First Time Senders at Red Bull Rampage 2014

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<b>Welcome to the new Red Bull Rampage venue. There is no easy way down, and finding a line off the daunting cliff band that spans the upper ridge is mandatory.</b> - Trumpore
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<b>Today was another big build day, and the diggers were throwing more roost than the riders for most of it. Dustin Gilding weighs in on the soil.</b> - Trumpore
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<b>Water is without a doubt the most precious commodity, and may be the key to a successful line.</b> - Trumpore
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<b>Wil White is once again keeping things as raw as he can.</b> - Turman
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<b>In contrast, the amount of dirt that has been moved in such a short time on some lines is unbelievable. A few days ago these perfectly sculpted jumps where nothing more than a ragged ledge and scree field.</b> - Trumpore
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<b>Brendan Howey inspects one of the bigger moves in his line. A few years ago this would have been considered massive, but in 2014 it's the status quo.</b> - Trumpore
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<b>Howey was the first rider to finish his line and session it top to bottom.</b> - Trumpore
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<b>Riders make their way to the top for a late afternoon practice session. Getting to the top is nearly as treacherous as coming down.</b> - Steen
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<b>Kyle Norbraten and Brett Rheeder play rock paper scissors to see who will be the first to test out the big drop near the top of their line.</b> - Trumpore
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<b>As you can see from the tracks on the landing, both Norbs and Rheeder nailed it on the first go. Eliot Jackson can't believe his eyes.</b> - Trumpore
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<b>Cam Zink and Kyle Strait will point their bikes straight down the steepest part of the mountain. See the dust? That's where they're headed.</b> - Turman
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<b>Antoine Bizet can only look at the gnarly upper ridge and wonder what might have been. Recovering from a kidney injury sustained at Crankworx means he can only watch this weekend and provide a bit of help for his friends.</b> - Trumpore
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<b>Nicholi Rogatkin is looking more and more comfortable on his big bike as the days go on.</b> - Steen
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<b>Norbs' face says it all. He's stoked with the new venue and a blank canvas to work with.</b> - Trumpore
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<b>Mitch Do-elato is adding another type of event to his resume. The guy has done it all and done it well. He's ready to put those varied skills to good use this weekend.</b> - Turman
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<b>Paul Bas and KC Deane teamed up to build a steep and sketchy ridge line with only a small catch berm keeping them from flying off a cliff. First to test things out, KC ended up going for a pretty wild ride.</b> - Trumpore
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<b>Safety first! Brendan Fairclough lowers one of his builders over a cliff to chip away a bit more unwanted rock.</b> - Trumpore
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<b>Kelly McGarry loves this ridgeline. He also loves massive canyon gaps. Watch for him to spend a lot of time in the air.</b> - Steen
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<b>There is much less manmade influence this time around, and the 73-foot canyon gap is one of the only bits that resembles the Rampage of old.</b> - Trumpore
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<b>Carson Storch trains behind Ryan Howard on the Flow Fest line. Both are looking very confident and still have time to dial things in even more.</b> - Turman
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<b>Nicholi randomly threw one of his trademark lawn dart front flips over the 46-foot hip during today's evening jam session.</b> - Turman
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<b>Nicholi randomly threw one of his trademark lawn dart front flips over the 46-foot hip during today's evening jam session.</b> - Turman
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<b>Nicholi randomly threw one of his trademark lawn dart front flips over the 46-foot hip during today's evening jam session.</b> - Turman
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<b>Hi-fives all around after Nicholi stomped the front flip. He's gaining respect on the big mountain scene quicker than many would have guessed.</b> - Turman
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<b>Replace the bike with a pair of skis and you would have a more typical shot of KC Deane. No stranger to big mountains, KC is pushing his limits on the brown pow this weekend.</b> - Trumpore
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<b>There's nothing like stomping a line. Doerfling nailed this chute his first try, even if he only had one foot on the pedals.</b> - Steen
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<b>Aggy's nasty 360s and boosty backflips late in the day were the highlight for R-Dog. We can see why.</b> - Steen
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<b>We're pretty sure Andreu Lacondeguy spun this 46-foot gap on his second attempt. Needless to say, all his recent time on a big bike is paying off.</b> - Steen
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<b>Brett Rheeder slashes through the loose dirt as he drops in.</b> - Trumpore
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<b>If ever there was a theme to the building and shredding that goes on at Rampage, this would be it.</b> - Trumpore
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<b>Bernard Kerr was taking cues from Brandon Semenuk and Graham Agassiz when he dropped into the big Polaris hip. Watch for him to make a b-line straight to the bottom.</b> - Turman
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<b>This is what happens when you come up short on a big gap and your bike cartwheels down the hill.</b> - Trumpore
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<b>In case you didn't already know who Rachel Throop was rooting for this weekend, her perfectly painted paws serve as a fun reminder.</b> - Trumpore
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<b>Rumor has it a certain DH World Cup racer responsible for this line has recently learned backflips on his DH bike...</b> - Trumpore
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<b>It's hard work out here in the desert as lines must be created from scratch. Luckily most of the hard work is done.</b> - Trumpore
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<b>With several days until the finals, Brandon Semenuk can comfortably progress into his line. He's already well on his way to perfecting most of it.</b> - Pondela
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<b>The evenings here in Virgin are easy on the eyes. We'll keep coming back for more and expect you to do the same. It's Rampage time!</b> - Trumpore
As building comes to an end for many, riders grab their bikes, hike up and drop into their lines at Red Bull Rampage, the gnarliest of all freeride contests. This year will be HUGE!



Photos by Dave Trumpore, Brandon Turman, Courtney Steen, and Christian Pondella/Red Bull Content Pool
8 comments

View replies to: First Time Senders at Red Bull Rampage 2014

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sino428
10 years ago
After watching this slideshow I can't help but question why so many people get their panties in a bunch over the wooden features. All I see is people talking about "natural" this or "natural" that when they complain about the wood features. But can someone then explain to me what is "natural" about some of the things I saw on the slideshow? I mean look at slide #5, or #34. In #34 that gap that (I am assuming) Fairclough built. That's natural? Why because its made of dirt and rocks? When you spend days piling up rocks and dirt to build a massive takeoff and landing that otherwise did not exist prior, I'm sorry but there is nothing 'natural' about that. And Slide #5? This are perfectly sculpted lips and takeoffs. Does that mean I can claim I'm riding 'natural' terrain next time I hit the jump line at my local bike park?

Don't take this rant as a knock on whats going on here, I love it. I'm just saying its a bit hypocritical to shart all over the wood features because they aren't natural but then be ok with these other features just because they are made of dirt and rocks.
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Big Bird
10 years ago
I've pretty universally heard the same from others. I too am against the wooden structures, but can see that a few could be necessary, but the amount of dirt works that have happened are definitely far from "Natural". It's tantamount to a desecration. Has anyone else seen the first "Red Bull Joyride" that happened in Australia? The terrain was super steep and hard just to ride down, then there were some massive man made (Scaffolding instead of wood.) drops, leading into a fat set of dirt jumps at the bottom. That was more what I was hoping for.
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pholange
10 years ago
I think the crux of the difference is that, for instance, fairclough imagined and created that feature he built with his builders. The wooden features onsight are from the mind and efforts of the organizers, and hence lack the individual rider's imaginative creativity as well as individual effort to build them. Thoughts? By the way I think the wooden features are an awesome part of rampage but I share great respect for the riders who build their own line "feautures" all the more.
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s.sheline
10 years ago
okay so I said that before I actually watched the slideshow. Let me amend: BADASS rampage coverage! Best post yet—super sick to see the riders starting to get comfortable on their lines, esp. so far ahead of contest time. And the amount of dirt they moved by hand in less than a week is absolutely ridiculous
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bturman
10 years ago
Cheers, s.sheline! It has been awesome to see the boys tackle the hill piece by piece. We'll keep bringing the action and stories all week long.
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