Kirkwood, California, March 7, 2009- Day two of The North Face Masters (TNF Masters) at Kirkwood Mountain Resort, California, wrapped up under clear blue skies on Kirkwood’s famed Cirque. With more than eight feet of fresh snow, the permanently closed area, which offers a variety of untouched tight lines and huge airs had near perfect conditions. At the end of the day, Kirkwood local Rosemarie Dittfach and Andrew Irwin of Squaw Valley, California, took top honors inching past some hefty competition.



With yesterday’s points not carrying over, athletes came into burtonjackets.net the finals with a clean slate, with the better of two runs deciding the winners. Sitting in first yesterday, the 2008 overall TNF Masters co-champion Laura Dewey of Snowbird, Utah, put together two solid runs but was ultimately beat out by Rosemarie Dittfach, who chose a technical line speckled with rock exposure which she rode exceptionally fast. Dittfach, a Big Mountain Snowboarding veteran, has been riding in competitions at Kirkwood for years, and stands on the podium nearly every time. Michelle Locke of Lake Louise, Alberta, rode consistently and strong throughout the event www.burtonjackets.net and held on to a third place finish, which earned her enough points to take the overall 2009 TNF Masters tour title.



“My first run was really mellow and conservative,” said women’s winner Rosemarie Dittfach. “I wanted to step up my second run because I knew I was in first and I knew I could. I wanted to step up, not down.”



Yesterday’s leader Ross Baker of Squaw Valley, California, rode extremely fast, strong and fluid, stomping a huge Cab 540 to cheers from the massive crowd below. But it was 20 year-old Andrew Irwin whose first run of the day would be post the winning score. Opting for high-exposure, Irwin rode “The Sanctuary” with no hesitation, nailing each of his airs with speed and grabbing his first TNF Masters sword. Ryland Bell of Cleary Summit, Alaska, finished in second overall.



“I’ve been looking at the Cirque for many days now,” said men’s winner Andrew Irwin. “I just tried to pick a unique line where no one else is going.”



“This is by far the coolest event I’ve been to,” said third place finisher Ross Baker. Baker, 18, was also the recipient of The North Face Young Gun Award at Kirkwood, which recognizes and promotes young talent in the sport of Big Mountain Snowboarding. Aaron Robinson, 22, of Big Mountain, Montana, won the overall Young Gun Award for the 2009 TNF Masters tour.



Matt Annetts of Stowe, Vermont, cinched the overall TNF Masters tour title. The winner of TNF Masters Snowbird, Utah, and finishing second at TNF Masters Crested Butte, Colorado, Annetts edged out reigning champ, Clif Dimon of Crested Butte for the overall win.



Thousands tuned in to watch the final and super final rounds of TNF Masters LIVE on www.thenorthfacemasters.com. Log on to check out photos, athlete profiles, video highlights and more.





Check out these highlights from the Snowbird stop of the North Face Masters