Mikey P Jam

The Mikey P Memorial Jam is held at Terry Peak, South Dakota and is a celebration of the extremes of snowboarding and skiing. Organizer Perry Jewett says plans are for it to be the start of a major national competition to put the Black Hills on the snowboard map.

Jewett said the event is not just a memorial to the late Belle Fourche native Mike Peterson. It's also a way to promote the sport where the international boarding star once had to sneak onto the mountain to practice.

Peterson and Jewett are Belle Fourche natives who boarded together for 20 years. Peterson went to Washington state to snowboard and pursue a career in real estate; Jewett remains in the Northern Hills where he boards, mountain bikes and works at the Fort Meade VA hospital.

Peterson died in a car accident in Washington state in November of 2007. Jewett saw the opportunity to gain a broad recognition of the area's extreme snow sports with the "Jam." He worked with Mike's parents, Alan and Joann Wells of Belle Fourche, to set up an event that has the potential to become a serious international competition.

All boarders and skiers are always welcome to participate, Jewett said, to celebrate a sport that took Peterson around the world and into professional-level boarding.

"It's not a big mountain, but we have great terrain," Jewett said. "We want to put Terry Peak on the map and have an event where the pros can come to ride."

Jewett said it may seem unusual to have a pro-level boarder from the relatively flat lands of Belle Fourche. On the other hand, he said, the community has had generations of extreme sport champions in rodeo.

When the two were getting deeply into boarding, they discovered Terry Peak had a "no boards allowed" rule. "Now it's really turned into a boarding mountain," Jewett said. "About half the people are on boards. We've got a great little mountain." When Peterson left the Hills, he did more than ride with the professionals in the sport, Jewett said. The pros loved to have him at competitions because of "his sheer enthusiasm. He always brought out the positive in the day. He could make the worst day fun."

Peterson brought as much skill as enthusiasm. "The pros recognized that on any given day, he could ride with the best of them." He is featured in Warren Miller's movie "Endless Winter," and Tanner Hall's movie "Believe."

It's a celebration of the sport and life that a Belle Fourche native rode with unique enthusiasm.