Every year, as we sift through the dozens of entries we receive for this contest, we keep our eyes peeled for trends and notable highlights to point out here, and also monitor to see if those trends hold during the coming season. We didn’t need to look too hard this year to identify what worked during the 2023-24 season: Events.

We had about twice as many entries for the “Events” category as we did for any of the other three. Whatever the reason for the influx, it’s a good thing. Events build community, are fertile ground for content production, help promote ski areas to a younger audience, and more.

Terrain park events aren’t new, of course. Competitions and photo shoots have always been part of park culture since the beginning, helping to make freestyle mainstream. The variety of events in this year’s contest goes beyond comps and shoots—there are a handful of urban events (as in, building a park with trucked-in snow in the middle of a city street), learn-to events for groms, banked slalom races; the list goes on. 

Winners in each category will be rewarded, and one grand prize winner gets a trip to Cutter’s Camp 2025. 

And finally, we’d like to thank Jess Goucher, a terrain park groomer at The Summit at Snoqualmie, for her help editing and organizing. Jess’s passion for parks—especially park events—is an asset to our industry, and her grammatical proficiency is an asset to us editors. 

Scroll through the categories below to see all the entries. Voting ends December 6, 2024.

 

 

 

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Dual Banks

Beaver Valley, ON

For the 10th annual Beaver Valley Banked Slalom last March, the park crew built symmetrical, side-by-side banked slalom courses to offer something new and exciting for the event’s 10th anniversary—which had traditionally utilized a single course—as well as to accommodate more participants since the event sells out every year. It took two operators three days to rough-in the 20 turns on each course, which mirror each other, using Prinoth Bison X snowcats, and the park team fine-tuned it with hand tools. With two courses, which will likely be the venue moving forward, the event went from 260 to 360 participants, including 60 groms ages 4-12. The courses were open to the public in the days after the event and were the most popular features on the hill.

Toyota T

Seven Springs, PA

Some logos aren’t suited to be made into jibs. The Toyota logo, however, is essentially a rainbow box with supports in the middle, so Seven Springs fabricators got to work in August 2023 to build this feature to be included in the Toyota Takeover Rail Jam hosted by freeskier Tom Wallisch at the resort. The feature is 20 feet long, 10 feet tall, and 12 inches wide. The outer shell is sheet metal, and its frame is made of 2” x 2” steel with round bar. It took one night for a snowcat operator to set in the park and for hand crew to shape the transitions. The Toyota T is used in the rail jam series and is also open to the public.

Skyhigh Transfer Feature

Granite Peak, WI

The Granite Peak terrain park crew was looking to build a multi-option feature in a tight area last March and came up with the Skyhigh Transfer. It includes a 35-foot jump next to a 25-foot jump with a steel-ball bonk feature just past the takeoff. The bonk is made from the end caps of a standard propane tank welded together and set on a 6-foot piece of recycled snowmaking pipe, which is welded to a 40” x 40” steel base with fork pockets for ease of transport with a snowcat. The entire feature took 12-16 hours over two nights to build out of “a buttload of snow,” says terrain park manager Ry Baumann, with one operator in a Prinoth Bison X and two shapers using Arena Snowparks and Intermountain rakes. The feature was open to the public and used by all ability levels.

Satellite Roulette

Trollhaugen, WI

Made specifically for the Lord of the Ropes contest, held at the end of February at Trollhaugen, the Satellite Roulette aimed to match the event’s “Lucky 7” theme. The team repurposed an old 10-foot-diameter satellite dish into a roulette wheel by using high-quality safety paint for its surface. The “awkwardly heavy” dish was transported to the park using a skid steer and placed into a hip with transitions built by a snowcat. It was first used as a side hit for Lord of the Ropes and then stayed in the park for the public to enjoy after. The Satellite Roulette can be placed at different angles and is fun for all abilities, encouraging creativity, trial and error, and thinking outside the box.

The Full Plate

Sugarbush Resort, VT

 This plaza build was a recreation of a build from eight years ago that was placed at the top of the main park, where it saw some use. This time, it was brought to the very bottom for session-ability. There’s a propane tank, electrical box, three sets of stairs, parking post, a corrugated retaining wall, tubes, and boxes. The wooden retaining wall was built with 4" x 12" timbers leftover from a bridge project and held together by custom brackets made in-house. The whole setup is nearly 75 feet wide and was designed using Sketchup, a 3-D design software. With all the measurements and dimensions in-hand, it took a mere 5 hours for the entire park crew to build. However, the crew hit ground with one of the larger features, so some dirt had to be removed to hit the mark. Ridership was intermediate and up.

Gong Show

Wild Mountain, MN

Back in the early 2000s, Winter Park, Colo., had a similar gong-type feature in its park and Wild Mountain wanted to pay homage to Winter Park's idea. So, the park crew built this 7-foot-tall stand out of pine boards and hung a 30-inch brass gong to it via Sisal rope. The whole thing weighs only 40 pounds, making it easy to move around to spots where park goers can tap it with their skis/board mid-air, sending a loud “gonnng” reverberating through the park. The crew used an ice fishing auger to drill the hole for the post and set it in place. The Gong Show made its debut in the B-Dog Off the Leash event March 2, hosted by pro freeskier Phil Casabon.     

The Jibstrument

The Summit at Snoqualmie, WA

Last winter, Summit Parks unveiled a new park feature they named “The Jibstrument.” Fabricated in-house by Jared Scholz and Trevor Howard out of recycled 8-inch snowmaking pipe, it allowed park users to play their own tune each time they rode over it. The feature measures 11 feet long, 5 feet wide, and 2.5 feet tall. Throughout the season, the park crew experimented linking it with other standard park features, setting it in front of, behind, or beside tubes, rails, and boxes. The Jibstrument was constructed to fit PistenBully’s ParkBlade forks, allowing one operator to safely transport and set it. The versatile feature became a fan favorite for park users of all abilities. 

The Jib Temple

Mission Ridge, WA

In the quest to create a feature with endless directional uses and an integrated tunnel-to-rail hit, the Mission Ridge team put together this plaza during a cold snap in January as the final feature in the park. Primarily built for a “32 Spot Check” film session, the “Jib Temple” occupied a 40’ x 60’ footprint. Features included a 30-foot flat 14-inch tube set perpendicular to the slope on two 8-foot snow spines, a 24-foot drop tube (also 14-inch), a 30-foot double barrel notch kink, a 30-foot double barrel DFD (both with 2-inch tubing), and a pole jam made from 8-inch pipe. It took one snowcat operator and four hand crew using Snowboy Best rakes roughly 4 hours to build. It was maintained and open to the public for three weeks with a variety of different abilities giving it a ride.

 

Progression Pipe

Copper Mountain, CO

 

Copper Mountain wanted to create a mini pipe that was a little different. The goal, as with most mini pipes, was to make it approachable for beginner/intermediate riders so they could get more comfortable before taking their tricks to a bigger halfpipe or superpipe. What’s different is after exiting the mini pipe there was a series of small boxes/tubes to hit, making for a multi-feature run if riders so choose. The 13-foot pipe was made of natural snow in the beginning of January. It took a three-person crew about a week to build using two PistenBully ParkPro 400s and a 13-foot Zaugg to push, shape, and cut. 

Waterfall Rainbow

Bousquet Mountain, MA

Bousquet’s snow surface manager lives for the outdoors, and his passion for nature's elements inspired the crew to build this feature. Built in summer 2023 out of scrap pipe from the boneyard, the park crew combined the flow of waterfalls with the arc of rainbows, creating a feature that channels summer vibes in the heart of winter. “It's our way of mixing up the terrain park with a touch of the wild.” The 20-foot-long, 6-foot-tall rainbow/notch/kink feature only took 30 minutes to transport and set using a Prinoth Bison X and was enjoyed by intermediate to advanced park riders. 

Rainbow Road

Jay Peak Resort, VT

Inspiration can come from anywhere. In this case, it came from the Rainbow Road level in Mario Kart on Nintendo 64. And roller coasters. “Rainbow Road” combined a rainbow flat rail and roller-coaster flat rail end-to-end to make a 25-foot-long feature. It was a late-season addition; the park crew built it in April to coincide with the resort’s annual Tailgate Party along with several other features that were part of an overnight build to offer a fresh setup for springtime sessions.

The Volcano

Loon Mountain Resort, NH

Inspired by the Red Bull All Snow course, which had a medium-sized volcano that went off during that event at Loon, the Loon parks team decided to build a bigger one for the resort’s annual Last Call event in March. “The Volcano” was 18 feet tall with a 6-foot deck. The build took longer than anticipated because a 2-foot storm rolled through and interrupted progress. Once the skies cleared, the crew used one snowcat and a CAT 303.5 mini excavator to build it, and Last Call competitors erupted with stoke. 

Dugout Millie

Tamarack, ID

Built for a special event called Breakers Beach in April 2024, this multi-element feature was inspired by other tunnel Millie features, but with a spine in front. The spine had a 10-foot tube on top that riders could go up and over or slide across. The rear feature had a 30-foot tube mounted on two 8-foot-tall hips with the middle tunneled out. The tubes are made of old pipe the crew found around the resort. It took two days to build with a snowcat and hand tools. After the event, the feature stayed up in the park for the general public to enjoy. 

 

 

Jasmine Baird’s Ride Like a Girl 

Beaver Valley, ON

Beaver Valley’s own Olympian and World Cup slopestyle and big air medalist Jasmine Baird was looking for a way to give back to the next generation of young girls. She and the park committee came up with an idea—a custom park with three features at the base of the hill for local female riders to come together on a non-intimidating setup that facilitated fun and camaraderie. For one day in March, young women hiked and tried new tricks together while Jasmine provided one-on-one coaching. The energy was high as the 56 young women pushed progression and cheered each other on. Vans supported the event with prizes for all participants.

Toyota Takeover 

Seven Springs, PA 

The park crew at Seven Springs battled heavy rain and warm temperatures to put together the Toyota Takeover hosted by freeskier Tom Wallisch last February. Over the course of three days, two snowcats and six hand crew constructed the 12-feature setup. The build had something for everyone and was open to all ages and abilities for skiing and snowboarding, with competitors divided up into grom, amateur, and pro classes for men and women, all vying for a piece of the $8,000 cash purse. Pittsburg-native Wallisch judged and provided the hype for a turnout of more than 150 competitors cheered on by 500-plus spectators who showed up to enjoy competition, live music, cornhole, DJs, and food and drink tents.

Back to the Banks 

Saddleback Mountain, ME 

To strengthen and expand the snowboard community in New England, Saddleback Mountain threw the second annual Back to the Banks banked slalom race last March. All ages and genders came together to ride 13 tight, flowy, hand shaped turns. The youngest rider was 5 years old, and the oldest was 72. The course took three days to build. A PistenBully 600 Polar Winch did the initial push on the upper course, then a PistenBully ParkPro and seven hand crew members finished shaping and fine-tuning the turns until they were race ready. 

Homesick 

Stratton Mountain, VT 

Last March, Stratton Mountain and East Street Archives collaborated once again to celebrate the history, tradition, and progression of the sport that was born on the turf call they home: Vermont. Homesick brings together snowboarders of all ages and ability levels for three days of fun on three courses representing different disciplines. Legends, professionals, and up-and-comers chose to race the OG downhill, ride the 12-foot retro halfpipe, or enter the rail jam (or they could enter all three). The build began more than three weeks before the event, with three snowcats and seven park crew members working on the venues with guidance from pro riders and builders in attendance. Most of the workload was focused on the 150-foot-long halfpipe that required a lot of snow. 

Darn Tough Banked Slalom 

Snowshoe Mountain, WV 

Snowshoe Mountain throws an annual spring banked slalom to bring the community together for speed, fun, and a little friendly competition. This past winter, more than 150 skiers and snowboarders of all ages showed up to carve through the custom-built banked slalom. The course consisted of 14 turns, starting with technical tighter berms, leading into big, high-speed turns and concluding with a gap into berm option and a 25-foot tabletop jump at the finish line. The build took five full days. Two operators moved manmade snow for three days with a PistenBully ParkPro, a PistenBully 400 Winch, and a Prinoth Bison X. Then six park crew members spent two days fine tuning and shaping with SPT and Arena Snowpark rakes, and vert cutters. After a little prep work each morning, the race kicked off with snowboarders on Saturday and skiers on Sunday. Each day concluded with an awards ceremony.

Red Bull Slide-In Tour 

Trollhaugen, WI 

Zeb Powell and Red Bull brought the energy to Trollhaugen last spring to kick off the Slide-In Tour. People of all ages took to the ropes in Valhalla Terrain Park to ride alongside Powell and other visiting pros. There was no contest and no pressure. Attendees were captivated by the community vibe, welcoming atmosphere, and the impressive level of tricks. There was a 70-year age gap between the oldest and youngest riders. The park was filled with transition, innovative rails, and a big jump line. For those seeking a progression session, the adjacent hike park had options ranging from ride-on features to medium rails and boxes. It took roughly two days for hand crew and one snowcat operator to adjust and fine-tune the main park to align with Red Bull's requests, and to build the hike park to ensure there was something for all ability levels.

Red Bull Cascades

Solitude Mountain Resort, UT

Inspired by professional skier Bobby Brown’s vision, Red Bull Cascades was a big mountain skiing competition with the goal to blend freestyle and big mountain skiing into one event last March at Solitude. Male and female pro and amateur skiers from around the world competed. The course flowed through big cliff drops, powder fields, and perfectly manicured machine-built park and snow features all in one top-to-bottom run that turned more than a mile of the mountain into a skiable playground. The upper portion focused on bringing the big mountain feel and gave athletes the option to choose their own lines utilizing cliffs and hand-built backcountry-style jumps, while the bottom offered machine-built snow and rail features. The undertaking took two weeks to build with tasks ranging from on-mountain feature building to fabricating custom features in house. The build team consisted of three operators and nine diggers. 

Humpday Heaters

The Summit at Snoqualmie, WA 

 

Competitive skiing and snowboarding can be intimidating at first, so Summit Parks wanted to make an event that felt inviting to everyone in the park. They came up with a series that took place on Wednesday nights in Central Park: Humpday Heaters. This inclusive, high-energy event series aimed to gather the park community to build hype, encourage guests to progress their skills alongside one another, and showcase the terrain park scene at The Summit. During the two-hour jams, an announcer called out tricks for participants to try, and if they succeeded, they won a prize. Humpday Heaters utilized different zones throughout Central Park each week on existing features—no custom build necessary. With progression in mind, the crew always ensured that the setup was friendly for all users.

Over the Moon 

Crotched Mountain, NH 

 

 

 

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The Over the Moon Rail Jam Series consisted of three events at Crotched Mountain under the lights. The venue featured a 500-foot-long plaza-style build with 8-10 features. Options ranged from beginner-friendly boxes to large rails, stair sets, and wallrides. Each build was designed to encourage creative and unconventional use, including gaps and disaster options for those who were up for the challenge. All ages participated, with divisions for youth, men, and women in skiing and snowboarding. One snowcat operator prepped the zone during the night shift before a hand crew of six came in the next day to rake and shape. 

Culture Shifters 2024

Aspen Snowmass, CO 

Culture Shifters brought a diverse and empowering community of snowboarders, artists, and changemakers to Aspen Snowmass last April. With the intention to spark conversations and celebrate a more colorful vision for the future of snowboarding, Zeb Powell and Selema Masakela demonstrated the power of bringing together the full spectrum of snowboard culture. Aspen Snowmass terrain park staff worked with Powell to transform the Snowmass learning area into a private park with features geared toward all levels of riders. The park included boxes and small jibs, technical rails, a couple small jumps, and the centerpiece: a 13-foot quarterpipe with a dance party taking place on the deck. The build took about two days to complete, led by Buttermilk park builders Matt Cordts and Dom DiGiovanni. Snow was upcycled from the adjacent tubing hill and moved into place and shaped by a Prinoth Bison X. The quarterpipe was cut with a Zaugg. 

“Jake Jam” Rail Jam

Blue Mountain Resort, PA 

Blue Mountain Parks hosted the “Jake Jam” Rail Jam on A Day for Jake 2024. A Day for Jake is an annual celebration to remember and celebrate Jake Burton Carpenter's legacy and impact on snowboard culture. The setup included eight features and took roughly 24 hours to complete with most of the work done by one snowcat operator. As the event was held in the middle of March during a lean snow year, gathering snow for the features and the big drop-in mound was a challenge for this East Coast resort. After the snow was manipulated into place, six hand-crew members helped add the features and finishing touches. About 100 skiers and snowboarders participated in the event, and the day ended with the traditional group ride, waving the “Ride On Jake” flag. 

Carinthia Classic 

Mount Snow, VT 

The Carinthia Classic is an annual celebration of Carinthia Parks at Mount Snow in March. This rail jam competition has been attracting some of best up-and-coming and professional skiers and snowboarders from all over North America to Vermont since 2018, with young kids competing side-by-side with professionals. Athletes in the junior class competed for swag, and there was a $20,000 prize purse for the open class. The one-of-a-kind plaza was filled with a variety of features, including a 41-foot-long, 24-inch tube known as the “mamba.” The crew designed two tiers of rails and tubes, allowing the competitors to link multiple tricks in one run. They used some of their most popular features to ensure options for all competitors, offering a classic build that was simple yet technical. It took three operators in two snowcats and five hand crew one day to build the plaza. 

Woodward Summer Rail Jam Series 

Copper Mountain, CO 

Woodward at Copper provides skiing and snowboarding for athletes every month of the year. The Summer Rail Jam Series, held three times during the summer (July, August, and September) on a park made with snow farmed from the superpipe, was designed to keep riders excited on snow and head into the next winter with a fresh bag of tricks. The competition was open to ages 10 and up, and heats were divided by age, discipline, and gender. The builds contained a mix of intermediate to advanced features including boxes of all shapes and sizes, tubes, transfer rails, kinked rails, hand rails, and so on. The set-up refreshed prior to every event to promote new tricks and creative line selection. 

Sunrise Terrain Park Photoshoot

Mt. Spokane Ski & Snowboard Park, WA 

Despite a challenging snow year, the sunrise terrain park photoshoot aimed to fuel the stoke at Mt. Spokane. The shoot was a chance for the team to display their skills and bring excitement to the mountain. Participants included park staff as well as local skiers and snowboarders. The build featured a 30-foot hybrid step-down jump and was built in eight hours by one snowcat operator, then raked and refined by five hand-crew members. The photoshoot was a company-wide production that involved teams from mountain operations, lift operations, marketing, and ski patrol to make it happen. The excitement spread far beyond the park crew, energizing the entire community. It brought people to the mountain and reignited the love for all who call Mt. Spokane home. 

Red Bull All Snow

Loon Mountain Resort, NH 

The classic Red Bull event re-emerged at Loon Parks last March after being put to rest for a few years. Red Bull All Snow is a snowboard-only event that takes place on a flowy, interpretive build made from 100 percent snow. It’s an ode to the roots of freestyle snowboarding and draws inspiration from concrete skateparks. Riders found endless line options that combined creativity and amplitude, making the event just as exciting for spectators as it was for the competitors. The build took about three days to complete. It was an all-hands-on-deck scenario with park crew handling the shoveling and raking, and two operators running a snowcat and CAT 303.5 mini excavator.

Grommie Jam

Bousquet Mountain, MA 

The Grommie Jam was for the kids! Last season, Bousquet Mountain in Massachusetts hosted two free competitions for kids up to 15 years old, with multiple age groups and prizes. Bousquet’s Introduction to Park program allows kids to try freestyle skiing and snowboarding in a supportive and safe environment. The Grommie Jams gave these riders a venue to show off their skills and progression throughout the season. The features in the jam included a tube, a couple of mellow boxes, and one small tabletop jump. The build took about four hours with a crew of four on the ground and one operator in a Prinoth Bison X.

Urban Air - Idaho Potato Drop

Tamarack, ID 

 

The Tamarack park crew brought the mountains to downtown Boise for the twelfth annual New Year’s Eve Urban Air Idaho Potato Drop. The build took three days to complete. The team began by hauling in the steel frame and a shipping container to be transformed into a drop-in and a 25-foot-jump. On day two, the crew assembled the wood landing transition, trucked in snow to spread on the course, constructed takeoffs from lumber and snow, and installed a North Pull winch for speed. One Bobcat operator and eight hand crew raked and tested the course on day three, then launched into the new year with the city of Boise as the famous potato—like the ball in New York City—dropped in Idaho. 

Sierra Knights 

Sierra-at-Tahoe, CA 

Last season, Sierra-at-Tahoe introduced a three-part after-hours rail jam series under the lights known as Sierra (K)nights. The jams were hosted in the plaza and included three divisions (skiing, snowboarding, and snow skate for men and women). There was a cash purse for open-class qualifiers. The build contained a variety of features that changed for each event. A Skullcandy branded 26-foot down-flat-down was a staple used in all three builds. About five members from the park staff hand crew and operators using PistenBully and Prinoth snowcats worked overnight to design and build a different setup each time. There was a local vendor village for competitors and spectators with live music and art, raffles, food and beverages. 

Rails & Ales 2024 

Mission Ridge, WA 

 

Rails & Ales returned to Wenatchee, Wash., on March 9 to close down Orondo Street and bring in snow for a night of skiing and snowboarding in the city. The Mission Ridge park crew set up a rail jam for competitors and a small slope for the community to learn on with instructors from the Mission Ridge Ski School. The crew hauled in 36 cubic yards of snow from the base area of Mission Ridge, then spread it downtown in the streets with a skid steer and backhoe. Hand crew worked with the two operators to install the drop-in ramp and four boxes and rails. The event drew more than 60 competitors, with men’s and women’s divisions for skiing and snowboarding. There were cash prizes for the newly added invitation-only professional division and awards for amateur winners. More than 4,000 spectators came together in Centennial Park, which offered a vendor village, live music, hockey, and ski and snowboard demos.

Eclipse Halfpipe Session

Sugarloaf, ME 

Sugarloaf had a once in a lifetime opportunity last spring when the full solar eclipse lined up with the center of the minipipe during totality. The Loaf team was originally planning an invite-only session, but decided to open it to the public instead—and skiers and snowboarders of all ages and abilities showed up to hike the pipe and capture memories and photos. While producing content was the initial inspiration, the day proved to be about enjoying a powerful experience with the local community. Sugarloaf doesn’t have a Zaugg, so ski patrol chainsawed the vert and one operator shaped the minipipe by stepping out and back-blading in a PistenBully ParkPro. Then a Prinoth Bison X came in to lay corduroy on the walls and floor. The build included an extension, coping rails, tombstones, and jibs at the end, which 3-6 hand-crew members fine-tuned with a mix of Arena and SPT rakes and vert shovels. 

The Boulder Hill Jam 

Eldora, CO 

The Boulder Hill Jam brought the terrain park to campus at the University of Colorado for an invite-only event consisted of more than 40 skiers and snowboarders from Boulder Freeride, CU’s student-run ski and snowboard club. The Woodward Eldora team filled a truck and trailer full of features, shovels, rakes, lumber, woodworking tools, and concrete forms and set up shop on two closed city blocks in Boulder. A box truck brought the snow from Eldora and a skid steer spread it throughout the course while hand crew added takeoffs and finishing touches. The rails were secured to the ground using custom-made concrete forms, and lips were constructed from custom lumber frames then filled with snow. One drop-in fed into two tiers. The setup offered a skinny 18-foot-long street-style rail and a 4-inch-round, 20-foot-long round rail and ended with the crowd pleaser, a 12-inch-round, 20-foot-long tube. About 500 spectators watched the event. It took just eight hours from setup to breakdown—including plowing the snow off the road with the skid steer.

Shaka Brah Big Air & BBQ 

Wild Mountain, MN 

While the Midwest isn’t known for its jump scene, Wild Mountain wanted to do something different and throw a post-season big air contest. The Shaka Brah Big Air was supported by Red Bull and offered a $4,000 cash purse to skiers and snowboarders of all ages. The competition took place on two jumps—a 25-footer and a 35-footer—which took three days of moving snow and building in a snowcat. 

Gunstock CoreNation 

Gunstock Mountain Resort, NH 

Professional snowboarder Erik Leon brought people together at Gunstock Mountain Resort in February for the third stop of CoreNation—a traveling rail jam series that raises awareness and support for local nonprofits through snowboarding. The entry fees and raffle proceeds go to a local nonprofit at each stop, with the goal to make snowboarding more accessible to all. Participants ranged in age from 10 to 40 years old. Erik was hanging out and offering friendly conversation, pointers, and coaching to all attendees all day. The three-tier setup had something for everyone, with small boxes and tubes, medium rails, a propane tank, wall ride, and more. It took 25 hours for a team of 12 hand crew and one cat operator to build and shape.

Holy Bowly

Banff Sunshine Village, AB

Snowboy Productions’ Holy Bowly is an annual, traveling, weeklong event that took place at Banff Sunshine Village in the spring of 2024. This flowy, skatepark-inspired playground was built for producing content and community. Participants in the event are all invite-only, hand-selected professional and amateur snowboarders from around the world. Snowboy Productions strives to include staple features each year, such as massive volcanoes and bowls, while constantly building and modifying ideas to inspire creativity and innovation from riders. The build took roughly one week with a crew of 20 shapers using Snowboy X SPT rakes and vert shovels, two snowcats, and one excavator. 

 

 

Human On Board, ep. 1, vol. 10: Torch Passing

Trollhaugen, WI

Human On Board has been the Troll park crew video series for 10 years. After a long stint as the visionary behind the series, Robbie Weides stepped aside for the next generation to take its turn. Andre Hall, one of the “new class” of park crew members, expressed interest in taking over the series, and so the torch was passed, carrying on the tradition of HOB with a local rider/park crew member behind the lens. This episode includes footage from Trollhaugen parks during November to January 2023-24. Featured athletes are almost entirely Trollhaugen park crew: Jake Antisdel, Drew Degnan, Keifer Ascheman, Grady Tank, Keegan Tank, Ethan Gervais, Andre Hall, Jericho Johnson, Ethan Hintermeister, Caleb Hintermeister, Brandon Nesseth, Nolan Ailts, Mandy Christians, Waylon Hastings, Eli Fink. Filmed and edited by Andre Hall.

 

Shaka Brah Big Air & BBQ

Wild Mountain, MN

From the April 6 post-season Shaka Brah Big Air & BBQ event at Wild Mountain. Event day was 61 degrees with blue skies, and winners brought home cash prizes and custom trophies. Featured athletes: Hope Gienger, Jordyn Gricol, Sawyer Largay, Garon Sutherland, Ryan Paul, Andrew Brewer, Brett Stamper, Nolan Ailts. Filmed and edited by Brad Larsen.

Summit Sessions: Season 4, Ep. 1

The Summit at Snoqualmie, WA

This episode of Summit Sessions was filmed at Central Park at The Summit during early season 2023-24. “This edit isn't just about getting the cleanest stomp or the biggest send; it's about the squad that makes Central Park feel like home,” says Summit at Snoqualmie’s Karter Riach. “This edit tells the story of locals pushing each other, sharing the stoke, and always going for broke. What makes this piece special is its authenticity—the raw, unfiltered energy of locals getting after it. It’s a love letter to park life and the crew who lives it every day. It's not just about the bangers—it's about the passion, the fun, and the vibes that make Central Park the place to be.” Featured athletes: Caleb Snobl, OJ, Tony, Matt Barkley, Parker Gonnet, Adrian Rasmussen, Alex Stewart, Cash Farley, Fisher Bailey, Derek Bird, Donnie, Shane Keller. Filmed and edited by Talon Monteau.

 

Crotched Parks, January in Review

Crotched Mountain, NH

 

 

 

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The park crew at Crotched Mountain has been working to restore the park scene at the ski area for a few years, according to Crotched’s Trevor Hunt. “We have sought to foster this renewed hype by taking a vested interest in our park guests and promoting the importance of community. One avenue we have done so is by engaging the athletes through open calls for submissions, where they can share their best park moments.” Those clips are mixed with footage from the Crotched team to produce monthly park review edits. “The comment tiles in the video are actual guest comments, and we thought that adding them into the clip helped showcase the response and hopefully further fan those flames of hype to people who might be sleeping on us,” says Hunt. Featured athletes: Jamison Coty, Bernardo DiPalermo, Michael Guest, Kendrick Edwards, Zach Pease, Garret Rousseau, Cian Bose, Scott Foden, Brent Hutson, Ryan Hauser. Edited by Trevor Hunt.

Remember How It Feels

Afton Alps, MN

During the warmest recorded winter in the Twin Cities, a fairly green Afton Alps park crew put out the best possible parks it could. “This edit is of the crew and by the crew, filmed before or after shifts, after school, after another full-time job, or after taking care of the kids.” Featured athletes: Dom Lonetti, Jake Engstrom, Noah Driscoll, Matt Buri, Aaron Driscoll, and Mike Wolfert. Filmed and edited by Mike Wolfert; additional filming by Andi Olszewski and Jake Engstrom.

National Girls & Women in Sports Day

Copper Mountain, CO

 

 

 

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Filmed in February 2024 for National Girls and Women in Sports Day, Copper featured three different generations in this edit to show off the talent of the girls and women in the Copper community. “This video embodies the true passion for having fun on snow, no matter where you're at in life.” Featured athletes: Kayley Joy Warren, Ty Schnorrbusch, Eileen. Filmed and edited by Woodward Copper marketing coordinator Adam Maxwell.

Last Call with Eastern Boarder 22

Loon Mountain Resort, NH

Last Call with Eastern Boarder has been held for 22 years. According to Loon, it’s the longest-running snowboard competition on the East Coast. It attracts a host of snowboard pros who come to the White Mountains to send it on a custom-built park. This edit includes highlights from numerous Last Call competitors, filmed in Loon’s Little Sister Park, March 25, 2024. Filmed by Tyler Franger and Ely Campeanu; edited by Tyler Franger.

Flawless Threads Night Shoot

Tamarack, ID

This edit features a custom build for a private night shoot that Tamarack does every year with Flawless Threads, a major sponsor of the resort’s parks that also supports multiple other events to help keep the park scene thriving at Tamarack. Shot in March 2024. Featured athletes: Mason Kennedy, Jake Barrett, Ryan McCoy, Steel Messenger, Nick Borner, Noah Thomas, Justin Kennedy. 

 

Toyota Takeover Rail Jam

Seven Springs, PA

 

 

 

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The Toyota Takeover Rail Jam at Seven Springs was hosted by legendary freeskier Tom Wallisch on Feb. 17. Skiers and riders came out to compete on a custom-built rail garden for a piece of the $8,000 cash purse. Produced by Dillon Hodack.

 

 

 

Beaver Valley Snow Parks Crew

Beaver Valley, ON

The Beaver Valley Snow Parks crew maintains an expansive and diverse array of terrain, including a top-to-bottom park with more than 40 features that are changed-up weekly, a progression park, a snowboard / ski cross course, a mini halfpipe, a groms mini park, a hike park, a moguls course, and an air bag training site. Last season, the small team—a core group of three: Caleb Bosse, Jordan Bender, and Elliot Black, assisted by a weekend support crew—custom built venues for 16 different events. Beaver Valley’s terrain parks were some of the first to open and last to close last season, says nominator Steve Jarrett, adding that the crew, who logged long hours last year to deliver quality terrain despite mild temps and below average snowfall, are “uniquely amazing” and known for their “fun, innovative, safe park builds.”

Trollhaugen Park Crew

Trollhaugen, WI

The Trollhaugen park crew, seen here raking out snow for an annual early-October rail jam, “makes magic happen regardless of conditions, and we even make riding happen when there's no snow to speak of,” says marketing director Marsha Hovey. “The pride that this crew has for their home turf is second to none,” she says, adding that the crew is “always looking for the creative, inventive, and unique ways to make a small space as mighty as it can be.” Made up of old hands, a new generation eager to learn, and a host of “sporadic helpers,” the crew includes: Adam Mahler, Matt Boudreaux, Tony Wagner, Bill Brandt, Scott Ramberg, Jeffy Gabrick, Sam Lobinski, Kian Barrett, Mandy Christians, John Bryant, Dorothy Grundin, Kiefer Ascheman, Jack Kaiser, Jericho Johnson, Jayva Jordan, Darius Collins, Drew Degnan, Andre Hall, Brandon Nesseth, Katie Aley, Dylan Patee, and Paul Flottmeyer.

Gunstock Terrain Park Crew

Gunstock Mountain Resort, NH

Gunstock’s terrain park crew, pictured here setting a box under the night skiing and riding lights, maintains a signature park, a progression park, and an “adventure slope” day and night. “Most of the people on the team treat the job as a lifestyle, not work,” says park crew manager Nick Imhoof. In addition to Imhoof, the crew includes: Kayla, Will, Branden, Zackary, Keith, Garret, Aidan, Justin, Vincent, Owen, and primary park groomer operator Andy. They have a strong sense of camaraderie, and many of their favorite memories are of working together to build and takedown features in the sunshine, in the snow, under the lights, and before events. “What makes Gunstock's park crew unique and amazing is their passion for what they do and where they do it. They are all living the dream—doing what they love at a place where they feel a connection,” says marketing director Bonnie MacPherson. 

Cascade Park Crew

Cascade Mountain, WI

Cascade’s park crew takes a collaborative approach to planning and designing features for the mountain’s three parks. This allows for “flow but also creativity” and efficiency, says crew member Eli Engel, adding that brainstorming with everyone’s ideas “helps us produce our sick parks.” The crew also takes the time to connect with the end users. “When the crew is out on shift riding and maintaining our parks, we enjoy talking to the costumers and our community,” says Engel. “One thing about our crew is we enjoy teaching and showing riders how the feature they are riding is made.” In addition to Engle, this crew includes: Zack Antonie, Dylan Konopacki, Brandon Moldenhauer, Mason Ashley, Hadley Jones, Caden Hixon, Jude Kunkel, Kevin Schufreider, Carsten Small, Max Acker, Joey Thomas, and Matthew Zander. 

The Summit Parks Team

The Summit at Snoqualmie, WA

Last winter, the Summit Parks team was dealt a less-than-ideal hand. A thin, shallow snowpack meant the crew, pictured here admiring their work, had to think outside the box and get creative with their builds, says marketing and sales director Karter Riach. “Rails were literally sitting on dirt, and the snowpack in between features was a mere 3 inches at times.” The groomers did a phenomenal job managing the delicate snowpack, says Riach, adding, “All in all, the Summit Parks team was still able to produce a top-notch product opening to closing day on the lowest snowpack they have had to work with in over a decade.” The crew includes: Jeff Cragin, Jared Scholz, Ben Baird, Casey Mauk, Caleb Snobl, Tom Snobl, Cash Farley, Christian Taylor, Danielle Amado, Johnny Haycock, Ian Stucky, Brandon Daly, Trevor Howard, Fedya N., Diddy I., Kirean T., Weston A., Alec B., and OJ.

Crotched Park Crew

Crotched Mountain, NH

“The Park Crew here at Crotched is genuinely out of this world,” says park manager Trevor Hunt. “Our team's pride and passion for providing the best product for the guest experience is unmatched. The team at Crotched is like an orchestra. Everyone is giving different pieces and nuances to the overall composition.” The crew does it all, he says, from building and maintenance to feature fabrication to event planning and marketing. Among the events the crew builds, DJs, and judges for is the Over the Moon series, pictured in collage here. “Our team is not just about fun and games,” though, says Hunt. “We're also committed to safety and education,” and last season, they launched park etiquette and safety awareness seminars. In addition to Hunt, the team includes: Grant Holliday, Michael Guest, Benny Dipalermo, Jamo Coty, Caden Peck, Shawn Anderson, Nate Brown, Nate Nieva, Mark “Cha Cha” Ciarcia, and cat operators Aaron Hyer, Cody Delano, and Ryan Dawson.

The Carinthia Crew

Mount Snow, VT

  

The Carinthia crew, pictured here in collage, is responsible for building, designing, and maintaining 100 acres of terrain, featuring 80-100 features spread across eight parks on Mount Snow’s all-parks eastern mountain face. “The park crew is creative and innovative,” says Courtney DiFiore, Northeast senior communications manager for Vail Resorts, which owns Mount Snow. “Whether it is welding steel or shaping snow, they create ingenious features; and all park features are custom-built in-house by the talented Rob Black and Shaun Murphy, ensuring the parks are as unique as the riders who use them.” The team consists of 11 hand crew, six cat operators and two individuals in leadership roles, including: Black, Murphy, Adam Tease, Nicky Stevens, Kevin Ramsay, Brendan Bauer, Jesse Goodnow, Justin Hongell, Zach Boyd, Chris DeJohn, Levi Sornson, Judah Kondracki, Jon Dittrich, Lacey Zeranski, Chandler Bergstrom, Nick Eori, Macklin Allen, Timmy Sullivan, and Tyler Dlubac. 

The Copper Mountain Crew

Copper Mountain, CO

The Copper crew works hard all year round, says senior communications manager Loryn Roberson, maintaining a massive footprint that includes Central Park and Peace Park (both pictured) in winter and a hike park every weekend in the summer. The crew, led by Phil Pereira and Ayrton Lehman, “are constantly thinking of fun, new, creative ideas for features that you can’t find at other resorts,” says Roberson. With more than 10 parks to maintain and close to 300 features, “it truly takes a team,” she adds. The crew builds and maintains terrain parks 10 months of the year, and also puts on competitions for everyone from groms to pros competing in the Grand Prix, Dew Tour, and USASA Nationals, among others. “Thanks to our crew, you can expect clean lines, fresh features, and perfect jumps anytime you hit the slopes at Copper,” says Roberson, adding, “there is a reason the Woodward Express Lift has a line on the slowest weekday.”

Hilltop Park Crew

Hilltop Ski Area, AK

Last season, the Hilltop park crew levelled up the nonprofit ski area’s offerings, going from a few features to more than 20, says marketing and community development manager Robert DeBerry. The project involved working with professional welder Lane Knaack and the team at Effective Edge to redesign the park with the goal of adding 15 new features each year. The crew embraced training in everything from terrain park work logs to proper grooming and building to accident investigation and risk management. The Hilltop crew “took a small nonprofit ski area with 294' vert based in the heart of Anchorage, Alaska, and elevated our park to a world-class, pro-level terrain park,” says DeBerry, adding that on top of ensuring the park is “always groomed, always smooth and always safe,” the crew also built a beginner progression park. This team includes: Cole Chatwell, Noah Gotthardt, Jared Huffman, Nic Kerby, Dakota McKenzie, Declan Sorich, Matthew Sorich, Jacob Thompson, Aiden Hamming, Josh Martinez, Chris Hunt, O’mar Taylor, Harmony Hirsch, and Sean Bradley.

Killington Park Crew

Killington Resort / Pico Mountain, VT

The Killington park crew, seen here working on the Mouse Run pop-up park, consists of 18 hand crew members and eight machine operators, who build and maintain nearly 200 features each season throughout 10 parks at two mountains. The crew manages unruly East Coast weather to open the resort’s parks as soon as possible and keep them top notch. Team members also take the time to build relationships with local skiers and riders, says social media and communications specialist Austin Roussel. “The connection our crew makes with the local community establishes a creative flow of new ideas for park builds and continuous feature resets to keep the parks fresh and exciting.” The crew includes: Taylor Zink, Jake Chiras, Collin Wolf, Tim Stangel, Harlan Hildebrand, JD Acha, Erin Alexander, Phoenix Crager, Kevin Dalglish, Doug DeLorenzo, Josh Graikoski, Ben Gyulay, Sander Macaulay, Pat Reidy, Faith Robinett, Furi Roy, Anthony Szeliga, and Jake Wlochowski, and cat operators Mike Bouffard, Jake Clark-Trapana, Zac Crowne, Stuart Curry, Joe Kruglak, John Kuhn, Jeremy LeFleur, and Corey Tredtin.

Loon Park Staff

Loon Mountain Resort, NH

“Our crew has consistently held a reputation for world class terrain parks and events for two decades,” says Loon terrain park manager Bryan Harper. “We've pushed the limits on what's possible, while still catering to riders of all abilities. The dedication and attention to detail are completely fueled by passion. These guys put in long days through sunshine, darkness, snow, sleet, rain and they smile through all of it. Our customers know they're getting top notch parks every single year.” The team, pictured here on the morning of “Last Call with Eastern Boarder #22,” includes: Erik Partlow, Mike Mondello, Tom Peplinski, Matt Fiorentino, Seth Learned, Will Vear, Nick Durbano, Cole Michie, Sam Robinson, Austin Roy, AJ Atkinson, AJ Colegate, Jake Kepner, Jeff Albanese, Jack Czarnecki, and Matt Pherson, and Harper. 

Tamarack Crew

Tamarack, ID

Tamarack’s seven diggers and two cat operators maintain three terrain parks at the Idaho ski area. “We are super tight knit, and we are proud of our parks,” says parks supervisor Mason Kennedy. “Great communication between our operators and our hand crew” is key to the team’s success. “Mitch [Herein, park manager] listens to the crew and the public and gives the people what they want,” he says. The crew leverages their different skill levels as riders to better cater to the different skill levels of guests riding in the park, and they are game to meet challenges like building features for the Urban Air big air and rail jam competition held in downtown Boise every New Year’s Eve. In addition to Herein and Kennedy, the crew includes: Sander Paul, Alyssa Kauffman, Wyatt Moran, Tanner Hutchinson, Nate Jepson, Benjamin Bowers, and Andrew Wilson. 

Sugarbush Park Staff

Sugarbush Resort, VT

The Sugarbush terrain park staff works hard and plays hard, as the adage goes. In March 2024, to bring the team together after a challenging season, the crew made a video both highlighting and poking fun at their work. Thus, Sugarbush Landscaping was born. The video is a showcase for the hardworking crew’s sense of humor and a testament to their camaraderie. “After a long hard season, we just wanted to do something funny,” says crew leader Trevor Borrelli. “Everyone was getting ready to head off for summer work, many doing landscaping. So many terrain park videos are of riding, a cat moving snow or sparks flying in the shop. Everyone has seen that. We’re just out here having fun.” The team includes: Borrelli, Robert Gilbertsen, Ryder Whitworth, Jarrod Seavey, Urris White, and Avery Bard.

 

Woodward Eldora Park Crew

Eldora Mountain, CO

The Woodward Eldora park crew consists of five snowcat operators and 10 hand crew members that build and maintain more than 100 features spread across five parks. “One thing that sets this dedicated team apart is our knowledge and experience. Between everyone, we have over 70 years of combined terrain park experience,” says park manager Kevin Sprecher. They hold themselves to a high standard, he says. “We are constantly pushing each other to grow and improve our skill sets so we can further our career paths within the industry.” As stewards of the mountain, they can also be counted on to support other departments because, says Sprecher, “we are all one big team, and that is how we operate and set ourselves apart.” The team includes: Sprecher, Chris Hobson, Beau Baynum, Chase Green, Dom Puzevic, Jeremy Keyser, Derek Reisbeck, Greyson Neff, Arlen Riggs, Aiden Defelice, Tyler Puisello, Heather Hannigan, Cody Neil, Aren Ross, and Damon Jensen.