The Dirksen Derby And Mt. Bachelor’s Bottomless Skatepark

Bend, Oregon and Mount Bachelor have been known as one of the snowiest areas in the country and a breeding ground for some of the most creative and stylish snowboarders. Due the wind it receives and its massive snowfall, Mount Bachelor gets incredible natural terrain- such as a bottomless skatepark of pow, filled with windlips, natural hits and tranny-finders. Smith team riders Austin Smith and Josh Dirksen have called Bend home for over a decade now, and their riding clearly has grown to reflect the mountain's terrain and lifestyle.

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Dirksen is in his ninth year running the Dirksen Derby, a friendly banked-slalom competition that plays off of Bachelor's flowy terrain and draws riders from across the world. The only problem? For this Derby weekend, Bachelor received about two feet of snow and most of the fun riding was done outside of the competition. The epic storm cycle also served as a good time for Austin Smith to show new Smith athlete Louif Paradis around Smith's home resort- and of course, to show him how it's done at the Great Bachelor Reef.