Snowboarder Magazine Superpark 18 Recap

Big method. Big mountain.

Snowboarder Magazine's Superpark is a wrap and like host resort Mt. Hood Meadows it was predictably unpredictable. I can't believe I just wrote that. You know, the weather was a factor, like it always is on Mt. Hood. The features were gigantic and gnarly, as usual. There were even some good mini shred opportunities and a pow morning for good measure. If you want to ignore my unpredictable ramblings and go straight to the hammers, check the videos at Snowboarder.

Before the event even started, the weatherman was calling for a mixed bag. Anyone with an eye on the forecast - as every snowman worth his salt should be - might guess that the schedule could get compressed by a day or two due to rain. With this in mind, every day had to fully count and there was no half-steppin on day 1.

After a quick couple lifts to scope the show, I checked out a session at the Woodward Dam step-up feature. Get an eyeful of this land mass. I can never judge how big things like that are, but the airtime was two to two-and-a-half seconds.

Big dam jump

Dudes were chucking carcass when I got there. I left after an hour or so when they had to do some maintenance. Some bros were spinning and corking as hard as they could. Some went the single cork route. Others didn't spin at all, they just turned their backs to the mountain and grabbed with tweaked out style. It was quite the display.

One thing I don't like about Superpark is I never know who's jumping. You'll notice almost none of my photos have proper credits. Everyone is in full outerwear and it's impossible to tell who's who when they're maching at a jump. It's a little better on the rail features, but it's still pretty quick. Maybe next time I'll bring a two-way radio and listen in on the Snowboarder channel.

The way around that of course was the live webcast. T-Bird and Java Fernandez make it interesting. Now if I had a device that could stream the webcast from the event, that would be the bee's tits or the cat's knees or whatever.

One thing I would not recommend is poaching. I guess the worst that could happen is you get kicked out. I watched that go down on my second lift. No violence at all (at least not in sight). The guy made it up one lift and got shut down by the scanners at the second. Then he got personally escorted (most awkward chair ride ever?) up and out. He would have had to ride past a couple features to get out, but I'm guessing his escort liftie wasn't in good spirits. Maybe if you slip him a Hamilton or some bud he lets you watch for a bit. I don't know. They let my dumb ass in for whatever reason. Apparently all you have to do is tell them you have a blog.

OK, back to the park. Feature number two is the obligatory giant-ass hip (see photo up top). More nameless chucking. It's kind of surreal, really.  Dudes just boosting. Big ole volcano in the background. Watch out for that on the cover of a Snowboarder next volume: big method, big mountain. This year, they didn't have a channel cut out of the hip, so there were some dudes going pretty small, too. Hell, I could have hit it. And that is the only marquee feature I can say that about. Well, I could firecracker the stairs on the rail plaza, does that count? Didn't think so.

Days Two and Three were mostly weather wipeouts. They ran the rail plaza, but not the lifts. Dudes ran around Govy. Drinking, smoking. Street shots, bar shots. Mt. Hood in May. You can plan a pretty picnic, but you can't predict the weather. Outkast. Fitting.

Frank April is also a 5-handicap golfer according to the web commentary.

Day Four, back on the grind. Day four was the day I had other plans, so I caught a little of the webcast. T-Bird and Java with some special guests. Woodward Dam step-up/over/big ass jump. Cool to hear the action and pseudo-play-by-play. I guess that's what it's like. Think of a sports game that usually has announcers, then take the announcers away. That's Superpark. Maybe they need announcers. It would add some personality. It would take away that chill vibe of riding on the hill with your friends, though. As if it ever feels like that with me and my friends. We never hike and session anything, much less 90-footers.

Slim Fast. Do they sell that stuff any more?

The Final Day was when the Woodward 'Slim Fast' jump finally got sessioned. This is the jump that Pat Bridges must have had in mind when he spoke of sending riders "to the moon." This is also the jump that Sage Kotsenburg, him of the gold medal on a sketchy slopestyle course, wondered, "Could that jump be any more dangerous?" I managed to miss this session, but as you can see by the Day Five video (that first hit by Jeremy Page is the Slim Fast [there's also a triple cork and a triple rail transfer in that video, if you're into that]) dudes were sending it and the landing was a bit on the narrow side of optimal. They're pros, though, and they have plenty of options. If they don't feel comfortable with it, they can go to one of the dozen other features on the mountain. There's more giant, photogenic features than the pool at the Playboy Mansion.

To wrap up this already-too-long blog post, Superpark's 18th version had it all. Even weather delays. I've never seen so much next-level terrain packed into one spot, on one lift, in my life. The Superparks at Bachelor always had two lifts worth of terrain to work with. That made Meadows' park feel smaller, but denser. The rail plaza was definitely more limited than previous years, but having it visible from the patio bar was certainly a bonus. Giving the public a free show is always fun, especially when you're taking away one side of the mountain. Many thanks to Gatorade, Woodward, Pisten Bully, Sony ActionCam and all the sponsors. Hopefully Snowboarder decides to give Meadows another shot. I'd love to see what they could do with another year of planning.

Pat Bridges Speaks On Snowboarder Magazine's Superpark 18 At Mt Hood Meadows

20-foot tall channel hips, 100-foot jumps and 10 photogs per feature, standard Superpark

For the last 18 years, Snowboarder Magazine's Superpark has been spring's final party. One last chance for riders to stack footy, shred insane features put together by the top builders in the world and hang out with all their buddies who do likewise. This year the show is coming to snowboarding's traditional summer home, Mt. Hood, but on the other side of the hill from the camp venues: Mt. Hood Meadows.

The captain of this ship is Snowboarder Creative Director Pat Bridges. You can generally find him at whichever feature has the biggest session. He'll be under the shade of a shrubbery-like beard and a Panama straw hat. If he's not barking orders into a radio, he might be upside down with one hand in the snow or on the coping. Yes, he hits the features. He also dishes out advice on inverts and other low-impact riding to any and all assembled. It's a big moment when Pat spots the real deal in a sea full of up-and-comers. He'll give the kid props and invite him to the sunset photo shoot or webcast session. The kid will express his gratitude. He knows this is a big deal. You will see more from this kid in the future and not just in the pages of Pat's magazine.

Here Pat speaks on everything from his favorite Wu-Tang Clan member (Inspectah Deck) to his interest in lunar launch vehicle design and finally his riders to watch at this year's Superpark. Listen up!

BY: What prompted the move to Meadows after three years at Bachelor? They kicked you out, didn't they?

PB: We have never held Superpark at any resort for more than three years in a row. Bachelor was an amazing Superpark partner and I can see us eventually returning there. The reason we change Superpark venues every two-three years is because we want to mix up the terrain opportunities and get some fresh backdrops in front of the lens. On a side note since 1999 Superpark has never not been welcome back at a resort as proven by the fact that Keystone, Lake Louise, Mammoth, Breckenridge and Mt Bachelor have all held the event multiple times. I am proud to say that the resorts have all been more than eager to have Superpark return and at least three of the names I mentioned above approached us about hosting this Superpark but ultimately we decided to give Meadows the opportunity to prove that they have terrain on a par with the more hyped hills.

We're not exactly known for sunshine up here. How much are you concerned with Mt. Hood's notoriously unpredictable weather?

Obviously we aren't ignorant to the fact that Mt Hood isn't known for having the most predictable weather in late Spring. Of course three years ago when we said we were going to bring Superpark to Bachelor our constituents brought up similar concerns. 150 Superpark hours in Oregon later we only missed out on 10 event hours over the course of three years. I am optimistic that the weather will work out just fine.

That's an army of shreds in a small town. What is Govy going to look like during the week? Summer camp week 0 with Cobra Dogs and Volcano Cones?

Because of its importance as the epicenter of Summer shred in North America most of the Superpark attendees from North America have Govy and Mt Hood entrenched in the fabric of who they have become as riders. Being able to come to Govy and hang at Charlies and lap a side of Mt Hood many have never seen before is gonna be real cool.

Meadow's parks are undergoing a bit of a renaissance the last few years with a couple different partnerships. Who else will be building this year and what kind of new features can we expect at Superpark 18?

Keystone, Woodward and Seven Springs are the visiting builders extending their talents to us. The terrain footprint at Meadows is a great mix of mid angle traditional park style slopes and steep valleys lending itself to both conventional features and weird options. As of late SNOWBOARDER has been seeking out poppier takeoffs that allow for better style due to unweighting. This has prompted me to adopt the motto of "Why send riders around the world when you can send 'em to the moon."

These guys can build anything the snow will allow, has there ever been anything you wanted that they couldn't make happen? I heard rumors of a chairlift gap that got shut down.

Chairlift gaps are pretty gimmicky. I am intrigued by saddle features where riders either crossup in the air or are dealt with multiple fall lines so they needn't be on edge either for takeoff or landing.  I also am interested in incorporating more pitch into the deck of hips like you have with halfpipes. If a world class halfpipe has an 18 degree pitch then why not explore that possibility with hips as opposed to the 6-10 degrees you usually see.

Superpark is not open to the general public, how can folks get a look at the madness that's going down? What's the hashtag to follow?

#Superpark18 is a good start. We also have daily galleries and video recaps on Snowboardermag.com, but the best way is to check out the sessions we are webcasting Friday and Saturday from 1-3pm PST [Note: Those in the area can also catch a free exhibition on the Woodward Plaza feature Saturday from noon until 3. It will be visible from the Meadows sun deck, so you don't even need a lift ticket. Just grab a drink and rock out to DJ Matty Mo while the riders do their thing.]

What does a plaza feature look like? I'm glad you asked.

Got any thoughts on who might be riders to watch this year? Which names are we going to hear the most on the webcast?

Roope Tonterri, Ben Ferguson, Louif Paradis, Jamie Lynn, Mikey Leblance, the Mindnichs, Sam Taxwood, Nils Arvidsson, Dylan Thompson, Jess Kimura, Christy Prior… The list is endless.

Who are the top low-impact riders in the field?

Forrest Bailey, Shane Flood and Dustin Craven with Scotty Stevens a distant 4th.

Any kids coming up that you expect big things from, maybe making the transition from The Launch?

This is Ben Ferguson's year to take the standout.

You've ridden everywhere, what do you like about coming up to the northwest and Meadows in particular?

Meadows has character. It is real. Everything in the Northwest is about the line from the top to the bottom, not the bottom line.

***

There you have it. Follow #Superpark18 on all of your favorite social medias (@boredyak, @snowboardermag, @mthoodmeadows), drop by Meadows for the exhibition at the Woodward Plaza feature on Saturday and be sure to check out all the updates on snowboardermag.com including the live webcasts on Friday and Saturday from 1-3pm PST. To the moon!

Jamie Anderson's Vegas Pool Party

Who says snowboarding has nothing to do with Las Vegas? First of all, there's the Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort offering up nearly 200 acres of snowbound fun. If you're itching for a more traditional Vegas experience that just happens to involve snowboarders, get there this Sunday, May 4 (Star Wars Day, May the Fourth be with you) and hang out on the strip at the Azure Luxury Pool at the Palazzo with Jamie Anderson and other Olympic snowboarders. This seems like the sort of thing Sage and Halldor would do. Maybe they've already got another one planned for the dudes. Press release follows (they say she won the half-pipe, I say she won slopestyle. Potato, potato.)

JOIN OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST JAMIE ANDERSON AND HER OLYMPIC SNOWBOARDING FRIENDS AT AZURE LUXURY POOL AT THE PALAZZO® LAS VEGAS

WHAT:                Come celebrate the 2014 season grand opening of Azure Luxury Pool at The Palazzo® Las Vegas with Olympic gold Medalist Jamie Anderson.  After winning the half-pipe competition in the 2014 Winter Olympics, Anderson will be shining that gold in the sun, and celebrating her victory with friends from the US Olympic snowboard team including Kaitlyn Farrington and Chanelle Sladics. Kjersti Buass will also be in attendance. Mix and mingle with the Olympic athletes while enjoying Azure Luxury Pool’s chic and lively atmosphere.

WHEN:                                Sunday, May 4^th

                                Party begins at 1pm

WHERE:             Azure Luxury Pool

The Palazzo Las Vegas

3325 Las Vegas Blvd. S

Las Vegas, NV 89109

Guests must be 21 years of age or older. $20 cover; locals with a Nevada ID receive complimentary admission. Please call 702.767.3724 for additional information and to make reservations for cabanas, daybeds and lounge chairs.