Squaw Valley
Superpark
Cold Snap
Photos by Bryce Kanights
Story by Kim Krankhyte
A snowboard park or an all-terrain park is
an area that has snow mounds formed as "kick-
ers" or "hits" in it. There are quarter-pipes, gaps,
spines, and volcanos, to name a few. It is basi
cally a skateboard park in the snow.
Squaw Valley USA first allowed snowboarders.
on the mountain in the 1988-1989 season. A
decent halfpipe was built. The following season
nothing happened. Then in the winter of '91-92.
Nick Pereta, Dan Cook and I built a halfpipe on
the mainline ski run by Siberia lift. It was a per-
fect pipe but on a 20+ degree slope. Way too
steep! I then drew up a proposal to organize the
sport of snowboarding at Squaw Valley USA. In
the winter of '92-93 we developed our first half
pipe and park. The pipe was excavated in the
summer of '92 (to build a foundation). In 92-93
I had three guys supervising and maintaining the
snowboard area. Last season was a really tough
one, we would get the park and pipe totally
buffed out (to make it perfect to shoot film of
McDawg, Mike Hatchett, Noah Salasnek, Aaron
Vincent and others), and sure enough, it would
dump. Not just 6-10 inches, but 3-4 feet. It
would bury the pipe and
park completely. It was
great having all the
powder, but tough
to keep the
snowboard
area open.
This year, '93-94, I have
four full-time employees.
They are constantly shap-
ing, forming and shoveling
the pipe and park. I would
say the toughest part of
their job is maintaining atti-
tudes. We really don't tend
to have a problem with
locals or people who have
been riding for a few years,
we do have a problem with
people who don't under-1
stand mountain etiquette.
Generally, once a customer
becomes aware of moun-
tain etiquette, they're pret-
ty receptive.
We are the only ski area that I know of that
allows skiers and snowboarders in the park and
pipe. The response has been fantastic! The skiers
are way psyched to go in the area. If skiers do
trash the pipe or park, we ask them to leave.
The same goes for snowboarders. If they are
incapable of riding the area correctly, we boot
them. We also do this for safety reasons. Usually
the people who can't ride correctly in this area
are a danger to themselves and others. Safety is
the biggest issue, someone can get hurt and sue
the ski area and there goes the snowboard area,
my job, my employees' jobs and the
possibility of closing the entire
mountain to snowboarding. This
season I have actually noticed a
lot of groups going out on
the mountain who are skiing
and snowboarding togeth-
T
er. I think the attitude of segregation between
the two groups is finally disappearing
Last season we went large in the park. We had
picnic tables, railslides and all kinds of obstacles.
This year, when it came to the design on the
park, I got nuked on the man-made obstacles.
Our risk and insurance guy just wouldn't budge
on the liability possibilities of man-made obsta-
cles. It's a bummer when a ski area like Boreal
has a ripping park with obstacles and we don't.
Next year I think we'll have a rope tow in the
park pipe area. The halfpipe is 400 feet long and
two cats (approximately 40 feet) wide. The walls
very in height according to the amount of snow.
The smallest wall is seven feet and the biggest is
twelve. In the park we have gaps, pyramids,
spines, quarter-pipes and table tops made out of
snow. It changes all the time. The area is placed
strategically where there is low skier/snowboard
traffic. The people that go there make an effort
to get there. Not too many people know
about our Squaw Valley Snowboard Series.
We have it every other weekend. We give
a snowboard to the high scoring guy
and girl. It is only ten dollars to enter.
Clockwise from upper left: Call it what you want,
but Jeff Pettit shows the snow hounds the ropes on
this torqued frontside 360°. Snow park monitor
Chris gives his jobsite the thumbs up of approval.
After a week of snow, the pipe dragon proved its
worth by dishing out finely tuned transitions.
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