What’s In Your Park? 2015

EVENTS

Back In Blue – Ober Gatlinburg, Tenn.

Held the Friday before Thanksgiving, the Back In Blue rail jam is the southeast’s earliest on-snow contest. Snowmaking beings in early October, thanks to SnowMagic. The contest is held in the area’s 300-foot by 100-foot tubing area, allowing ample room for spectators. The event is always built the night before the contest using two snowcats and six diggers. The setup traditionally includes four to six distinct features, such as rails or boxes taken from the terrain park inventory. The 2015 edition of Back In Blue is scheduled for Nov. 20.

Climb and Grind Rail Jam – Abenaki Ski Area, N.H.

The annual Climb and Rail Jam at New Hampshire’s Abenaki Ski Area is traditionally held during the third week of April. By this time, most New England resorts have shut for the season, and Abenaki’s own towrope is often closed. The idea behind the event is to offer a fun end-of-season contest where riders have to hike up the terrain park in order to hit the features.

*No photo, video edit: https://vimeo.com/126940487

Cinco de Mayo – Wachusett Mountain, Mass.

Given all the snow Wachusett Mountain received last February, the park staff hosted its third annual Cinco de Mayo contest on May 5, 2015. The resort was even able to keep a chairlift running this year, marking the first time the state of Massachusetts saw lift-accessed skiing during the month of May, according to the resort. Using snow from the terrain park, five staff members worked on the two-day build, putting together 30 features. More than 500 skiers and riders attended the event and competed to take home their fair share of the prizes, which were stashed in piñatas.

Jibfest – Marble Mountain, Newfoundland, Canada

Each winter Newfoundland’s biggest terrain park contest is held during the winter university break. For the 2015 edition, the Marble Mountain park crew installed this new feature as a hitching post.During the contest setup, a local artist was called in to spray-paint the chair. The recycled chair was originally part of the Governor's Express lift, which got hit by lightning and burned to the ground last summer.

St. Patty’s Pool Jam – Snow Trails, Ohio

The park crew at Snow Trails, Ohio, bid farewell to winter with this tropical-themed contest. The blue swimming pool, measuring 120 feet wide by 25 feet long, contained seven features—including a flat rail and down rail away from the water, a down rail where riders had to skim the water to hit it, a bridge box, a rainbow rail, a pole jam, and a jump in the center where riders had to clear the pool or risk getting wet. Three park members spent two days using a backhoe to dig out snow for the pool. From here, they lined pool with a tarp and used blue dye to color the water. Snow Trails kept the contest features set up for an extra two days, which turned out to be the final days of the season.

Mid-Season Party – Snow Trails, Ohio

Smack dab in the middle of the winter season, the Snow Trails Mid-Season Party provides a great opportunity for local riders and skiers to celebrate. The unique contest offered a flat box over bushes, a flat down rail, a three-foot step down jump, an eight-foot chain gap, a 12-foot by 14-foot butter pad, and phone booth (which served as more of a prop). The authentic phone booth came from a woman in the neighborhood, and the bushes were sourced from the resort property. The Mid-Season Party also included a live DJ, fireworks and snow sculptures.

Video edit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ztct4mLizQo&feature=youtu.be

Red Bull Slopesoakers – Copper, Colo.

This unique event, conceived by Red Bull four years ago, combines elements of a slopestyle contest and a pond skim. It was held in late April at the base of Copper Mountain, as it has been in prior years. The 2015 Slopesoaker event featured two pools. The upper pool measured 25 feet by 20 feet, while the lower pool was 40 by 40. Rubber liners were used to construct the pools. The entire setup required four days of work.

*No photo, video edit: https://youtu.be/Z-62jQDEpPg

Light the Night presented by AMP Energy – Okemo, Vt.

For the sixth annual Light the Night contest, presented by AMP Energy, the Okemo park crew designed and built a rail garden. The event features included a ledge rail, down rail, cannon rail, a picnic table and down-flat-down rail made from steel and plywood skirting. The evening event was held under stadium lights and drew more than 100 athletes, all of whom aimed to win their share of the $5,000 cash purse.

Photo Credit: Adam Ford

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KpOmbbSvlA

The Bushwood Open presented by Rome Snowboards – Arizona Snowbowl, AZ

Arizona Snowbowl partnered with Rome Snowboards to bring guests The Bushwood Open, an idea born at the SIA trade show, is a golf-inspired and rider-driven contest. Competitors were grouped into foursomes, and each group tackled nine features. A pre-determined trick was assigned to each feature and given a par (example: A front board on the 30-foot tube was a par three). Like golf, the goal was to have a low score.

Five staff members and two snowcat operators built the course in one day. Most of the large tube rails were made from an eight-inch remnant snowmaking pipe, and a retired golfer donated the golf carts. The course contained two golf-themed features: a 30-foot rainbow box over a golf cart with a fake putting green, and a BMX gap jump over a golf cart where the best-trick competition was held.

Slushine Rail Jam – Sunshine Village, Alta., Canada

Home to one of the longest snowboard seasons in Canada, Sunshine Village hosted its second annual Slushine Rail Jam on May 16, 2015. Ben Suurallik and the terrain park staff expanded on the course from last season by widening the pond by 10 feet, adding a pole jam over it, and including a 40-foot waterfall tube. The pond itself measured 50 feet wide by 20 feet long and was three feet deep. A large tarp was used to construct the pool, and 2 x 4s helped anchor the tarp. The total build and manicure time took eight hours.

Red Bull All Snow – Holiday Valley, N.Y.

Holiday Valley partnered with the Red Bull All Snow series in February to host this contest, in which all features are constructed with snow. The skate-style course challenged riders to get technical on the volcanoes, hips, jumps, quarter pipe, snake-spine and massive bowl at the bottom. With the use of two groomers and a Zaugg machine, seven staff members worked for a week to complete the overall course design. Afterward, the features were open to the public for the remainder of the season.

Video edit: https://vimeo.com/140934419

Transfer Banked Slalom – Thredbo, Australia

For a second year, Mat Galina and the merry park crew at Thredbo spent a week shoveling to create the Transfer Banked Slalom setup. Corner one of the course, called The Eliminator, was a complete tube, shaped and colored like a wave with a shark. Snow sculpture guru Andrew Grassi Kelaher spent almost 15 hours constructing this part of the course. The entire event setup required two cat operators, eight diggers and a sculptor. Recycled rail panels were used to create contest signage.

Video edit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVTUcZ6vnxo

Radical Gloves Sausagefest – Thredbo, Australia

The fourth installment of the Rad Gloves Sausagefest saw “plenty of bangers and a bit of mash,” said Thomo from Thredo Parks. The park crew set up a slew of jumps (ranging from 25 to 45 feet), along with 23 different jib options for this event. Four staff members shoveled the park, while one cat operator spent five hours setting up all the extra features.

Video edit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zL6xWai4nGY

Toyota One Hit Wonder Down Under - Thredbo, Australia

The world’s best freeskiers headed to Thredbo in September to compete at the Toyota One Hit Wonder Down Under and display their latest triple cork offerings. The main jump was 80 feet from the takeoff to the knuckle. The second jump measured 40 feet, and the transfer in the middle was used to gap both landings. The entire setup for this Association of Freeskiing Professionals event was built from scratch, requiring 160 hours of snow farming and pushing, followed by 100 hours to grade the landing, and 180 hours of hand shaping.

Video link: https://vimeo.com/139118849

Ice Fest Rail Jam – Steven’s Pass, Wash.

Steven’s Pass has been hosting its Ice Fest Rail Jam in downtown Leavenworth, Wash., for the better part of ten years. Taking place under the Christmas lights in this Bavarian inspired village, the Top Phlight terrain park crew spent almost 24 hours installing a few resort features in the town square. A flatbed truck was used to transport the rails, and a skid steer helped put them in place. The 2015 setup even featured the unofficial mascot of Leavenworth himself, Mr. Woody Goomsba.

Hot Iron Night – Pomerelle Mountain, Idaho

Since 2008, the all-ages Hot Iron Night rail jam has become an end-of-season tradition at Pomerelle Mountain. The contest takes place under the lights at Pomerelle’s base, located at 8,000 feet, so there’s always lots of packable snow available. Music and a bonfire add to the festive atmosphere. The 2015 setup contained two rail options, allowing riders to get creative. The park crew spent two days perfecting the course.

Whale Watchers – Loon Mountain, N.H.

Loon’s terrain park manager Brian Norton had been brainstorming the Whale Watchers idea for a few years. Relying on the resort’s snowmaking system, Loon created a series of three-story “humpback whales” in roughly 48 hours. No heavy equipment or snowcats were used, although the take-offs were shaped with shovels and a rake. The contest was held similar to a surf event: that is, the event was loosely scheduled to take place during a 30-day window, from mid-December to mid-January, with the specific date selected to coincide with excellent weather conditions. Social media posts kept competitors updated. The contest took place on Dec. 31, 2014, and allowed riders to showcase their creativity on the humpback terrain.

Video edit: https://vimeo.com/116195780

The Monster Energy Shred Show – Whistler Blackcomb, B.C.

The Monster Energy Shred Show is regular fixture at Whistler Blackcomb’s World Ski and Snowboard Festival (WSSF). For 2015, this high-energy two-day event included Boarderstyle and Slopestyle competitions. In Boarderstyle, four riders race head-to-head on a snowboardcross-style course complete with banked turns, jumps, and a pond skim that leads right into a dodge-the-barrel section. For the Slopestyle competition, riders showcase their skills in a rail plaza and on 65- and 68-foot jumps. To create the contest courses, the WB park team used a PistenBully 400 Park Pro and lots of hand shaping. Constructing the Boarderstyle run required a few unconventional materials, such as plastic barrels filled with water, the pond skim relied on tried-and-true tarp and sandbags.

Video edit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9CGoUDODR0&feature=youtu.be

World Skiing Invitational / AFP World Tour Finals - Whistler Blackcomb, B.C.

Every April, the Whistler Ski and Snowboard Festival hosts the World Skiing Invitational (WSI) in conjunction with the Association of Freeskiing Professionals (AFP) World Tour Finals. This three-day event series includes slopestyle, halfpipe and big air competitions. For the 2015 edition, the 65-foot Gibbon’s Big Air contest was relocated from the base of the mountain to the terrain park. The WB parks crew spent a total of 30 hours creating all the event setups for the festival. After it officially came to a close, the slopestyle and big air jumps were open to the general public.

Video edit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqMQK3eg0H4

Superpark 19 - Seven Springs, Pa.

For the first time in 19 years, Snowboarder magazine’s Superpark, presented by Nexen Tire, was held on the East Coast at Seven Springs Resort. The invite-only event attracted 300 riders for a week of progressive snowboarding. The Seven Springs park staff pulled out all the stops: features included a massive double-sided hip, a huge booter, and a pond skim to close out the week.

Photo: Rider featured is Nick Giesen

Video edit: http://www.snowboarder.com/videos/superpark-19-presented-by-nexen-tire-seven-springs-zone-video/#4MHfvLZ5tyMPssKL.97

Sony Snow Crown – Blue Mountain, Ont.

One of the largest ski and snowboard competitions in Ontario, this weeklong event descended on Blue Mountain during March break. It’s an ambitious combination of slopestyle, halfpipe and big air contests, but the Blue park crew, consisting of three cat drivers and five shapers (who worked shifts) managed to pull it off. The halfpipe was built in two parts: 10 days were required shape the stunt ditch, while an additional two days were needed to cut the pipe. The slopestyle course, consisting of a 45-foot, 55-foot and 65-foot jump line with two takeoffs, also required five days of construction. To complete all the setups, Blue relied heavily on its park fleet, consisting of a Prinoth Bison with a 22-foot Monster Zaugg, a Prinoth Bison X Cat, and a Bombardier 350 winch cat.

Video edit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18hSW6afWjw

The Second Annual Slash & Berm Banked Slalom – Killington, Vt.

Killington teamed with Burton Snowboards and Darkside Snowboard Shop to host the second annual Slash & Berm Banked Slalom in The Stash terrain park. Running from the top to the bottom of The Stash, the course contained several natural features, such as a snow tunnel that shot riders into the woods. A crew of eight created the course over a three-day period, with the assistance of a PistenBully groomer, shovels, rakes and a chainsaw. The course and snow tunnel remained in place and open to all comers for the week following the contest. The contest itself raised funds to support Molly’s Fund, a non-profit organization that assists families with children who are being treated for cancer at the Dana Farber/Boston Children's Hospital.

Video edit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NihyfUIHNnI

Sony Snow Crown – Blue Mountain, Ont.

One of the largest ski and snowboard competitions in Ontario, this weeklong event descended on Blue Mountain during March break. It’s an ambitious combination of slopestyle, halfpipe and big air contests, but the Blue park crew, consisting of three cat drivers and five shapers (who worked shifts) managed to pull it off. The halfpipe was built in two parts: 10 days were required shape the stunt ditch, while an additional two days were needed to cut the pipe. The slopestyle course, consisting of a 45-foot, 55-foot and 65-foot jump line with two takeoffs, also required five days of construction. To complete all the setups, Blue relied heavily on its park fleet, consisting of a Prinoth Bison with a 22-foot Monster Zaugg, a Prinoth Bison X Cat, and a Bombardier 350 winch cat.

Video edit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18hSW6afWjw

The Second Annual Slash & Berm Banked Slalom – Killington, Vt.

Killington teamed with Burton Snowboards and Darkside Snowboard Shop to host the second annual Slash & Berm Banked Slalom in The Stash terrain park. Running from the top to the bottom of The Stash, the course contained several natural features, such as a snow tunnel that shot riders into the woods. A crew of eight created the course over a three-day period, with the assistance of a PistenBully groomer, shovels, rakes and a chainsaw. The course and snow tunnel remained in place and open to all comers for the week following the contest. The contest itself raised funds to support Molly’s Fund, a non-profit organization that assists families with children who are being treated for cancer at the Dana Farber/Boston Children's Hospital.

Video edit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NihyfUIHNnI