Snow parks

Snow parks, sometimes known as terrain parks, offer a true playground for all level of snowboarder, and are designed for freestyle riders. Snow parks contain a range of obstacles that snowboarders navigate; either by sliding down, riding up, jumping or spinning over, as well as various pipes to continuously traverse, or pump, and perform tricks on. Based on the classic skateboard street park, snow parks have developed tremendously since they were first built, with many world-class snow parks boasting creative and unique features and attracting huge numbers of enthusiasts, including skiers, each season.

 

Snow parks were originally designed as a contained area for those practicing the unconventional sport of snowboarding, back in the days before it was welcomed in ski resorts. Today, although the ski slopes are now happily shared by both skiers and riders and snowboarders are a commonplace sight in all resorts, it is the snow parks that many boarders flock to first. Snow parks vary greatly in size, facilities and degrees of difficulty, but generally contain standard equipment, consisting of obstacles such as jibs, vertical and jumps, and are usually well-designed. Jibs are fixtures that can be ridden or jumped over, such as benches, tables, boxes or rails, and are generally made of plastic or metal, whilst jumps are usually made of snow and come in all shapes and sizes. Verticals in a snow park refer to the various pipes - either quarter, half or superpipes - that are made of snow, and constructed using special technology and machinery. Pipes in a snow park allow the rider to built up high speeds and perform a series of tricks and aerial jumps.   

 

Some of the best European snow parks can be found in Switzerland and France, with world-class parks in Laax and Avoriaz being the most highly-rated, and other good choices for established snow parks including Tignes, Meribel and Val d'Isere. Also popular are snow parks in Livigno in Italy, and Mayrhofen and Westendorf in Austria. The US is home to some outstanding and award-winning snow parks, including those in Breckenridge, Keystone, Mammoth, Squaw Valley, Copper Mountain and Northstar at Tahoe, and Whistler and Lake Louise in Canada.