Words:// Doug Bishop

Photos:// Felix Rioux

Last weekend I had to make one of the hardest decisions of my life. You see,

there were two events happening on the same days. Firstly, there was the D-jam

at Val St. Come. Secondly, Amon

Tobin, my favorite musician in the world was playing in Montreal.

In the end, I knew that there was no decision to make, and I packed up the

car to head up to St. Come. The D-jam was one of my favorite events last year,

and with promise of excellent weather, I knew I had to go.

The village for the event was set up at the bottom of the park. There were

two jumps just above this where most of the session happened. Whether you felt

like riding, or chilling out for a few laps and enjoying free hotdogs and Base

the day was up to you. There were camps happening, where participants got to

learn tricks from their favorite pros, and jam sessions on all the features.

No stress, just sunshine and skiing. The way it should be.

The list of pros was staggering. TJ Schiller, Thomas Rinfret, Charles Gangier,

Iannick B., Kim Lamar, Dom Legare... and with all the Plehouse boys shooting,

you got to see some good tricks.

I quickly began lapping the park, listening to some good music and just enjoying

the beautiful day. The talent level was what I have come to expect from Quebec:

Extremely high. There was every type of trick known to skiing thrown on the

various jumps. TJ throwing corked spins both ways of everything from 180 to

720 with all kinds of different grabs.

Various skiers on the big jump

Charles Gangier showed up to steal the show with some of the most impressive

corked spins over the spine I have ever seen. The landing was TINY, and he just

went for it.

Click on the image to view an animated sequence

After Day one was claimed by Gangier, it was time to head back to the Hotel.

The hotel at St. Come is wonderful. It's a small little place with a general

room to host dinners and parties in it. We checked into our condo just down

the road and relaxed from the day. Paul and I had some business to attend to,

so we ended up missing dinner but showed up afterwards for the party.

There was copious amounts of prizes thrown out for all the attendees, and John

Lee the DJ was pumping out the tunes. Paul and I showed up late, a little under

the weather and met up with a few of the newschoolers members. Big thanks to

pag

and all the crew for the hospitality in their room! The night raged into the

wee hours of the morning, the dance floor being torn to pieces by the various

people there. I personally think that the Armada rep, really took the show!

Doug (Mr.Bishop) on the left, and Paul (NoPoles) on the right.

Day 2 was just as sunny, and possibly even warmer than day 1. I had to chill

out at the bottom of the park for a while and wait for the fatigue of the night

before to wear off. I was actually dragged off the couch and forced to go skiing

by NS members, which ended up making me feel a whole lot better.

Today everyone was throwing down. Campers and general public alike were killing

the two jump line which was being sessioned heavily. The first jump was the

money booter where everyone was showing off, and the second jump a little more

mellow for learning tricks. I could see the progression of every single skier

there throughout the day.

Various skiers on the big jump day 2

The overall vibe of this event is what makes it so good. The boys at D-structure

manage to put together a fun couple of days where you can just hang out and

enjoy the sport of skiing. Too many events in our sport are focused on competing

and being the best. When you're hanging out at the D-jams, there's none of the

attitude. It's what skiing should be about. It's an event for everyone from

the top pro skiers to the ones having just bought their first pair of twins.

So next year, mark off the calender and join your fellow skiers and NSers at

your local D-jam.