Date And Details Announced For Tahoe's Annual 'Pain McShlonkey' Snowblade Race

Do you love snowblading? Shane McConkey? Ski races? Ridiculous costumes? Or the iconic character SaucerBoy, perhaps?

If you said yes to any of the above, then save the date, because the Annual Pain McShlonkey Classic returns to Palisades Tahoe, CA, on March 23, 2024.

The Shane McConkey Foundation invites skiers far and wide to "wax up [their] Snowblades and meet us on the hill for a full day of hilarity in honor of Shane and benefitting @shanemcconkeyecochallenge and our RAD Grants!"

Shane McConkey is an unmistakeable legend around Palisades Tahoe (there's even a run named after him!) and has been in countless iconic ski films from Warren Miller, Matchstick Productions, and Scott Gaffney.

JT Holmes describes McConkey as "flipping, spinning and skiing where no one else would... with an un-sanctioned backflip and a naked spread eagle his 'HEY, look at me!! I’m-having-more-fun-on-the-snow-than-you-attitude' was born, and he never set foot at Vail, or in a mogul competition again."

Nowadays, this having fun attitude takes the form of the Pain McShlonkey: a day to come together as a community to celebrate Shane's legacy, raise money for a good cause, and shred... with snowblades on and the goofiest outfits you can find!

Palisades Tahoe is the perfect setting for the contest, because Shane McConkey was one of the key players in creating the game of GNAR (and Shane also has a chapter in the infamous Squ*llywood book by Dr. Robb Gaffney).

The resort is exposed, with plenty of heckling and cheering from the lift to be had by all.

In the words of Shane McConkey, "There is nothing better in life than sliding down snow before flying through the air."

Except, maybe, doing that with snowblades on.

Last year, The Shane McConkey Foundation donated $15,000 to the Scotty Lapp Foundation to help fund the skatepark, plus, more than $50,000 to the Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe, Protect Our Winters, and to the Latinx scholarship program at Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation.

The Scotty Lapp Foundation is especially close to the hearts of many Tahoe skiers, as Scotty Lapp was another Palisades Tahoe talent gone too soon, but never forgotten: stickers commemorating Scotty can be found all over the resort, and the Big Mountain skier remains an inspiration to this day.

Hey, by the way... Donny Pelletier, aka Troy Murphy, aka Maine's "finest athlete", was the winner for the men's category last Pain McShlonkey Classic.

In other words: East Coast skiers are sooo much better than you!

Watch footage from last year's Pain McShlonkey Classic below.

"Want to race in the PMS? Crowdfunding kicks off on February 1. The first 60 to raise $100 will win a slot!"

I hope they offer bonus points for wearing the J Skis x SaucerBoy collab snowblades!

Jokes aside, what are you waiting for? Get after it!

Related: J Skis Releasing More Limited Edition Saucerboy Snowblades

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