High 5ives! with Kara Rennie Mar 22, 2011 Author: Ilissa Maiatico Ontario’s own Kara Rennie is best known for traveling the globe with her snowboard. Spending the past several seasons based in Colorado and Utah, she’s making a name for herself south of the border. When Kara’s not competing at events such as the Dew Tour or US Open, you can spot her driving across the states with her Ontario license plates. She'll be the one singing along to the likes of Taylor Swift, Avril Lavigne and her all-time favourite Rihanna. Kara's also one of the nicest shredders you’ll ever meet, so here’s her High 5ives. Sights to see in Utah: 1. Cobra Dogs wiener stand at the bottom of the park at Park City Mountain Resort 2. Yogurt Stop on Parleys Way in SLC. Such good fro yo with so many toppings! 3. Brighton on a pow day. So fun. I have yet to visit Snowbird or Powder Mountain though but I hear they're even better. 4. Willies in SLC on Wednesday nights with Dj Matty Mo 5. Salt Flats and the Salt Lake are neat Perks to being on the Nikita team: 1. Most of my best friends I met because of Nikita 2. Sick clothes twice a year 3. I have a place to stay if I ever go to Iceland 4. Photo shoots 5. Bathing suits Why you first started snowboarding: 1. Money 2. Fame 3. Babes 4. My older brother made me 5. I had to give the little brother my skis Favourite Rihanna songs: 1. Disturbia 2. Umbrella ft. Jay Z 3. Hatin' On The Club 4. Run This Town ft. Jay Z 5. All Of The Lights (Kanye West ft Rihanna)  Five friends you’d take on the snowboard trip of a lifetime: 1. Jordie Karlinski because I've already gone on big trips with her and she’s one of my best friends. It would be easy. We would go to Chile or Argentina maybe, somewhere we haven’t been before. 2. Sage Kotsenburg: he’s like a brother to me, and this kid has the best personality of anyone I know.  I would never get bored. We’d probably go to some sort of summer shred/surf spot. 3. Guillaume Morissette: I love him and he's so funny. I'd go anywhere they speak French. 4. Rob Dyrdek: my dream man. I want to go to the Fantasy Factory. 5. Rihanna: I want to meet that babe but I'd go somewhere tropical with her. She probably doesn’t know how to snowboard. Kara Rennie self-portrait. Sending it at Snowbasin during the 2011 Dew Tour. Maiatico photo.

SBC Resort Guide: Park City Mountain Resort

RIDING PARK CITY WITH KARA RENNIE + 10 REASONS TO VISIT

Mar 16, 2011 Author: Ilissa Maiatico         During a recent stop-off in Utah, I was lucky to spend a day snowboarding with Nikita rider Kara Rennie at Park City Mountain Resort. Here’s a recap of our adventure and a few reasons why you need to see this place for yourself. On Valentine’s Day, bright and early, Kara, Aimee from Camp of Champions, and myself got suited up. Carrying our snowboards in hand, we walked over to Park City. (Kara literally lives across the street from the resort, so it didn’t take long). We started the day off by riding at Three Kings. This is one of three terrain parks you’ll find at Park City Resort. Three Kings features a slew of fun lines and features. Whether you like riding boxes, rails, half-pipe or jumps, this park has it all. Plus, there’s even lights so all you 9-5’ers can get some evening laps in.    Kara takes a run through the superpipe            Kara enjoying another day on the job  One of the best things about Three Kings is the Cobra Dogs snack bar you’ll find at the bottom of the park. Offering all kinds of dogs and brats, this is the best place to grab a bite without having to head inside.   Kara assures us the Cobra-Dogs are delicious!                       Grab a snack and get a table inside an old gonadola   After lunch, the three of us ventured up to the mini park better known as the Ridge. For all you beginners, this is the best place to hone your skills while starting out. This park is also home to the Eaglet chairlift so you can get several park laps in without waiting long. While we spent the majority of our day riding the parks, this place has lots more to offer for skiers and snowboarders all of kinds. Below you'll find a few reasons why Park City should be on your must-visit list.     When in doubt, take the easiest route                        Just one of the 114 trails Reason to ride Park City: 1. Park City Mountain Resort played host to some of the events during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games 2. For all you U-ditch fans, Park City has a 22’ Eagle Superpipe 3. While waiting in the liftline, you might just run into Scotty Arnold, Stevie Bell, Sage Kotsenburg, Erin Comstock, Tanner Hall or Tom Wallisch 5. The three terrain parks are home to literally hundreds of features 6. You can take a spin on the Alpine Coaster and get a scenic view of the Wasatch Mountains 7. There’s 16 chairlifts that upload 30,200 guests per hour 8. There’s 114 trails 9. Plus, there’s 3,300 acres of terrain spread over eight peaks and nine bowls 10. Lastly, the resort is only a short drive away from Salt Lake City international airport Thanks to Park City’s Becca Sedler, plus Kara Rennie, Madison Blackley, and Pops & Tron for being my tour guides. For more information visit: http://www.parkcitymountain.com/    The view from above                                                                    The view from below

SBC article: Canadian Open

Catching Up With Kara Rennie Part 2: Burton Canadian Open Feb 15, 2011 Author: Kara Rennie A 14 hour drive and one more time getting hassled at the boarder, I'm back in my home country for the third annual Burton Canadian Open. I've made it to all three Canadian Opens so far, and this year is by far the best slope course they've had. I ventured alone, but met up with some friends from all over the globe. I was the only Nikita girl. Stefi Luxton from NZ said it was her first time in Canada! Silje and Enni fresh off the X Games podium became my shopping buddies for a day. However, I mostly hung out with my Dad, who was in Calgary for a business trip. It was freezing the day most people arrived with temperatures at -25 C. For all you Americans, that's approximately -13 F. Not even 24 hours later it was on the verge of raining. Great for the weather to warm up but the ugly clouds made it hard to see. I didn't stick around for the whole thing but I heard it got windy, and everyone was still killing it. I hurried back home to Park City to try and get a few days in before Snow Basin Dew Tour. Dad stayed and watched finals, he was also pretty stoked to meet one of his favourite riders (other than me of course) Jamie Anderson. Accidentally took the scenic route through Montana. Stefi Luxton and I at the start gate. Stefi with the view of Calgary. Myself (Kara Rennie), Silje Norendal, and Enni Rukajärvi. Stefi Luxton cab 5.

SBC article: Colorado

Catching Up With Kara Rennie Part 1: Colorado Feb 15, 2011 Author: Kara Rennie I was given a chance to spend the week in Breckenridge and I figure what better time to go, with SIA and X Games going on? I grabbed a ride from a friend, leaving my car in Park City, and therefore making it very difficult to get around anywhere further then the town of Breckenridge. I did however make it to the Winter Park Burton Am, where myself and 11 other girls rode our best for a chance to take home some bills and bump up our TTR points. Winter Park Village after a long day. The course was really fun, three jumps and two rails. It was my first time at Winter Park—I always get excited riding new resorts. Congrats to the girls who made the podium! Heal quick Stephy—a broken collarbone from a backside rodeo, but still in good spirits. Winter Park Burton Am Slope results: 1. Heather Baroody 2. Haille Soderholm 3. Michelle Zeller 4. Ariel Friedman 5. Kara Rennie 6. Stephanie Feld The whole week was bluebird, I had a great time riding with my friends, and doing some power laps alone. A couple days I spent riding with Silje Norendal, a 17 years-old girl from Norway, who inspired me to try new things and sew my pants. Thanks for that. Lauren and Alexa at X Games. By Sunday it was time to get back to PC, my friend Lauren picked me up and we stopped in Aspen for a quick minute to check out the last day of X Games. Alexa met us and we had a great two hours or so hanging out at the Oakley truck and watching men's slope finals. Lauren and I hanging out at Oakley. Super stoked for the boys who made podium, Seb Toots, Mark McMorris, and Tyler Flanegan (child-prodigy podium right there). Also congrats to my good friend Sage Kotsenburg for taking 3rd in Big Air a couple nights before. It's amazing what the not so little, little guys can do these days. X Games slope, pipe and big air.

Dew Tour; Snowbasin Utah

I was invited back to the last stop of the Winter Dew Tour at Snowbasin Utah. Ilissa and Aimee Maiatico flew in from Canada to hang out and write this story on SBC. All my best friends were there and the weather was beautiful. I ended up in 9th place, while Jordie took 4th and Madison 6th. Ice CUBE!

Nikita at Dew Tour: Breckenridge

Kara Rennie and the Nikita Crew at Dew Jan 3, 2011 Author: Kara Rennie The week started grey and cold for the first stop of Winter Dew Tour in Breckenridge, Colorado, but once the first couple days of practice were over it turned to blue skies and OQ day was perfect. The course was big, 4 jumps and 3 sets of rail options. A bunch of ladies got broke off or dropped out, but it was survival of the fittest, and 10 ladies moved on from OQ to Prelims, where they battled the snow storm. Nikita girls were as follows: Jordie Karlinski, Maribeth Swetkoff-Kramer, Madison Blackley, and moi, Kara Rennie. We had a ton of fun riding together and eating greasy food in the packed lodge, it was definitely a good experience. Madison Blackley front lip (finished 10th place) Jordie Karlinski Back 3 (finished 6th place) (From left): Maribeth Swetkoff-Kramer, Madison Blackley, Jordie Karlinski, Kara Rennie. Photo by Travis McLain

I was selected to be SBC's December rider of the Month featured on the website sbcwomen.com. Check it out!!

December Rider of the Month: Kara Rennie Dec 1, 2010 Author: Sara Tollestrup/Photos: Nicholas Dubeau If you’ve ever checked out the TTR World Tour rankings then you’ve probably come across the name Kara Rennie. Born in Oakville and raised in Orangeville, December’s Rider of the Month started shredding the hills of Ontario at the age of 11. Last season Rennie was a contest machine hitting TTR events around the globe in places like Switzerland and Vermont before ending up at Camp of Champs for the summer. With a recent invite to the Dew Tour, you can expect to see her taking her riding to the next level this season alongside past Dew Tour slopestyle champs, Spencer O’Brien and Jamie Anderson. 1. What are you looking forward to this month? I’m going to be driving to Breck and staying there for all of December. I’m looking forward to seeing all my friends I haven’t seen since last winter. 2. What would you like to accomplish this month?I just got into Dew Tour, and I would like to actually be ready for it this year. Making it home for Christmas would be a big accomplishment too. We’ll see.  3. Which female snowboarder(s) did you look up to when you were growing up? I honestly didn’t watch girls until about four years ago. I always looked up to the old Forum crew, like Devun Walsh, Peter Line and Bjorn Leines. Now I look up to my friends, and girls I ride with like Jordie Karlinski, Madison Blackley, Spencer O'Brien and Jamie Anderson. 4. Best female snowboard video part? MFR in the Rome movie 5. What is your pre-shred routine? In Breck it’s usually too cold to move in the morning, so I just eat my cereal and go. I really should stretch. 6. What is the best way to avoid getting injured? The thing I don't do, stretch.  7. Which trick could you use a little help with? Back 7s. I tried them all summer and I cork my 5s too much so 7s just don’t work. Sad. 8. Where would you like to go snowboarding that you've never been to before? Japan looks amazing! I would eat so much sushi.  9. How do you motivate yourself to go out and ride when the weather is bad? There's not much else to do, so I tell myself to just go for a couple runs and usually it ends up being more fun than expected. 10. Who is your favourite person to snowboard with? Jordie Karlinski and Madison Blackley. 11. What is your favourite song? Apparently "Disturbia" by Rihanna is my most played song on iTunes. "Beautiful Things" by Ming & Ping and "Hotel California" by the Eagles. 12. Other than snowboarding what are you most passionate about? Photos. I don’t even have a good camera, but I love taking pictures of beautiful things. 13. Best thing about being a girl? Shoes! We have so many options. 14. Best thing about being a snowboarder? Traveling and meeting new people. 15. Thanks? Mom and Dad, Jordie, Madison, Aimee, The Kotsenburgs, Nikita, Bataleon, Celsius, JC, Showcase, and all my friends and family!