Terrain Park Update: February 20th 2011

When it snows, particularly when it snows a lot, not only are we dosed with bottomless pow and endless face-shots up here at Stevens Pass, but the boys up in Top Phlight Country are hard at work building new features & making those already out there bigger and meaner. Now almost three months into his tenure as Top Phlight's new top dawg, Gregg Winter is on a mission to change the face of this Terrain Park and has been busy fabricating and introducing new features since day one.

With a bunch of new features already out there this year and jumps all over the place, you might ask, what else is in the works? Well, the dude has plans. Trying not to play spoiler here, I'll just drop a hint; keep an eye on Brennan's Trail. Gregg has tried to put a personal touch on the Terrain Park, offering a new, fresh take on things. One thing that he finds particularly important is producing a park where everyone, from groms to pros, can find something that pushes them to progress their riding.

To be completely honest, Gregg Winter is not Tanner Hall. However, he does believe that if you're going to build something, you need to be able to hit it. The new boss man listens to his crew. With rippers out there like David Steele, Joe Bosler, Max McIndoe, Peder Lovold and Marvin Pingera, Winter is getting all the input he could ask for, and then some. 

As storm after storm rolls through and the snow piles up, you can count on Gregg Winter and our awesome Terrain Park Staff to continue opening eyes out here in the Pacific Northwest and to bring you the best & most innovative Park in the region.

Take a minute to check out the photos below documenting some of our newest features!

The Pro-Line jumps are a lot bigger than they were just a couple weeks ago, so be sure to check your speed next time you roll through! (Top) David Steele goes 7 on the newly improved and enlarged Waterfall! (Bottom) Skier Keith Forsyth shows off with a slow and steezy three-hundred and sixty degree rotation on Junk's Jump.

(Top) The top of the park. The right line is dialed in now, and the belly jumps above the SkullCandy feature have been enlarged. (Bottom) One of several new jib features added to the top lines, pictured is David Steele.

(Top) Down-Flat-Down. Right below the Candycane @ the Top of the Park. (Bottom) Barrel Bonk! Located at the bottom of the Park, left of the Half-Pipe. Rider: David Steele.

(Left) We got so many requests for a big hip that we finally went ahead and did it! Here's Stevens' Max McIndoe sending it. The hip is located on the top right wall of the Pipe. (Right) David Steele checks in on the Down-Flat rail in the lower jib line.

As seen on RideStevensPass: http://ridestevenspass.com/news/2011/02/20/terrain-park-update-february-20th-2011

Disco Inferno Dance Party Rail Jam!

TV may have killed the radio-star, but disco is far from dead up here at Stevens Pass. Come on out this Saturday, February 26th, for the Disco Inferno Dance Party Rail Jam! Registration will take place at the top of the Terrain Park beginning @ 5:00 PM. The jam format event will run from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM, offering prizes for best trick in men's, women's and grom's divisions. There will also be a prize for the BEST DISCO-THEMED COSTUME, as well as more shwag than we know what to do with! Throw on your best 70's get-up and come get down on our surprise new feature...! 

As seen on RideStevensPass: http://ridestevenspass.com/news/2011/02/20/disco-inferno-dance-party-rail-jam

Mountain Spotlight: Ski Patrol on a Rainy Day

Sometimes it rains in the mountains. This is the reality, and when things turn from white to wet, you may choose to visit the city or do something closer to home for the day, but not everyone is afforded this sort of choice. Day or night, rain or shine, hundreds of employees are present and accounted for up here at Stevens Pass. On these unfortunate occasions when freezing levels do spike and winter recedes, albeit temporarily, into our imaginations, that does not mean that duties can be shirked, or that work can be put off until a drier, more pleasant day. The show must go on.

Stevens Pass has long held a reputation as a tight-knit community of denizen artists and our Professional Ski Patrol well exemplifies this notion. Patrollers here are an interesting breed; A motley hodgepodge of the business-minded neo-professional and the seasonally nomadic, powder-seeking hippy. The department, as a whole, embodies a certain work first but play harder attitude; in short, these guys are rockstars.

Working in this industry and living what many might consider a veracious lifestyle can drag on you, particularly when the snow is good. Meaning to explain rather than complain, we’ll just say that when conditions on the hill can aptly be described as “epic,” sleep tends to become an increasingly regular casualty. After all, pow days are war; and every war has its casualties.

Pictured right: Patrollers Steve O'Farrell and John Schaefer holding down the fort in the Patrol Aid Room. Also pictured is the Gopher from Caddyshack.

When conditions outside are (to be put mildly) less than stellar, especially if for an extended period of time, sleep becomes ever more-so consistent, ultimately bordering on what some might call hibernation. Occasionally, we get caught in these dismal weather cycles, and for those employees who are on the hill day in and day out, rain, shine, snow or sleet, this can become a bit of a drag.  One such employee is Stevens Pass Ski Patrol’s Jason Luker. When asked for his take on working in the wet stuff as of late, Luker replied, “You know, it’s tough. We’re pow junkies; all of us. It’s difficult to work in the rain, you get wet. Sometimes really wet. Morale can get a bit low.” When asked to extrapolate on morale being low, Luker continued by saying, “We’ve all been through this before, and we all know our best days of 2011 are still ahead of us. Were maintaining a solid base and temperatures seem to be trending cooler in February. Sometimes you’ve just got to keep your chin up for a day or two and keep in mind that it is going to get really good out again."

Even when the weather takes a negative turn, our Patrol is still out on the hill, running crews out of Dudley’s (the large building at the top of Double Diamond and Southern Cross chairs) and out of the bump shack at the top of Seventh Heaven Chair. On weekends and busier days, Ski Patrol also runs smaller crews off of Hogsback and Tye Mill chairs. These smaller crews are purposed to maintain a visible presence on the hill and to interact with guests in a positive manner. Patrollers routinely ride the chair with visitors and try to help ensure that all guests have a pleasant experience while up here at Stevens Pass.

But aside from public relations, and their day-to-day on-hill maintenance, what in particular are these folks up to when it rains? A surprisingly common answer is: skiing! Catching up with Patroller Jarrod Ball between wet laps Thursday morning, he stated, “It’s a bit variable out there, but the skiing is actually pretty good! Groomers were awesome this morning and its beginning to soften up off-piste; it’s getting better and better. Skiing off of C3 (Seventh Heaven) was decent and good fun as well.” If you ask around up here within professional and local circles, the consensus is strikingly similar; skiing in the rain, although obviously wet, is also a lot of fun!

 Pictured right: Ski Patrol's Corey Rubinfeld tending some fence and making the world a safer place.

Slower, rainy days are also the perfect time for our Patrollers to catch up on mandatory training in the many different aspects of their profession, including but not limited to: Avalanche forecasting and rescue, medical proficiency, knots, protocol and dog-work. For those patrollers with avalanche dogs, and those with aspiring avalanche pups, these sorts of days are perfect for training. For the pups, this often amounts to basic obedience training and shorter drills. With our older, more experienced dogs, this is the perfect time for article work; dogs find articles of clothing in a burial scenario and work through a three phase progression of burial rescue.

Pictured above: Patroller Corey Rubinfeld and his patrol hound, Neva.

Our Ski Patrollers, not unlike the general population, probably spend a bit more time indoors when the weather turns wet and sour, but they’re not in a big hurry to admit that. Each day, they do their absolute best to insure that our guests have a safe and pleasant day skiing as well as a uniquely personalized experience. These guys are out there with an important job to do, and they do it well day in and day out; even in the rain.

Tubbs Romp to Stomp 2011!

Saturday February 12th was just about the busiest day that the Stevens Pass Nordic Center had ever seen. The Tubbs Romp to Stomp Snowshoe Series visited the area, bringing around a thousand participants and spectators, while also raising thousands of dollars benefiting breast cancer research. The crowd included men, women and children of all ages, coming together in a sea of pink to support a great cause.

The Nordic Center was filled to capacity, with the Yodelin Area being parked as well, as music bumped out into an enthusiastic crowd, who were also, as a matter of grace, blessed with great weather! The event included a quick 3K race, as well as a short Romp for the kids, and finally a 5K walk along essentially the same course as the race had followed. The area was bathed in a sea of pink and smiles were abound! We would like to thanks Tubbs, as well as all who attended the event! You're all rockstars and we truly appreciate your support of this noble cause

Whether you were in attendance, or if you missed out this time, take a minute to check out this collection of photos from todays event. If you would like more information on this event, future events in this series, or would like to donate to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, follow this link to the Tubbs website!

Participants of all ages came out this Saturday in support of breast cancer research.

These ladies were all smiles this Saturday morning at the Stevens Pass Nordic Center!

Participants take off as the 3 Kilometer main event begins! Note: It is not that easy to run in snow shoes...

Its all about the kids! The youngsters take off as their shorter event commences.

(Left) One participant shows his support for the cause as Ski Patroller Mario (Right) ensures safety for all!

The scene devolves into chaos as snowshoers race every-which way! Look at all those smiles!

(Left) This colorful gal dons her top hat as ninjas (Right) prepair for some extreme snowshoeing!

(Left) The Tubbs Mascot, "Tubbs Scout," entertains the younger generation as (Right) this clad-in-pink canine enjoys the 5K portion of the event. Smiles all around today!


As seen on RideStevensPass: http://ridestevenspass.com/news/2011/02/12/event-coverage-tubbs-romp-to-stomp-2011