Carinthia sets new park standard

By Matt Boxler (view pdf)

A new standard has been set for freestyle snowboarding in New England ... and it will be unveiled when Mount Snow opens this season. The West Dover, Vt. resort has dedicated its entire Carinthia mountain face to freestyle terrain parks, transforming 95 acres of trails into one massive park system.

There used to be a time when riders asking for the terrain park would be directed to some trail out of the way, accompanied by an out-of date fixed-grip chair of some sort. Then they’d have to traverse to the other side of the mountain to find the halfpipe. Those days are clearly over at Mount Snow.

The Nitro Express high-speed quad and Heavy Metal double chair will carry riders up Carinthia, where 125 freestyle features are scattered around 12 full terrain parks await. A tree-skiing area, a superpipe with 18-foot walls, a mini-pipe with 8-foot walls, an all-natural park absent of manmade material and a big-air site will also be on the menu.

This layout of rails, jumps and halfpipes will cover nearly five miles of terrain at Carinthia, once a separate ski resort but long since absorbed into Mount Snow’s trail network. A snowskate playground, hikeable park, beginners’ learning park and a skate ramp will surround the base area, while the base lodge itself will be renovated and outfitted with lounge areas, an extended outdoor deck with ample seating, counter seating along the windows, free wireless internet, flat screen televisions and outdoor fire pits.

The sweeping overhaul is the brainchild of Peak Resorts’ president, Tim Boyd, and his son Jesse, Peak’s Vice President of Operations & Freestyle Terrain. Jesse Boyd oversaw the modification of Big Boulder in Pennsylvania into an all-freestyle mountain and will work closely with Mount Snow during the changeover. Mount Snow’s Mountain Manager Elia Hamilton, as well as Parks and Pipes Manager Ken Gaitor, are nationally recognized and respected freestyle terrain designers who will spearhead the project, scheduled for completion by the time the mountain opens for the 2008-09 season.

“Freestyle skiers and riders are the future of the ski industry,” said Jesse Boyd on a recent visit to Mount Snow. “They’re the fastest growing group, and it just makes sense to build the biggest and best parks that Mount Snow can offer.”

Kelly Pawlak, Mount Snow’s general manager, said grouping all freestyle terrain parks at Carinthi will improve the flow of skier traffic on the resort’s three other mountain faces – Sunbrook, the North Face and the Main Face. While Carinthia will obviously appeal to freestyle snowboarders, Pawlak said the design accommodates a wide range of skiers and riders, with an emphasis on providing a family-friendly environment.

“Carinthia will be perfect for spectators. Not only will mom and dad be able to hang out on the deck and watch the kids in one of our learning parks, but they can join in the fun themselves. This is for everyone, young and old, beginner and expert, skier and rider,” she said.

If Carinthia were not enough, the frosting on the cake is that over the last two summers the resort installed 251 new fan snowmaking guns (the most of any resort in North America), part of an $8.5 million capital improvement. Many of the trails on Carinthia will be flanked by the guns, allowing terrain parks to open earlier in the season and stay open later.

Mount Snow opened the first terrain park in the East in 1992, called Un Blanco Gulch. The Inferno park, which was featured at the ESPN X-Games in 2000 and 2001, will return to its home turf on the former Stugger’s Chute trail at Carinthia. The tubing park, currently located on Ski Baba at Carinthia, will be relocated to Mixing Bowl on the Main Mountain.

Ski Butternut

In Great Barrington, Mass., Ski Butternut has moved its Progression Terrain Park to a new location, allowing it to grow in both size and variety.

The new Progression Park will be located on the skiers/riders right side of Butternut’s Cruiser Trail. Cruiser is serviced by a Quad chairlift and enjoys a large open deck at the base of the trail, which has become an ideal place for people to hang out between runs. The Cruiser trail is blessed with abundant snowmaking capability, as the center of this wide trail is lined with 30-foot tall HKD tower snow guns.

“Guests who are just starting to test the waters on terrain features need a less intimidating place to develop their skills and tweak their technique,” Sawyer says. “Moving our Progression Park from the Scooter trail to the much longer and wider Cruiser trail will offer all our guests a superior experience. Since we are a family mountain we have an abundance of kids, teens and young adults that are looking for just this type of learning environment. Our new Cruiser Progression Park will provide an ideal learning environment for these guests.”

Wildcat

In Pinkham Notch, N.H., Wildcat has added several items to its relocated terrain park. Thanks to help from Snow Grind, the resort has added several boxes and rails to help skiers and riders to progress with their freestyle skills.

Stowe

The big news in Stowe, Vt. is the relocation of the halfpipe to where freestyle snowboarding originated at Stowe Mountain Resort – the Lower Standard trail on Mount Mansfield. This location will insure an earlier opening in December and more favorable terrain, said Stowe’s Communications Director Jeff Wise.

Stowe’s feature terrain park is also relocating to Tyro, a trail formally known for its larger jumps and jibs. Now, the “Stock-Run” at Stowe is back. With access from the Mountain Triple Chair or FourRunner Quad, riders and skiers can hit the feature park, half pipe and jib nation all in one top-to-bottom run.

Stowe will also construct the popular medium sized park and North Slope and the beginner park at Midway Lodge.

(First published in November 2008 New England Ski Journal.)