BoardZ Checks Out the Terrain Parks at Some California Resorts
April 27, 1998
Winter revisited again with a few inches of fresh snow last week aftter some summer like warmth for the week before. Now the sun is out and the snow is pretty smooth and spring llike. That is the good news; the bad news is that a lot of resorts are closing down or limiting operations dramatically. Make sure and call before you go so you do not get there and find nothing fun open.
April 10, 1998
It may say that it is spring is on the calender but winter is back here in Tahoe. We have had snowy or cloudy skies for over two weeks and it is still snowing now. The roads have been pretty good for how bad the weather has been and there are still a good number of hearty souls that are venturing up to the mountains this spring. The resorts parking lots are still pretty full on the weekends, but not as packed as peak season was. Even with spring break and Easter week; things are starting to slow down. This is good news for the people that are still sessioning the parks and pipes that are less crowded and are at their best in most cases. Even with all this weather, most all the scores for maintenance have stayed good and some designed scores improved. Right after we published our last update, Squaw Valley plowed down the day park. So the night park now serves as the day park too and has a couple of good tables for advanced riders. They usually close the halfpipe at 4pm so they can recut it. The pipe then reopens around 5:30 and 6pm. Winter will be finished with us at some point this spring, then it will be time for some uncrowded spring riding. Don't forget the sunscreen and we will see ya out there.
Table of Terrain Parks and Halfpipes
| Resort | Park | Park | Park | Halfpipe | Halfpipe |
| Visited | Design | Maintenance | Comments | Design | Maintenance |
| Alpine Meadows | Pretty Good | OK | S-M AM Sun | Good | OK |
| Boreal | Pretty Good | Good | S-M Variety | Pretty Good | OK |
| Donner Ski Ranch | Pretty Good | OK | S-M Hits Everywhere | OK | Small |
| Squaw Valley | Good | Pretty Good | S-L medium-large tables | Pretty Good |
Good |
S = small - M = medium - L = large
The table above is the humble opinion of our team riders. Our team riders are experts with many years of experience, but there is not a Terje among us (so gauge these opinions accordingly). This table is only a snap shot of how things were at these resorts when we made our visits which were made during the month of March and April 1998. Of course parks and pipes can be changed overnight, so we will continue to check out all that we can and let you know what's up.
March 15 1998
Spring is here in Tahoe and all of a sudden instead of snowing 2 feet every other night, we are lucky if freezes over night. The huge snow pack has been melting really fast at lake level and is settling in a lot at elevation. The weather has been beautiful and the resorts have been filling up their parking lots on the weekends. The relentless snow has abated for now maybe?! The park and pipe maintenance crews have finally had a chance to catch up with all the new snow and really get up to speed as you can see in the table below. All the resorts we checked out improved almost all of their scores. The small resorts that do not have a dragon or scorpion did not have well shaped or groomed halfpipes, but they do a pretty good job making up for that fact by making quarterpipes and a lot of fun tables, burms, and other fun stuff. Donner Ski Ranch does not have a good pipe but they have small to medium sized tables and burms all over the place. Home Wood has some stealth medium+ tables on their backside park. Sugar Bowl gives riders a choose of challenge level with their Noah Salasnek signature park (check the pictures below) and the not as big fun zone with lots of small rolls and burms. The best pipe we have experience in Northern California this year is the late winter early spring Squaw Valley night pipe (they only had one pipe for the first half of the season which is now the night pipe and it was not up to its potential until the heavy winter snows stopped). They (SV) have also improved the tables at the night park which opens at 3:30 - 4pm most every night weather permitting.
Nice tables like this one (left) at the Sugar Bowl's Noah Salasnek signature park
allow people to fun like this (right).
February 24 1998
This the second update on this article about the on going battle with Mother Nature that the northern California resorts are waging by trying to create manmade terrain. We have had the wettest February on record. The mountains have received well over 16 feet of snow this month and it is not over yet. If you like powder; this has been the place to be. It has been a real challenge for resorts to keep pipes clear and tables formed and groomed. Our team has mostly been out getting snowy images and as much pow pow as possible, but we have made a few runs throw the parks and pipes. Below are the latest conditions that we have checked out as of the end of February.
January 31 1998
This is the first part of an article about the Northern California resorts latest craze to create manmade terrain. We have seen halfpipes and parks popping up at even the smallest of resorts. I love well made pipes and tables, but our wet dense snow and warm temperatures we have in Tahoe must be a challenge for park maintenance crews and equipment. The main problem usually seems to be the lack of good design in the 1st place which is made worse when there is not continuing maintenance.
If you create a park that pleases the average rider, advanced riders would find it boring. A park designed for the best athletes can be very dangerous for average humans. Beginners should learn about transitions and how to turn before trying to be a hero in any park or pipe. A poorly designed park is a risky liability for resorts and I am surprised at how many bad parks are created at even some large resorts. The good news is that some resorts are starting to use professional consultation to help them design their parks and pipes; like the Noah Salasnek signature park at Sugar Bowl. More good news is that some resorts are taking notes by observing Boreal which has the best maintenance program in Northern California with day and night parks that are groomed at least once a day.
1997 California Resort Reports
January 21+24, 1997
Alpine on Board! The last California hold out has opened up the flood gates to the sideways standing masses.
January 11+12, 1997
The Bear is Sleeping; wake up from your hibernation and go to Bear Valley
January 6, 1997
Winter returns and blows some Sugar into the Bowl
January 4, 1997
Kirkwood is Holding the Goods; 18-30" of fresh after the rains.
Mother Nature Gives Christmas Present to the West.
January 2, 1997
Finally snowing again in Tahoe after bad rains: Rain, Rain Go Away
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Created: June/20/96 Updated: 4/27/98