As in Terrain Park. You know the song "video killed the radio star"? No? How about snowboarding saved the ski industry? Ok, that obviously was never a hit song. But snowboarding was a hit in the industry. And those snowboarders demand parks.
Anyway, snowboarders saved snow sports. This started back in the 80s, but became clear in the 90s. There's only three resorts that prohibit snowboarders (Taos figured out last year that they couldn't survive economically without them).
Taking the cue from skateboarding, snowboarders insisted on "features," or at least began to use them in ways that skiers hadn't yet discovered. Of course, there was the freestyle craze in the 70s (I may have to come back to that one) with moguls, aerials, and the, uh, ballet. Skiers on ice... or skaters on skis... or, well, it was all sort of 70s.
After a week of stating "we're working on it," Willamette got the park up and running this week. Dylan snowboards, so he lives for this stuff. This is not exclusively a snowboarding phenomena--skiers started doing all kinds of cool stuff in the park starting in the 1990s.
Willamette, being the Eugene backwater that it is, doesn't have the park that the big resorts have. It's been years since they've cut a half-pipe (even though the purchased a pipe dragon a couple of years ago). But they try... and they're doing better at it.
Today was a sunny, spring in January, day. We get that here, whether we want it or not.
Park. Yea, park. Parker. As in Dylan Parker. Park maniac. Dylan tore it up today. Hail to the rail!
It still looks cool. Warning, LibTech advertisement ahead...
Big Air, banana style.
Scraping the barrel. Note, Diane in the background.
And what a beautiful January day in the Central Cascades.
We're hoping for more snow this coming week.
geez, dyl bro shreds it harder than i ever would. i can not figure how he got on that barrel... some people just arnt afraid i guess.
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