sadly mistaken as the weather showed no signs of turning pleasant anytime soon. For the few thousand people that showed up to get in on the action, the rain didn?t seem to hinder the fun. Free beer, free product, and insane riding made the event too fun to let a little precipitation get in the way. Cricket Wireless was turning frowns upside down by handing out hundreds of free ponchos to keep people warm and dry. With DJ wiki bumping beats and the Widmer kegs flowing strong, the finals got underway and jaws began to drop.

Besides the riding (and the after party), the best part of the finals is getting to see all the familiar faces. Carload after carload of hungry riders showed up at the event with smiles on their faces and butterflies in their stomachs, excited to see one another and get wild. Psyched and ready to go, the skiers headed up the steps and got down to business. Things got real techy real quick, and the top of the pack quickly separated themselves from the rest. Local boy, Joey Vandermeer ended up in third place after coming off a win at OSU. Second place was awarded to McRae Williams along with $500 in cash to blow at the party. Taking the cake for the entire 2010 Campus Rail Jam Tour was local favorite Garrett Rowley, walking away with $1500 and a dope new pair of Coreupt skis.

Only two ladies made it to the finals to represent for the two plankers. Kristie Giles and Katie Powers faced off and battled to one-up each other for the entire three hours. After slaying all three features, Kristie Giles took home the win along with some cash, Coreupt skis and Roxy outerwear. Way to represent ladies!

When it came time for the snowboarders to drop it was clear that these guys were serious. Many competitors were heading to Hood for the summer with empty wallets, so the potential of taking home $1,500 cash was no joke. The riding was on point, and riders were going for broke. The Tour has seen flip attempts before, but never a successful landing. That all changed at the finals. Normally, flips are frowned upon, but the crew let it slide so Christian Hobush could throw a front flip over the gap onto the box. Pretty ridiculous stuff. Christian ended up in second place with $500 followed by Jordan Welter in third, taking home some cash and a custom snowboard from Ford. On top of the podium was Lou Macias in first place, makin? it rain with $1,500 in one dollar bills, ready for the club. Lou also filled his trunk with a 2011 snowboard from Salomon snowboards and boots from Celsius. Congrats boys!

The female shreds had a great showing at the finale with some of the best riders from a mix of all the stops. The wet weather didn?t exactly make things easy, so the ladies really had to work for it! Randa Shahin slayed everything, as expected, and landed in third place with some cash. Ashley Thornton surprised some people with an amazing bag of tricks and took home second place along with a board from Roxy and a stack of cash. Taking it all and deserving every bit of it was Krysta Pelchar. Krysta killed it all day and didn?t let the rain get in her way. Krysta took home a 2011 snowboard from Salomon and enough cash to get her through a summer in Govy. Props!

Well, that?s a wrap! The 2010 Campus Rail Jam Tour mobilized by Cricket and Ford is in the books!

A huge thanks goes out to Cricket Wireless and Ford for making the Tour happen, along with all the riders for helping us spread the shred across the country! Keep an eye out for things to come from Galvanic Design, you won?t be disappointed! Until next time?..hang loose mother goose.