Ego Clash 2023 & Hash-Vegas: Interview with The Hash Champ Trichome Tortoise

Chat GPT does not know who won the 2023 Ego Clash... But, I do! I just had the profound honor of speaking on the phone with this year's Ice Water Hash & People's Choice winner, Trichome Tortoise. We spoke about the industry at length, sensing his relief to be speaking to a legit Hash-Head, and my relief not to be speaking to another CHAD.

Ego Clash 2023

The Ego Clash 2023 event brought together the crème de la crème of the cannabis community, showcasing unparalleled talent and innovation. Among the Rosin categories, Yeti Melts, Pure and Proper, and JahBotanist claimed the top three in that order, while Trichome Tortoise, Passion4hashin, and the Real Cannabis Chris secured the top three spots in the highly coveted Ice Water Hash category. As events appear nation-and-world-wide, the concentration of quality makers at the Ego Clash make it the yearly event to remember thanks to its host, Third Gen. Farms.

I'm lucky enough to have spoken with this year's Ego Clash, Ice Water Hash Champion to get some details and learn about his upcoming HASH VEGAS event this January, 2024. We're talking the pinnacle of world-wide hash cups, "having brought in Cody from Dab Rite and Brandon from Third Gen Farms (of the Ego Clash Invitational) to help orchestrate Hash Vegas." The reason being, "is to get the whole community together." Now that's something to get behind. We're going to need a Triple Crown at some point.

Ice Water Hash Winners Ego Clash 2023

1. @trichome_tortoise__ 

2. @passion4hashing 

3. @therealcannabis_chris 

4. @phoenix_hashco 

Live Rosin Winners Ego Clash 2023

1. @Yetimelts

2. @pureandproperco 

3. @jahbotanist 

4. @realdealresin___ 

1. Trichome Tortoise: A Slow and Steady Triumph in Water Hash

Trichome Tortoise claimed the coveted first place in the Ice Water Hash category, with his lavender colored Ice Water Hash. The winning entry titled "Ze Boof", highlighted the importance of patience and precision in water hash production. In the early hydroponic growing years, reducing variables was ideal, until we remembered she is indeed a plant and one that truly thrives in nature's competitive and often stressful environment. Trichome Tortoise brings a level of professionality, commenting on his fairly rigid standard operating procedures and eliminating or controlling as many variables in the Hash lab as possible.

The California native looked for a state less forgiving, making Las Vegas, NV his home-base. Growing with indoor living soil and KNF (Korean Natural Farming), this year's winner was hunted from a different stock than you may imagine. Pheno hunting from  BlockHead Seeds  Blockberry cultivars, the team found this winner, which despite many assumptions, including my own, is not from the Super Boof cultivar currently turning heads in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. However, the Super Boof cut is also from BlockHead Seeds. Go figure. He popped a six pack of BlockBerry seeds and hunted this year's winner.

Trichome Tortoise's story is much like my own, with his home state of California being his version of my Colorado: A dangerous place for a free-thinking person to be. After bouncing around some, stints in Houston, Texas of all places, he landed in Sin City, where his version of a hash contest is happening the first weeks of January 2024: HASH VEGAS!

Hash Vegas Next to Glass Vegas

If you haven't already, go check it out and maybe I'll see you there. Yup, as if timing wasn't everything, the stars must be in alignment for those persecuted for the plant. What better time to be hosting your own hash event than mere weeks after winning Ego Clash glory?

Hash Vegas Hosted By The Trichome Tortoise is Happening in January!

Go check it out, as Trichome Tortoise spoke to me at length about some of the problems and issues that can arise during competition and the methods and tactics in use at Hash Vegas, to help eliminate uncertainties. Sounds like it's going to be an incredible operation, which is taking place right alongside GlassVegas. We're talking everything from using the same standard rigs, to rigs being washed in between rounds. They're pulling out all the stops to make Hash Vegas a staple among the annual contests.

With so many contests charging an arm and a leg for entry, it makes a lot of sense to reward more than the top spots. Plus, most of the contests require quite a bit of product in addition to cash entry fees. Hash Vegas plans to send more of the contestants home with more of the winnings shared upon the entrants. Check their site and social media for more information, as it's occurring the first weeks of January 2024.

Wrap It Up

The Ego Clash 2023 event was a celebration of excellence in cannabis craftsmanship, and the winners in the Rosin and Water Hash categories truly embodied the spirit of innovation, dedication, and artistry. Yeti Melts, Pure and Proper, JahBotanist, Trichome Tortoise, Passion4hashin, and The Real Cannabis Chris have left an indelible mark on the industry, setting a high standard for future competitions. As the cannabis industry continues to evolve, and major media FINALLY picks up on the art of hashish, these winners serve as beacons of inspiration to a more general cannabis loving community.

Duly earned. And it's about time. Make sure to find and follow all of the winners and be sure to check out Glass Vegas. Huge thanks and huge respects to Trichome Tortoise for taking time out of his day to converse with a fellow hash lover. And much respect to everyone who entered.

 For anyone new to hash or cannabis, "The Hashish Manifesto 2nd Edition" is your guide to the plant.

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