A snowboarder carves a "wave" at the Big Wave Challenge at Mt. Bachelor in March 2023.

The Big Wave Challenge was staged at Mt. Bachelor resort on Saturday, with nearly 300 riders slashing and airing through one of the most creative courses to date.

Saturday’s event marked the 11th year of the Big Wave Challenge fundraiser, hosted by legendary big-wave surfer Gerry Lopez, a longtime Bend resident.

According to a news release, Lopez declared Saturday’s event to be the best conditions of all time, thanks to the perfectly-sculpted, flowing course and the deep powder turns to be had between runs.

The event took place under sunny, blue skies after 18 inches of new snow fell on Friday at Bachelor.

Lopez once again worked with Mt. Bachelor’s terrain park manager Alex Storjohann to design a course capturing the experience of surfing waves from famous surf breaks across the world. The course offered something for everyone, from young riders, to invited pro surfers, to local pro snowboarders.

The course included berms, hips, bowls and long lefts and rights.

Proceeds from this year’s Big Wave Challenge benefit Pat Malendoski, who held an instrumental role in the early Big Wave Challenge days, applying his special terrain-park creation skills to building waves out of snow. Seven years ago, Malendoski was diagnosed with a glioblastoma and has since been battling this cancerous brain tumor.

Winners of the Big Wave Challenge include Haden McAlister in the 16-and-under division, Erika Vikander in women’s 17 to 39, Nathan Jacobsen in men’s open, Jason Slezak in surfers and Gabriel Linn in the over-40 division.

For more information, visit @BigWave_Challenge and @MtBachelor on Instagram.