By David MacKinnon, Chad Chomlack photos
2019 has been a banner season for competitive snowboarding. We’ve seen style and creativity reach our sport’s most progressive tricks, and the depth of talent in the competitive field has made for some truly dramatic podium battles. With all the excitement, we figured we’d catch up with Jadyn Chomlack and Finn Finestone, two of Canada’s most promising young contest shreds. Jadyn and Finn ride together on a daily basis, pushing each other’s progression at home in Whistler and on the road at competitions across North America. Read on for that up-and-comer perspective.
How’s the seaon going?
Jadyn: It’s been sick. Super fun– we’ve been travelling a tonne, doing contests.
Finn: Lots of travel.
Jadyn: I went to Europe for a bit, and New Zealand. Then Revelstoke and the east coast with Finn.
Finn: We did the Air Nation contest at Tremblant, it was a lot of fun. Well, Jadyn got sick…
Jadyn: I got the flu and couldn’t really compete. But it was still awesome to be there– the Canadian circuit is all homies, it’s always rad to be at the events to see everyone. And Finn got third!
What’s more important, X Games or Olympics?
Finn: X Games for sure.
Jadyn: Easily. It would be amazing to actually get there– it’s definitely a dream. The level of riding will be so insane by then, we’ll probably need quads [laughs].
Finn: Totally. It progresses so fast, and people are still pushing it. I don’t think anyone can say where the limit is.
It’s insane. It blows my mind that you guys both have doubles– what’s it like dropping in for a trick like that?
Finn: Amazing. It’s nerve wracking up top, but once you’ve dropped in that goes away and it’s just another trick.
Jadyn: It feels so cool to land them. Since we compete we have to do them every opportunity we can, we can’t really wait for perfect light or anything. So we’ve practiced them a lot and they feel pretty natural now.
Finn: When you’re learning a trick like that it’s pretty scary, but like Jadyn said we do a lot of work to maintain them so we’re always ready to do them. One of the biggest challenges in competing is dealing with variable conditions– if you don’t have your tricks really dialed in you’re not going to be able to do them when the light is flat or it’s windy.
And Jadyn, you got a triple?
Jadyn: I just did one, in Saas Fe at Stomping Grounds. I was shitting my pants.
How long does it take to go from learning a trick to putting it in a contest run?
Jadyn: It depends. Sometimes you’ll learn a new trick and you put it in your run the next week. Sometimes when you get the contest you just can’t figure out a trick you thought you had, maybe because of the jump or something. Then you stress out, because maybe you put your whole run together around that trick.
Do you guys keep track of each other’s tricks?
Finn: We do, yeah. We train together every day with Joe McAdoo and the Whistler Valley Snowboard Club, so we know each other’s riding really well.
Jadyn: We really thrive off each other’s riding. Finn will learn something and that pushes me to get it, or vice versa. It’s pretty awesome progressing together– snowboarding’s more fun with your friends right?
Shoutouts to family, friends, sponsors, and Joe McAdoo!
