22.3
ELIAS ELHARDT
LAST WINTER, TRAVIS RICE, LIAM GRIFFIN AND THE NATURAL SELECTION TEAM HAD TO CONSTANTLY ADAPT THEIR PLANS DUE TO COVID, BUT THIS DIDN’T STOP THEM FROM PULLING OFF THE INAUGURAL NATURAL SELECTION TOUR WITH STOPS IN JACKSON HOLE MOUNTAIN RESORT, BALDFACE VALHALLA, AND THE TODRILLO MOUNTAINS OF ALASKA. THE HEAD-TO-HEAD KNOCKOUT FORMAT MADE FOR SOME SURPRISING RESULTS, WITH SOME BIG NAMES DROPPING OUT EARLY. MIKKEL BANG AND ROBIN VAN GYN TOOK THE TOP SPOTS, BUT IT WAS ANYONE’S GAME UP UNTIL THE VERY END. UNLIKE MOST MAJOR CONTESTS, THE NATURAL SELECTION WAS ACTUALLY EXCITING AND ENTERTAINING TO WATCH, AND WE’RE STOKED TO SEE HOW THE SECOND YEAR OF THE TOUR UNFOLDS. WE GOT TRAVIS ON THE PHONE TO GIVE US SOME INSIGHTS INTO WHAT WE CAN EXPECT TO SEE, AND WHAT IT TAKES TO MAKE THIS THING HAPPEN. INTERVIEW. THEO ACWORTH. PHOTO. NATURAL SELECTION/RED BULL CONTENT POOL
So you’ve got year one under your belt. How are you feeling coming to the second year of Natural Selection? Last year was tough. In Jackson, we couldn’t even talk about the Baldface, Valhalla event because of the sensitivity of Canada’s COVID policies. So it felt a bit like a broken tour. This coming season is a direct three-stop tour, and the stakes and demands of the terrain get notched up at each event. Last year we built the foundation, which was exactly what we needed to do. It wasn’t what we originally envisioned, but all things considered, from the crazy
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COVID year we found ourselves in, I think we did damn well. It was a great setup, and this season all three of our venues will be much more interesting. We’ve rounded them out a lot more. Jackson Hole was already a pretty epic venue, but running into last winter, we were only at about 65% of where we wanted to be. Now I think we’re more in the 85% range. What’s going on with Baldface? Will you be on the same Valhalla tenure as last year or somewhere different? We’ve got a couple of things going on in Baldface. We went in this
summer and cleaned up, added and refined features from the original Super Natural 2012 venue. We’ll be running on that venue, and there’s also a wildcard bonus venue there that we’ll talk more about after the Jackson event. Sounds good. How’s Alaska looking? In AK, we have a much better venue than last year. Last year’s faces were sweet, but they weren’t the first choices. They were more like C and D choices. I’m really excited about what we’re focussing on for this year. It’s going to take it to another level. METHOD 21 -----------
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