CARRABASSETT VALLEY — This event draws great jibbers—even from the North Pole.

The Build Your Own Rail Jam, held Saturday, Jan. 16, was the first rail jam of the season for Sugarloaf. The event began at 6 p.m. on the “Boardwalk” in front of Sugarloaf’s Base Lodge. There were 57 snowboard and ski “jibbers” competitors ranging in age from 10 through 29. Those taking part in the three-stage (two qualifiers and a final) competition represented a wide spectrum of talent and hailed from as far away as North Pole, Alaska.

The theme of this jam was Build Your Own Rail Jam. Applications were sought for who could design the best Rail Jam. Twenty-seven entries were received and the judges chose a design submitted from a college student from up-state New York (sadly the young man could not make Saturday night’s event). The award for the winning design was free entry into the Rail Jam and the honor of barking instructions to the Sugarloaf Terrain Park crew while they put together the venue.

The STP crew labored about 60 hours preparing the course for Saturday’s competition. “We take enormous pride in the work we do,” confided Ken Charles — foreman of the STP crew of six that worked on the event. “I like symmetry in the work I do,” he added, “We all look at building these courses as a work of art. I think this design (the winning entry) is unique and fun. It has many potential options for a wide range of ability levels.”

Weather and snow conditions were close to ideal for the Rail Jam. If it were not for an intermittent blustery cold northwest breeze, the 30 plus temps felt relatively balmy for mid-January on Sugarloaf.

The full-tilt acrobatic tricks of Saturday night’s competition delighted the throng of 200-plus spectators. The talent level of the boarders and skiers was very high and the competition extremely close.

“This was very tough to judge,” confessed Ben Rush, Sugarloaf’s Board Room Manager and one of the event’s judges, “It was very hard to choose the best since the competition was so close.” The excitement was palpable as the crowd “ahhh’d” and cheered to the most gnarly stylish and dramatic displays and groaned as they bore witness to some wicked wipeouts.

The first-place winners of the BYO Rail Jam qualified for the “Downtown Rail Jam” to be held on Jan. 30 in Monument Square in Portland. The second place finishers received Sugarloaf gift certificates and the third place finishers in the ski and snowboard competition get free entrance into the next Sugarloaf Rail Jam —to be held in February.