Simon Dumont rewrote the record books breaking the world record quarter-pipe air that was previously held by Terje Haakonsen at 32.1 feet. Dumont, earlier in the year had attempted to break the record in Aspen at the X-Games but failed due to a hard fall that ended up injuring his shoulder.

Going back to his home mountain of Sunday River to attempt the record again, Simon showed up with even more determination than ever. Sunday River custom built Simon the quarter pipe upon request and had park staff and patrol on hand to help along the way, tweaking the jump and ensuring the best and most safe conditions for the world record attempt.

On the first day, Simon took a hard fall to the flats and ended up bruising his heel. On the second day, Simon followed suit by punishing himself with a few falls hurting both his heels and re-injuring his knee. Being the competitor that he his, he just kept pushing and pushing. This is something we’ve seen out of Simon before, as he doesn’t let anything stand in his way, not even life-altering injuries to which he’s had more than one that very well could have ended up leaving him paralyzed for life.

Dumont finally broke the record, boosting a massive 35 feet out of the QP. He crushed the record in style too, throwing a cork-nine tail-grab. Apparently just going big isn’t enough, the guy has to throw in a big-smooth trick too. Congratulations to Simon for pushing the limits and setting the new world record!!! Here’s the video….

Thanks to reader Cade Adams for the tip on this story.

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Sure, there are a number of companies that already make great gloves but that doesn’t mean there’s not room for one more. At least that’s the way Simon Dumont sees it. In order to give consumers and athletes what they want and not what some chubby guy in a suit thinks they want, Dumont formed his own company, EMPIRE Attire. It’s a company based on the premise of ‘made by athletes for athletes’, certainly nothing new there as we’ve heard that mantra a million times now. After all, isn’t Grenade a glove company by the riders for the riders?

Athletes backing Simon and company include the likes of Colby West, Peter Olenick, Jossi Wells and Candide Thovex. As the gloves themselves have not yet hit the market, it’s hard to say for sure if the company is really producing a better product or not. As they hit the market place it will be interesting to see how they stack up against the plethora of other gloves available. Word on the street is that a number of so-called A-list skiers feel the gloves are superior to those currently out there. For all we know at this point though that’s just marketing speak.

So far EMPIRE has produced a small line of beanies and bandannas and teamed up with Akomplice t-shirts to produce a small t-shirt line as well.

I look forward to seeing this product developed by some of the world’s top athletes and I’m expecting nothing short of awesome. I’m always surprised at the lack of other companies out there that are owned by professional athletes. Now don’t get me wrong, I know a majority of the companies in this industry are at least on some level, rider owned. But at the same time it’s the professional athletes themselves that drive a huge majority of the sales for the companies in our industry. Instead of fattening the pockets of Corporate America (which let’s face it, many of the companies in our industry have become) they could be investing in themselves.

Our industry always needs more people willing to get out there and try something new to push the sports further. Props to Simon and the EMPIRE team for getting out there and starting something fresh.

Update: We just received some more information from EMPIRE. The gloves will be available on the website in the beginning of March and will be priced between $45.00 – $65.00, which is a huge relief. I just bought a brand new pair of gloves and they were well north of $100. We’ve also updated this post with pictures of the gloves.

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Designed by both the best park skier (Jon Olsson) and pipe master (Simon Dumont) in the sport, the North American Open sets out to set the standard for open competition format. Instead of the typical two run format, all competitors will have the privilege of a full day jam on a course hand built by Jon Olsson himself. Jon has assured that all the jumps will be big enough to throw any trick but at the same time be as safe as possible for the riders. Not only will this be a chance to ski a great course but also a chance to meet and ski with various pros. As an added privilege, all competitors are free to ask any of the pros questions or advice throughout the jam.

Competitors will be hand picked from the jam by either Jon, Simon or TJ Schiller. Once qualified, judges from both the X Games and the Jon Olsson Invitational will select a winner from the finals. The focus for this new competition format is more on having fun than it is competing. Hopefully all who compete will have a good time and want to come back and ski in the comp next year. If nothing else they should be excited to ride the one of the best courses ever built for a slopestyle. For more information and video check out the Open Freeski Website.

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