HUNTER, New York — Hunter’s Latitude 42 Winter Jam freestyle competition & concert will continue into year #5 with many welcomed changes, and pre-registration is now open. This year’s two-day competition, kicking off on February 28th & March 1st, features day-long rail jam & quarterpipe competitions, along with music & live entertainment provided in partnership with WDST Radio Woodstock. Saturday will feature the rail jam competition, and the quarterpipe competition will be held on Sunday. The event is pro/am and discipline neutral.

The two-day competition will award over $12,000 in cash prizes. Competitors are automatically entered in a raffle, with the grand prize being a trip for two to Telluride Ski Resort, Hunter’s 2008/09 Western Resort Partner. Some first prize packs include checks of up to $1500. Judges include Tom Pelov, Jeremiah Dixon, Jay Giblin, Jason Saltzman and Bob Basil. Registration is limited and first-come, first-serve: 100 competitors will be accepted for the quarterpipe, and 150 for the rail jam. Helmets are mandatory

“Even when some resorts are cutting back and sponsors donating dollars are scarce, we decided to step up and host the competition ourselves. We’ve actually increased the prize money just to make an even bigger statement to the skier & rider community that we’re ready to hold Latitude 42”, says Brian Czarnecki, Director of Marketing & Sales at Hunter Mountain. “More live bands were added to the outside stage, including U-Melt, Moon Boot Lover & Nautilus, guest DJs for the park, the quarterpipe will be bigger and a new stair set was built just for the rail jam. This year’s Latitude 42 represents our grassroots commitment to the sport”.

Latitude 42 is a free event, and no lift ticket is required for access to the course as a competitor. For more information about this festival, or to pre-register, please visit HunterMtn.com or RideHunter.com.