For something different, check out Ripley up in Houghton. There isn't any separate
park, because really the whole mountain is a park. There are tons of natural
terrain features that make nice hits, and you get a variety because of it that you won't
find in any park. we can build up whatever we want wherever we want too, so there's
no limits except what we can come up with.
perfect example: two seasons ago, we had just gotten the snowmaking equipment, and
there were these two HUGE piles off to one side of the hill that just sat for about a month.
They were about 20-25 ft tall and the peaks were 70 ft apart, minimum. One day, we
were up on the first one carving out a quarter pipe, and this dude Mario (who's actually a
patroller) rolls up, looks at it, asks us if we're gapping them. One thing led to another, and
pretty soon we're helping him build a kicker next to our quarter for him to do this gap with.
It was one of those things every one of us must have thought about looking at those piles
every day, but it went unspoken because of the sheer madness it would take to try. So by dusk,
Mario is taking a practice run, straiightlining from 3/4 up the hill, and decides it's good to
go. Got the shit on video, it's the sickest thing EVER, in the air forever, 40 ft off the ground
at midpoint............ lands right top of the second peak and blows up. Patrol was right there
the whole time; he thought he could do it, they let him try it at his own risk and went to see
if he needed help right away. No 'that's too dangerous, we're gonna bust it' bullshit.
Ripley rules.
'my style's kinda phat, reminiscent of a whale...'
-Q-Tip
ain is temporary, Glory's forever:::
