Killington debuts New England's first Stash

By Matt Boxler

The woods are, indeed, the goods.

That pretty much sums up the conceptual philosophy behind “The Stash,” Burton Snowboards’ answer to the challenge of building all-natural terrain parks at select resorts around the world. Rather than using concrete footings to support elements of plastic and steel, “The Stash” incorporates natural, local and organic elements in the construction process.

In layman’s terms, that means rocks, stumps and logs.Vermont natives and Burton pros Yale Cousino (background) and Chris Rotax check out one of the park elements in The Stash, scheduled to open Dec. 19 at Killington.

It’s snowboarding’s answer to “going green.” The newest version of The Stash is scheduled to open Dec. 19 at Killington. This marks Burton’s fifth such terrain park in the world, and the first in the Northeast. Other “Stashes” have already been completed at Northstar-at-Tahoe, Calif.; Avoriaz, France; The Remarkables, New Zealand and Flachauwinkl Resort, Austria.

“The Stash is complete. We’re just ready for snow!” said Tom Horrocks, communications manager at Killington. “It was scheduled to have 34 features, however, through the construction process Jay ‘Rosey’ Rosenbaum, (Killington Pipe and Parks manager), found a ton more options and the park will include up to 44 features throughout the season.”

The Stash at Killington can be found on Bear Mountain off the Skye Peak Express. The half-mile run is replete with wooded glades, turns, log slides and pillow lines. Featured elements include a street-style wooden staircase and a jibbable fence.

But the coup de grat is a classic Vermont sugar shack cabin that can be jibbed or jumped. The sugar shack is not just a prop for tricks either; inside is a museum-like exhibition that chronicles snowboarding history in Vermont, complete with vintage snowboard equipment and photos.

The Stash gives new meaning to the classic children’s song – “over the river and through the woods, to grandmother’s sugar shack we go.” Except with all these elements, no two trips to grandma’s will be the same.

Vermont native Yale Cousino, a Burton pro, worked with Rosenbaum and Michael Bettera of Snow Park Technologies to take advantage of Killington’s natural mountain features in designing and building Killington’s Stash. Bettera also has New England roots, having served as snowboard coordinator and coach at Waterville Valley, as well as youth marketing manager for Booth Creek Resorts. Snow Park Technologies is a firm specializing in terrain park development and also stages competitive and recreational events around the world.

“We walked the trail and I gave my thoughts about some new features,” said Cousino, who will be riding The Stash on its Dec. 19 opening. “The Sugar Shack looks pretty good ... you can jump on the roof and there’s a hand rail on the deck. There’s also a lot of small features for beginners. It can be kind of fun even if you’re not hitting the features.”

The first Stash was two years in the making before debuting at Northstar. The concept is the brainchild of Jake Burton, founder and chairman of Burton Snowboards, along with Burton pro riders. Snow Park Technologies has been with the team since the beginning, creating park runs with that all-mountain, big-mountain feel.

“Bringing the Stash to Vermont has been an objective from the start,” Burton writes. “Vermont riders are all about tree riding and jibs. This will take it to the next level, giving local riders a chance to have that much more fun on the mountain.”

Riders looking for more information on The Stash can visit www.thestash.com.