Air+Style Los Angeles

Air+Style Los Angeles

The view of the iconic Los Angeles skyline from the top of the 16-story big air ramp that served as the site of the 2016 Air+Style Los Angeles.

From left to right, 2016 Air+Style LA super finalist Roope Tonteri, overall champion Sven Thorgren and 2015 overall A+S champion Stale Sandbech on the top of the big air jump on the day before the competition.

Rain on Wednesday caused an avalanche on the right side of the jump landing, prompting reconstruction on Thursday and Friday in preparation for the weekend event.

Shaun White is all smiles as he points up at his vision—to bring an event that combined music and snowboarding to the L.A. area—coming to fruition for a second time.

The sunset behind the big air ramp on the first night of the event.

Peetu Piiroinen of Finland drops in at the very top of the jump, which had a very narrow entry point because of snow conservation and difficulty getting the shaved ice to stick to the top of the ramp.

Canada’s Darcy Sharpe drops over the L.A. crowd during qualifications. Riders had three runs each to secure a top-16 score that would see them through to the final.

Germany’s Maximilian Preissinger captures the crowd by going completely upside down during a doublecork in the final round of qualifications.

Many of the riders, like Belgium’s Sebastian De Buck here, opted to have fun with the setting and the crowd more than focus on qualifying after scores reached a certain point.

Torgeir Bergrem of Norway sails the gap between the launch point and the landing pad of the 160-foot big air jump during practice for the finals elimination rounds.

Another angle of Bergrem, showing the full 24.6 feet of the gap between the two structures.

Bergrew talks with Shan White as the two snowboarders wait for the elevator that will take them to the top of the ramp.

The maintenance crew worked around the clock to keep the ramp in competition shape. The sun was shining, with temperatures reaching 70-plus degrees during the afternoon.

The icicle stalactites that normally form on scaffold-based big air jumps in more traditional locations was replaced by continuous showers of melting snow.

Big Krit performed between the first and second rounds of snowboarding. Music was as big an element of Air+Stlye L.A. as the competition.

Mark McMorris had been going huge and landing massive triplecork 1440 an 1620s all through qualifications and the early finals rounds. However, on this run, where he looked primed to ride that dominance all the way to the podium, he was injured during his landing and had to be carted off of the snow.

Emil Ulsletten rises into the L.A. night during the final elimination round before the Air+Style Super Final.

Kaskade’s musical performance in between rounds is projected onto the face of the jump landing, marrying the two primary elements of Air+Style: music and snow.

Eric Willet just manages to pull his board around on the 1260 in time to stick the landing. McMorris’s injury did not deter the riders from doing big on the jump, despite the hard landing.

Kyle Mack, who would go on to win second place in the Air+Style L.A. Super Final.

The crowd waiting in anticipation for the start of the Air+Stlye L.A. Super Final. Four riders qualified: Sven Thorgren, Yuki Kadono, Kyle Mack and Roope Tonteri.

Thorgren’s mere presence in the final meant that he’d won the overall 2016 Air+Style competition, but that didn’t keep him from trying to sweep the L.A. event as well.

Thorgren throws his board around on a backside 1440 in the Super Final of the 2016 Air+Style L.A. competition.

Mack goes inverted during a cab triplecork 1620 in his second run of the Super Final.

2016 A+S L.A. champion Yuki Kadono during his 1st-place winning run. Kadono threw down a backside triplecork 1620 to win the contest.

Thorgren and Kadono congratulate Mack after he reaches the bottom on his final run of the contest. The three riders made up the podium of Air+Style L.A.; Tonteri finished fourth.

White congratulates overall Air+Style winner Sven Thorgren at the podium. Thorgren finished in 3rd place in L.A.

Kadono has had a very good season of big air riding. He made the X Games podium with a bronze medal and has now won the Air+Style L.A. competition.

The 2016 Air+Style L.A. podium: winner Yuki Kadono (center), 2nd place Kyle Mack (left) and 3rd place Sven Thorgren.

Along with their trophies, each member of the podium was given a bottle of champagne to assist in their celebrations.