Terrain Parks – Not for the Weak at Heart

Are you getting sick of floating gingerly down the hill behind your buddy’s house or trying to perform a 50/50 grind off the front step? Terrain parks give snowboarders the opportunity to Ollie, grind and butter the way they’re supposed to, but it may be a good idea to leave your mommy at home. Mirrored after skateboard parks, terrain parks incorporate obstacles that will provide challenges for beginner and advanced snowboarders alike.

The first terrain park opened in Vail in 1990 and snowboarders from around the globe flocked to it like families to Disneyland. Soon, terrain parks were open across the country with jibs, jumps and verticals varying in degrees of difficulty. Now, it is hard to find a resort without a terrain park within its boundaries and stand alone terrain parks are opening all over.

So what can you expect to find in a terrain park?

Jibs

 Jibs are any type of fixture such as rails, trees, park benches and even mail boxes which can help snowboarders feel more at home without the fear of having to run from the police in their snowboarding equipment. Jibs run parallel or perpendicular to the ground and allow snowboarders to perform a whole slew of tricks.  

Jumps

Unlike jibs, jumps are usually made of nothing but snow on a big mound of dirt and can range anywhere from 5 to 100 feet in height. Snowboarders are able to perform tricks such as grabs, twists and spins while mid-air. Jumps come in a variety of styles such as tabletops, hips and even spines that consist of two landings which allows snowboarders all kinds of gnarly possibilities.

Verticals

Terrain parks, much like your local skate park, also incorporate half-pips and quarter-pipes where snowboarders can perform Alley Oops, backside 720’s and many other tricks that cannot be done anywhere else.

So, what are the best terrain parks in the country? Like anything else, it’s mostly a personal choice, but some of the best snowboarders and snowboarding magazines have put their two-cents in and here they are:

• Keystone Resort – Blaring music and day or night snowboarding allow snowboarders to ravage the jumps, rails and other features at the A51 terrain park.

• Copper Mountain Resort –With multiple terrain parks available to snowboarders of any skill level, it’s no wonder Copper Mountain Resort is a top pick of many of the top snowboarders from around the world.

• Steamboat – Not only does Steamboat offer clinics throughout the year for snowboarders at any level, it is also home of one of the longest superpipes in the world.

Terrain parks are a snowboarder’s heaven and offer patrons the ideal place to break in your new snowboarding equipment. So, if you’re bored with your local ski resort and want some real action, head to the nearest terrain park and show the world what you’re really made of.