Yo, everyone who shreds sunapee needs to know that the managment is giving the park crew a tough time about how to run the operation and that everybody who even knows about this mountain needs to send letters and emails about how the park is a lagit part of the mountain and should be expanded, he'res mine...
Dear Mt. Sunapee,
I'm writing this letter concerning the development and safety of your current terrain park. As a freestyle skier I bring the perspective of a skier who uses the terrain park features for their intended purposes, and I use them with responsibility and safety of course.
On the subject of our park development, I think it is great to see the park actually beginning to develop into a larger park in size and ability level. It is appropriate for our park to expand to bigger and better things because of the numbers of freestyle skiers in our area. Large jumps and features will allow local skiers like myself to progress, and will attract other freestyle skiers in the area. It will also allow competitions to be more easily organized and eventful. It will create better skiers and create more business for the mountain too, but it can only grow and develop if it is a safe environment for skiers.
On the subject of safety, I understand that the terrain park is open to the general public, as it should be; however, most of the general public is ignorant of the responsibility needed to ski a terrain park. Too often I see skiers and riders, mostly young and inexperienced skiers with friends and family, come through the terrain park unaware of the necessary organization and rules that keep riders as safe as possible. I see these skiers cutting off people who follow the rules on their turn to hit a feature, skiing in the landings of jumps, jumping off the corners of jumps, and not being ignorant of the dangers that ensue when they are not aware of the skiers around them. It is one of the most dangerous things a skier can do in a terrain park. When skiers ski the park without awareness they are going to get stomped on and injury is inevitable, this is the last thing I want for the inexperienced newcomers to the sport as well as experienced freestyle skiers.
Recently I have also noticed mountain run race teams visiting the terrain park, and most of the time these groups of skiers are organized and aware of the rules of the park, but I have seen the young racers being instructed by a coach race skills and techniques in the terrain park. They made wide sweeping turns across the landings of jumps and around other rail features. That is not the best place to race train, and it is certainly not the safest place to race train. I have no problem with race teams visiting the park to ski the park, I think that’s wonderful, terrain park skiing is a very fun part of the sport, but when they come to the park, they have to come to ski the park not to race. Just like if I were to go run the Nastar gates. I wouldn’t go to the gates to freestyle ski I would go to the gates to race.
My suggestion to fix this problem is to create smaller parks will smaller features that are what the inexperienced skiers are looking for to have some fun with, like the little park that was on Lower Hanson Chase for the last two years. Also you should create more notice of the rules and responsibility of skiing an advanced terrain park. Another idea is to have it required to read the rules of the terrain park in order to obtain a ticket or seasons pass. This way we will have far less danger and far more safety in our terrain park. That will allow the terrain park to grow and develop attracting more of the public and creating more business for the mountain, and it all starts with safety.
Just a concern and idea I had to make our mountain a better safer and more fun place to ski.
Thanks a bunch from a local rider,
Wes Webb
P.S. Tell the park crew to keep it up, me and all my buddies love the new big jump and really appreciate the effort the crew puts in for us. They will make the terrain park really good this year.
so get to it kids! we need some help!
