Norwegian Retains U.S. Slopestyle Title

Kjersti Østgaard Buaas. Photo: NSBF.

STRATTON, Vt. — After competing in the slopestyle finals at the United States Open Snowboarding Championships, the women who finished in the top three spots Sunday engaged in another competition at the awards ceremony to see who could drink a bottle of Champagne the fastest. Just as on the mountain, Kjersti Oestgaard Buaas won.

“My mom would probably be like, Ohhh,” Oestgaard Buaas said, shaking her head.

Speed on the course was another matter. After several days of sun and warm weather, a snow squall blew through the Green Mountains just as the finals began. That led to poor visibility and slowed the slopestyle course so that several riders struggled to gain enough speed to launch over the jumps.

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