In regards to Alpine this winter..
yes there will be a pipe...but here's the deal. There is not enough space to have a full on legit superpipe and a legit park together on Kangaroo. Last year both were compromised in scale and quality. Pipe consumes a lot of time and resources compared to park/rails/boxes. The decision was made to start moving away from pipe at Alpine so that we could focus more on maximizing the park on Kangaroo, Nick's and the Ridge. Hence the big investment for pipe at Boreal..a new zaugg, a new cat, and many tens of thousands of dollars in dirtwork. A full on legit pipe would take up over 2/3 of Kangaroo..so then what about the park? The pipe will be shorter in length this year and a little bit more out of the way so that more snow and space and time can be put into the jump line. In addition to the existing jibs we are adding 3 more flat boxes, a house box, a flat/down box and a wallride. here's the total jib line up for this season:
(2)20ft rail
(2)20ft box
(1)24ft rail
(2)24ft box
(1)32ft rail
(1)32ft box
(1)40ft rail
(1)32ft flat/down rail
(1)32ft flat/down box
(1)36ft up/flat/down rail
(1)36ft up/flat/down box
(1)36ft flat/down/flat multi rail(can be set d/f/d)
(1)36ft flat/down/flat multi box(can be set d/f/d)
(1)wallride
The Ridge will be a total jib park.
Roo will be the 5 jump line with more technical jib setups.
Nick's will continue to be the pro line.
The terrain on Kangaroo(steep and not a lot of space) is what it is and we are using it in the manner most appropriate.
On the issue of pass prices. If you hadn't noticed but most if not all weekends the parking lot is full and cars are turned away by 10/11am. I know it sucks and I fought hard over the issue but in the end, basic economics of running a ski area were the deciding factor in pass pricing.
Bottom line however is this..Alpine as a mountain F#$%ing rules and is a heck of a lot cheaper than Squaw(the only other place that compares). And on the park front at Squaw..dont expect much there this year as the main guys from that crew now all work for me at Boreal.
hope this clears some things up.
Later Skaters
Eric