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Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Mountain High signs Louie to 1st Pro Team

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Louie Preparing for the Olympics

"With his newly learned double cork frontside 1080, Louie Vito stands a good chance for making one of the coveted US spots."
By: Alyssa Roenigk EXPN

The U.S. Snowboard team has just finished a two-and-a-half week summer halfpipe camp at Timberline Resort on Oregon's Mount Hood. Most of the riders will now head to their respective homes to take a month off and spend time working on strength coach Brad Jones' summer conditioning program.

That is not the plan for Louie Vito and Danny Kass. They have already set off to New Zealand to continue the momentum and take advantage of the early winter training before the rest of the crew joins them.

"New Zealand is not the place to progress," says halfpipe coach Ricky Bower. "It was a zoo down there before the last Olympics. This year will be even worse." The New Zealand session will be used to perfect tricks learned in Hood and lock in the contest runs riders will use during the Grand Prix qualifying season, which begins Dec. 11 at Copper Mountain, Colo. But the time in Hood was all about progression.

But with all the progression at this session, the trick generating the most excitement this week was Louie Vito's double cork frontside 1080. At a camp in Aspen, Colo., earlier this year, Vito studied his friend Luke Mitrani's version of the trick (he throws a double cork cab 10) and felt confident he could land the trick frontside. Before heading to Hood, Vito stopped at the U.S. Ski and Snowboard team's new Center of Excellence in Park City, Utah, and spent trampoline time with the U.S. Ski Team's aerials coach Matt Christensen.

Once in Hood, Vito spent a few days working the trick over a straight jump into an airbag, which was set up specifically for the camp. "Then we had four days off and Louie had time to think about the trick," Bower says. First day back, he told Bower he was ready to go for it in the pipe. "First try, he came around to his feet," Bower says. "Second try, he landed. It was amazing."

By mid-week, Vito was landing the trick with 70 percent success and was able to ride out of the trick and throw a cab 1080 on his next hit. "He has a ton of control and can do a nice, big hit afterwards," Bower says. "It's like a 720 for him now." Since Vito landed the trick, youngster Matt Ladley joined in the fun, and landed the trick a couple times on Wednesday afternoon. The next few months are going to be a lot of fun—for us spectators, anyway.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

MOUNTAIN HIGH SIGNS LOUIE VITO AND MARC FRANK MONTOYA

Wrightwood, CA – July 27, 2009: Mountain High, CA, announced this week it has signed Mark Frank Montoya (MFM) and Louie Vito to its pro team, and promoted hometown rider Cory Cronk. In addition the resort has added close to 25 new features to its park program including signature jibs from MFM and Cronk.

Says John McColly, Director of Marketing, “I’m stoked to have these guys as part of our family. It’s something we’ve been working on for a while and I’m glad to see it finally come to fruition. This season you’ll not only see their exploits in both photo and video, but you’ll also be able to ride with them via several text-to-win campaigns.”

Marc Frank Montoya is the real deal. Born and raised on the streets of Denver, he has been touted as one of the smoothest and strongest riders in the world with a heavy skateboarding influence. Besides his impressive contest spreadsheet and numerous video parts, MFM was named Transworld Snowboarding’s “Rockstar Of The Year” in 2004 & 2005, and is one of Snowboarder Magazine’s “Top Ten Riders in the World.” Now this legendary icon has come to Southern California with hopes of giving back to the sport that has given so much to him.

Louie Vito is the new wave of snowboarding. In 2005, he exploded onto the scene with big superpipe finishes at both the Burton New Zealand (4th) and Burton Australian (1st) Opens. Now he is competing for a spot on the American team and a chance at the 2010 Olympics. Trained on the East Coast, Louie is known for his technical style and back-to-back 1080s. He excels in all aspects of the sport from pipe to rails to back-country kickers and it is the combination of this diversity and his charismatic personality that makes him one of the most sought after riders today.

Says Vito, “I’m super stoked to ride for Mountain High. The resort is all about snowboarding and I can’t wait to show up, sign some autographs, and hopefully make a lot of new friends. I’ve also got my sights on the Olympics so, of all the years, this is the year to be pushing it.”

Hometown hero Cory Cronk was raised at Mountain High on a diet of picks and shovels. Now a 12 year veteran, he has the swagger of a jibber but the experience of a big mountain rider. He is a fixture in the Southern California snowboarding community and has several features named after him including the Cronk Bonk, new for 09/10.

In addition to print ads, interviews and web videos, Mountain High will be hosting text-to-win campaigns to give visitors a chance to ride with the pros. A Louie Vito Celebrity Rail Jam will hit the event calendar in 2010, and the resort is assisting MFM with the development of a new foundation to get underprivileged youth involved in snowboarding.