Terrain and Rail Parks Get Season Facelift

Terrain and rail parks are increasingly popular destinations for all sliders, as families look for on-mountain ways to stay and play together, and skiers turn to twin-tips for new challenges. For boarders, the parks continue to evolve in Alberta as the ultimate playgrounds.

The 2007/8 boarding season has seen new developments at Alberta terrain parks, including a decision by Resorts of the Canadian Rockies (RCR) to focus on rail parks rather than big air jumps. If you’ve visited Lake Louise Mountain Resort or Nakiska lately, you’ll notice that the big air jumps have given way to the rail aspect of the parks. RCR officials say it’s a safety issue.

Rails and Rail Jams

“We have found that one of the main issues that increase the likelihood of serious injury on our mountains is big air,” said Matt Mosteller, Senior Director of Business Development for RCR. “When we are making decisions about safety at our resorts, the big jumps in the terrain parks always come into the equation. We decided to make a change.”

But RCR is making an increased investment in new rails and features for its terrain parks. The RCR TELUS Park at Lake Louise Mountain Resort features investment in new features, says Mosteller.

The new rail park format does bring with it an RCR-hosted Rail Jam series suitable for high level competition featured at both Lake Louise Mountain Resort and Nakiska during the 2007/8 season.

RCR has developed its family-friendly terrain parks over the past three seasons. These unique parks, separate from the larger parks, feature small rails, boxes and rollers – encourage learning, safety and fun, say RCR officials.

Nakiska is less than a 50-minute drive from Calgary. Sunshine is in Banff National Park near the town of Banff, less than a 90-minute drive from Calgary, and Lake Louise Mountain Resort near the village of Lake Louise is less than a two-hour drive from Calgary.

Go Grizzly with Sunshine

If you want to go big, Sunshine Village won’t disappoint. Sunshine has increased the size of its Rogers Terrain Park. What’s more, the park has got relentless style, because Sunshine hired tattoo artists to paint the high box. And with Canada’s longest season, stretching until near the end of May, you’ve got time on your side.

Sunshine boosted the size of its Rogers Terrain Park by one-third for early 2008, while adding four more acres of jumps and new features. Skiers and boarders can access 12 full acres of jumps, boxes and rails.

Grizzly’s features range from small to extra-large, including four large and extra large jibs. The highlight is a 24-ft-long by four foot high box, professionally painted by local artists Don Petersen and Anthony Orsatti from New World Samurai Tattoo Studio in Canmore.

“We were approached by Sunshine staff to create a piece for the terrain park and we jumped at the opportunity,” said Petersen. “We’re thrilled with the way it turned out and look forward to doing more work in such a fantastic venue.”

Tim Hyndman, Terrain Park Supervisor, said the park has received extremely positive feedback about the four biggest and boldest jibs ever built at Sunshine. “We’re really excited about all the new features which add so much more to our terrain park experience,” he said.

Rock the Rockies

Otherwise in the Rockies, you’ll find terrain parks at Ski Norquay near Banff, Marmot Basin near the town of Jasper in Jasper National Park, and Castle Mountain Resort near the town of Pincher Creek, about a three hour drive southwest of Calgary.

Jeff Patterson designed the Ski Norquay terrain park, with its back-to-back lines and jib features, providing something for everyone, from amateurs to pros.

The Rogers Terrain Park at Marmot Basin is located just beneath the Basin Run. The park features a variety of table tops, rails and boxes from small to large. Helmets are highly recommended in the park. Marmot Basin conducts various terrain park programs that can help you master your freestyle technique.

Castle Mountain Resort has a terrain park that features hips, spines and quarter pipe, among others. The park is located at the top of the new Huckleberry Chair on Sidewinder. There is a full spectrum of obstacles that allow riders to progress according to skill level.

Slide with City Slickers

Talk about big time in the city. Canada Olympic Park in Calgary features the largest half-pipe in the world. There are more than 20 jib features and several jump lines in the park. There is a Burton Progression Park with an Intermediate line featuring jumps. Minutes from downtown Edmonton, Rabbit Hill boasts the largest local terrain park, which has various boxes, rails and jumps. So you can get your fill of rails, fun boxes and hits. Nearby Snow Valley has the Oliver Terrain Park, with a beginner park and an advanced park. Hidden Valley in Cypress Provincial Park near Medicine Hat has rails and snow obstacles to suit all ages. Vista Ridge near Fort McMurray has rails, snow jumps and features, and it also has a tube park.