Snowboarders Take Flight in East River Park

Imagine what Shaun White (not pictured or on site this morning) can do off this jump. (Tien Mao)

 

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That huge ramp in East River Park is finally being put into use. Tonight, 16 professional snowboarders including Shaun White, Pat Moore, and Travis Rice will head down the 9-story ramp before launching into the air onto a "double-sided pyramid landing" in the Red Bull Snowscrapers competition. The snowboarders are competing for a piece of a $100,000 purse. In addition to White, who is coming off 2009 X Games golds in Slopestyle and Superpipe, and other snowboarders, Anthrax is scheduled to perform during tonight's competition.

The Red Bull Snowscrapers contest is scheduled to start at 5:45pm with a jam session, the finals are scheduled for 7:45pm, and Anthrax takes the stage at 8:55pm. MSG Plus is broadcasting the jam session at 6pm and the finals on tape delay at 10pm. If you're heading down tonight, the event is in East River Park at Houston Street and the FDR.

Once the festivities are done today, that's not it for the "mountain" on the East River. Winter Jam takes place on the same snow-covered field. The event includes a "70-foot long Snow Flume," but we're unsure if that's going to be off the same 90-foot ramp the pros will be using. And that rumor that an altered version of the ramp will open to the public was all but confirmed to us by an Oakley rep.