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April, 2024

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A way to make everyones park better

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Alkyy
Posts: 2839 - Karma: 149

As the parks grow in our country the amount of traffic in the parks is crazy, we need a solution.  Im sure you are all familiar with the recent accident that happened in the Breck park.  If not, a 33 year old doctor from Kansas(I think) who I’m guessing rides in the single digits every year, died after hitting a jump in the medium park.  Last year the RCR mountains decided they would not have jumps anymore because of a huge lawsuit from an inexperienced rider who got hurt in one of their parks.  These are just two of many accidents that happen from inexperienced and uneducated riders (gapers Joeys whatever you want to call them).

As funny and crazy we all think it is think if the girl in the “switch seven little girl tap” would have been 2 feet lower on the landing.  He would have killed a 5 year old girl.  Would it have been his fault? No not at all.  Would he be able to live with what he did?  Probably not.

Not only do the gapers get hurt because of their actions.  There have been many times when a park rat will get hurt because of the actions of someone else.  Last year I watched as a friend was dropping into an average sized table landed a smooth 5 before he could turn his head to see where he was going he collided with a mid aged woman who felt the best place on the mountain to stand would be just at the bottom of the landing.

Not only can they be dangerous but they are just annoying.  After calling your drop and doing everything else right just to drop in an have a random hero come out of nowhere, snake your drop and hitting the side of the jump sucks.

There is a solution… Its easy, It has been done at select mountains and I’m sure you have all wanted one at your mountain.  Park passes!  The only mountain I know in the East that has one in use is Stratton.  The last time I was there it was simple, Go sit in a hut and listen to a member of the park staff talk for about 20 minutes then your good to go for the day.

My idea…Why not try to get a nationwide park pass?  Sure it most likely wouldn’t work so well the first few years but eventually I could see it catching on.  Almost every mountain has the “Smart Style” program with the same signs, same messages and everything.  They could help bring a change.  Why not have a system where you could register with your own home mountain park staff, that once your in the system you would be good for the year no matter what mountain you go to.  When you buy a ticket just say that you are in the system for their park pass, show your ID or other another pass that has the park pass on it and you would be good.  It would have to be certified by the “smart style” or some other organization.  If an individual Mountain wants extra instruction then fine but you would have to at least have the national certification.

What do you think? If NS got behind this I think it could help bring a change.  Its hard to tell if it would do anything but why not try.  It cant hurt.

Oh yeah, i know my thoughts jump around alot and some of it probably isnt great on grammer and all that but you can get the idea....

Jan 23 2008 6:00PM
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papasteeze
Posts: 12055 - Karma: 911
imagine how bad it would be with out them.  think man.,  think!
Jan 23 2008 9:36PM
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sneaky
Posts: 349 - Karma: 10
yup, crack is expensive, oooooh camera!
Jan 23 2008 9:39PM
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Celone
Posts: 1998 - Karma: 114
i think there should also be like levels for the park pass, so that the gapers who suck at park but want to learn can go to the smaller park but not the bigger park, etc. with like amateurs and expert park riders
Jan 23 2008 9:41PM
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Tex.
Posts: 1106 - Karma: 124
thats why the people that ski the park every day has to help monitor things.. if you see somebody that you think doesn't belong in the park then ask if they have a park pass... the passes would need to have print on them so you could tell but it would be easy for the ns community to enforce the pass if it was implemented..
Jan 23 2008 9:41PM
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Schoening
Posts: 14332 - Karma: 1,266
At Stevens Pass in Washington they added a park pass. I think its been reallyyy good so far. Its soo esy for mountains to add this I don't see why they don't. However I wish ours cost a bit more.......
http://https://newschoolers.com/web/content/viewcult/action/news/id/4106/jid/911/eid/2184/

(that link pretty much shows you all you need to do at stevens pass)^



Jan 23 2008 9:45PM
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Lax_Bro40
Posts: 5166 - Karma: 18
there really isnt even a diffrence. we even charge 3 bucks for ours. they just dont pay attention during the video and then go through the park thinking they know what they are doing and own the mountain. and yell at us if we crash into them even though its their fault. some dude from NYC threatened to stab me with his pole and knock me out and when i stood up he realized i was like 6 inches taller and bigger than him and he skied away. i fucking hate gaypers... soooo much all you who ski at jiminy know what im talking about too
Jan 23 2008 9:48PM
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pbandj
Posts: 5610 - Karma: 28
papa you know people at peak resorts inc. tell them to get their shit together, although i ski mainly during the week cause it's the only time i have off, i still get snaked at mount snow and almost killed a little girl coming off the second jump in un blanco, we can't see the bottom of the landing, i usually sit there for a minute to make sure no one is below, i don't want to feel responsible for killing some little girl by decapitating her with the edge of my ski, nor do i want to scream at any more gapers for being retarded and sitting in the landings
Jan 23 2008 9:54PM
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ginty
Posts: 1073 - Karma: 163
my mtn. is so bad, i think thats an awesome idea that every mountain should have a park pass. to many injuries happen in the due to negligence of inexperienced skiers/riders who don't follow the rules. A few weeks ago i was come off a trap box switch with the landing that is semi hidden by a hill, but was total clear when i started to hop on to the box, and some woman and her two kids decided the landing would be a great stop for a break thankfully i avoided the children, caught the ski of the mother and as a result i fell and had a nice head ache for the rest of the day, but to make matters worse,  you think this bitch would apologize and realize her mistake, NO! she told me to learn the rules of the mountain and that people in the park are safety hazards to her and other skiers who actually use the mountain, I tried to explain to the woman so she would not make the same mistake again but she did want to hear it. With out these people in the park, the park would be a much safer place for both park rats and the gapers.
holy shit i typed alot, ha
Jan 23 2008 10:02PM
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papasteeze
Posts: 12055 - Karma: 911
word man word..   for sure, I will say something.
Jan 23 2008 10:05PM
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Microcosm
Posts: 4765 - Karma: 153
Look before you leap is great, but is it sensible to ski down, check the jump, and hike back up? I guess it works if you have a buddy who's with you but still.. yadamean?
Jan 23 2008 10:32PM
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LINEminimodel
Posts: 12 - Karma: 10
how would they monitor who had a park pass or not
Jan 23 2008 10:38PM
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SkiMN
Posts: 4005 - Karma: 38
Yes and no. At our mountain it seems to some that park brings in more money by attracting people who, for lack of a better word, suck. Basically its the only way to have a decent park in the midwest. The park pass would be the quickest way to kill it, because the hills lose a reason to have a park.

Out west, yes. As long as anybody who is interested and willing to listen to somebody talk for a while or something can get one. We don't have anything big enough to warrant a park pass, and we have no kiddie park or a space to put one. Now at Breck, where a whole shitload of parks work up to freeway, yes.
Jan 23 2008 10:50PM
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-justice-
Posts: 1808 - Karma: 37
i like this idea but the resorts need to be behind it 100%.  At Snoqualmie the "fence" around the park is a strip of fluorescent orange ribbon that you can easily duck without being seen.  I was up there last weekend and after about 4pm there was no one checking passes and I almost took out a little kid in the landing of a jump.
Jan 23 2008 11:24PM
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Rosbif
Posts: 2543 - Karma: 930
We have a pass system at Winter Park for the biggest park, but you still get tons of tourists nailing themselves in the smaller parks. I don't think a pass system would work for those parks as the number of people going through would make checking the passes a nightmare.Also, I like to take the kids I teach through the smaller parks, and parents would probably not get them passes, making their lessons less fun. Not to mention that if skiers of a lower level of skill and commitment use the parks safely they can have a good time (without pissing regular park users off), who are we to take that away from them?

I think better signage really could help, if gapers had actually step round a MASSIVE sign telling them how dangerous the park can be, surely some would be put off, the rest might be better informed, thus safer. I kind of liked what they had at Remarks in NZ as well, it was basically a very large mound you had to side step up to access the bigger park, a lot of punters (Aussie in this case, rather than texan, pretty much the same though) are rubbish at sidestepping and lazy so didn't bother.



Jan 23 2008 11:45PM
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SushiMan
Posts: 1269 - Karma: 424
yeah snoqualmie one does not work, they only check on Saturday and Sunday during the day only, ive never seen them check during the night yet. and they dont even do a good job during the day.

one night i was a doing a butter box and right on my last butter spin off it, i see a snowboarder coming at me 50-50, it freaked me out, and right as i coming off the front of his board ran into my hamstring and it hurt like a bitch. i was about to fucking beat him up with my poles,
then like a min later when i was at the top of the in run for a jump a snowboarder comes mobbing down, out of control, face plants, and then rotates on his back and slowly slides towards me, so i had to ski down to move out of the way, but he doesnt stop and he literally keeps following me on his back.
sooo madd
Jan 24 2008 12:22AM
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-dva-
Posts: 1530 - Karma: 23

definitely an excellent idea.  the organization behind the "smart style" signs is the national ski areas association.  if anyone has the potential to put together this kind of program, its them.  my advice would be to write/email them your opinions.  if newschoolers as a community really wants to make a difference, then i think this would be the most effective way.

the contact list is here: http://www.nsaa.org/nsaa/home/contacts.asp

here is what i wrote (sent to anng@nsaa.org and wendyg@nsaa.org).  feel free to use this as a form letter, change it, whatever.  the more people that contact them, the better.

Ms. George and Ms. Guyerson:

As a concerned member of the skiing community, I believe that despite the efforts of programs such as Smart Style, and those of individual mountains, our terrain parks are not as safe as they should (and could easily) be.

As a result of unfortunate incidents that have taken place, a number of resorts in the Unites States and Canada are removing jumps from their terrain parks, which is a sad step knowing that these accidents could often be easily avoided.  I have also had the unfortunate personal experience of both witnessing and partaking in collisions with other skiers and riders who are not utilizing the features correctly, despite following all of the guidelines myself.

One solution is the option of park passes, which many resorts are beginning to adopt nationwide.  The support for such actions is overwhelming, and it is the opinion of many that such precautions should be taken at all ski areas.  For evidence, you do not need to look any farther than www.newschoolers.com, an online freeskiing forum with over 100,000 members from all over the world.  I have also included a link below this message for a specific discussion of this issue.

We, as a community, believe that there should be a standard set for all mountains involving the mandatory implementation of park passes.  Who better to organize this than the group that created Smart Style?  I personally feel that many resorts have not pursued such actions due to the additional work that it would require to develop materials and standards on their own.  If the National Ski Areas Association produced a video, test, or both, and distributed these materials to member resorts, a new standard in terrain park education and safety could be set.  This would allow a skier or snowboarder to pass a test at one mountain, receive a Smart Style certification card, and then have the ability to present this card as a valid park pass at any participating resort (rather than having to go through the trouble of retaking a different test).  With this system, everyone wins, as the parks become a safer environment for people to ride.

As the executive and education contacts for NSAA, please take this into consideration, and feel free to forward this email to anyone in your organization who might be able to take action towards solving this problem.

Thank you for your time.

Daniel von Allmen

Discussion of standardized park pass link:
https://newschoolers.com/web/forums/readthread/thread_id/344734/

Jan 24 2008 12:23AM
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DaysToCome
Posts: 1601 - Karma: 86
word keystone has way too many gapers. all the families take their kids through and ride the lift and shit. gay sauce
Jan 24 2008 12:39AM
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hoodSlayer
Posts: 900 - Karma: 7
HA! that made me laugh
Jan 24 2008 1:10AM
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RudyGarmisch
Posts: 25443 - Karma: 13,844
Heres my two cents:

A park pass is great. It really is. But its absolutely pointless if the park staff and ski patrol do not enforce the rules and commitments required for one. Here at Stevens Pass, WA, I've seen countless douchebags duck the fence to get into the park and seen numerous little kids hang out with their mom, buttering over the takeoffs to rails. Fuck that. A park pass is only as good as the park crew that enforces it. And kudo's to the people that shout and yell at idiots from the lift and shit, we seriously, as a community, need to get people to stop being retards in the park. Anything to get people to act sensibly is good for everyones safety.
Jan 24 2008 1:20AM
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JstHuckIt
Posts: 422 - Karma: 16
I don't know man...due to these liabilities, it would just be easier for the mt. to get rid of the park....at our park we already aren't allowed to go inverted or are pass gets pulled...and every jump must be approved and managed/watched at all times...
Jan 24 2008 1:22AM
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3ski6guy0
Posts: 9201 - Karma: 132
it would be nice if at the top of the big parks there was someone who checked park passes. i remember winter park starting doing it for a few big jumps and it was pretty empty. that mightve been because they made you pay 20 bucks which was bullshit but ya...it could work. if NS sponsored something like this i think it would be great. it shows that we do care and we arent all careless assholes
Jan 24 2008 1:25AM
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michael_bc
Posts: 1317 - Karma: 419
it's illegal to duck ropes
you have to be a middle-aged man in order to buy alcohol legally
you can't ski fast, often you can't ski switch

and now you want a pass system to check on who's allowed to ride park??


fuck the USA.
I understand this is a country full of retards and texans, but YOU SUCK.
I've been traveling in the USA for 3 weeks now and the amount of control and regulations is making me throw up. Free country my ass.

Let natural selection do it's thing. It will improve your gene pool. You need it.
Jan 24 2008 1:34AM
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Sharko
Posts: 2274 - Karma: 4,101
EXACTLY, the entrance to the park should be a little kicker, just a tiny one, like 5 feet even, over a gap. So even the NOOB-iest of NOOBs can jump it as along as they have an interest in trying. But, kids and families who want to check their speed and then lazily roll over the lips of jumps will fall in the gap. The gap is a 30 foot drop onto a conveyor belt that dumps them in the ocean.
Jan 24 2008 2:24AM
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mmallender.
Posts: 5805 - Karma: 936
for sure the conveyor part bit, but rather than just a plain kicker, do it with a step up, it doesn't have to be big at all, but I know for a fact that the majority of those with no desire of hitting anything would just say fuck it, and leave. And those who don't but still suck that bad, tough luck, you can't clear the step up, have fun. haha
Jan 24 2008 2:57AM
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Sleet
Posts: 327 - Karma: 13
agree
Jan 24 2008 2:59AM
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mmallender.
Posts: 5805 - Karma: 936
Or what about just enforcing our own park pass system at all our mountains haha. I could see it now, -"Excuse me sir, are you and your family going to do anything other than ride off the sides of the lips and sit in the landings of the kickers?"
-"Uhhhhh I guess not"
-"GET THA FUCK OUTTA HEREEE"

hahaha
Jan 24 2008 3:04AM
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Shorton
Posts: 2889 - Karma: 13
definatly a good idea, it'd make the park a safer place.
Jan 24 2008 5:56AM
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puhiS
Posts: 218 - Karma: 10
great idea.
funny story.
and a retarded family...
Jan 24 2008 6:53AM
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unchyll
Posts: 4554 - Karma: 96
IMO i think park passes are stupid,  its just gonna be another way that resorts will steal even more money i mean fuck i can hardly afford a season pass on my own, idunno i think that the orange signs at the top of the park should be able to hold people liable for breaking them selfs so when they do get wrecked they cant come at the resorts with lawsuits and bitching
Jan 24 2008 7:25AM
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papasteeze
Posts: 12055 - Karma: 911

I think if you want to ride a park you should get that pass at that resort.  every park is different. one hill here in PA doesn't have jumps bigger than 20' and it requires a pass - I would want some one who hasn't hit anything bigger than 20' to seriously sit and think about bigger features at other resorts. 

Wil1 it be a huge hassle?  you bet!  will it stop tons of needless issues? absolutely!  

A  national pass, what? is it going to require a photo?..  Naaaa.. it's another beauracracy (sp) that will end up having to charge too much to manage the information and then how is the local resort going to get their cut for staffing to check the passes.

 there are already organizations....... I would think/hope that something like a  USSA- CFSA-USASA freestyle membership card would already qualify people to get a park pass at the ticket window anywhere.  

Jan 24 2008 8:46AM
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michelle
Posts: 6290 - Karma: 428
None of you have any idea how bad a park really is until you ski Bradford in Massachusetts.

I work there as park crew and I have to literally stand on our one and only jump to make sure people don't go off.

I had a father sending his fucking four year old son off the jump (who was riding pizza with those connector things that hold the skis tips together), he would ride over the lip, then go down the backside to his face, every fucking time. Next time they came around, I was standing on the jump and the father asks..

Him: "Is the jump open anymore?"
Me: It's open, but not for your son, sorry
Him: "And why not?"
Me: How old is he?
Him: "Four years old, why?"
Me: He's four years old, and he's obviously not even experienced enough to be riding in the park. If you really want him going down this trail, I strongly suggest you head over to the other side where there are no features
Him: "He can ski where he wants, who are you to tell us otherwise"

And it was on and on and finally the fucker and his kid left. It was fucking ridiculous he was even letting his kid go near the jump. And I get parents like that all the time.

Oh, and all the little shits yell at us to "move the fuck out of the way" when we're rebuilding jumps and such. Are you fucking with me?

The riders who go there every night are amazingly skilled riders, and they keep tabs on everyone too, yelling at and discouraging people who obviously should not be anywhere near the park. I think I spend half my time there yelling at people to get off the landings.. I didn't even get to take one run on my skis yesterday because I was too busy keeping little kids in line.



BUT, there are only 7 trails at Mt Bradford, and the park is what brings in about 90% of their money, so if we implement park passes, there would be not more Bradford.

Sorry for the rant, it was just really bad yesterday. Haha.

Oh, and a nation wide park pass would be fucking sick, just please include us!!!



Jan 24 2008 10:07AM
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skiRay
Posts: 7558 - Karma: 926
i really like this idea and had a very similar one of my own.. steezyjibber and i had the idea to make the park passes around $20 so gaypers wouldnt have the accessable low price of $3 and get one very easily (Jiminy Peak).. that way the price would not only prevent joeys from trashing the side of the jumps, but also, the money could be used in funding new park features... 
Jan 24 2008 10:30AM
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yeahitsdave
Posts: 1315 - Karma: 10
 a nationwide pass would be pricy and probably a bit of a pain to get together, but what about a state par pass? or a regional, or something along those lines? and a graduated system would be great too, with a cheaper pass for smaller parks, and a more serious one for bigger ones? would save a huge headache
Jan 24 2008 10:58AM
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gab_mori7
Posts: 1099 - Karma: 55
Park pass became common in quebec
At my home mountain you pay 15$, there is a person at the entrance of the park during the WHOLE day, even when its raining, checking parkpass, you need to be 18 or to get a parents to sign for you, so it keep school group out of the park. It is really great.
We still have a kid park open to anyone. serioulsly a park pass worth it if you have someone to check it.

But it create another problem. I ski always at the same mountain, but I know people who ski always different places. park pass are between 10 and 20$. Since the beginning of the year, i've spend 25$ on park pass, and I'm sure I can get to 50$ by the end of the season.
So the new solution is to get provincial, nation, universall park pass


Jan 24 2008 11:38AM
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fivefootthree
Posts: 371 - Karma: 31
get rid of the family skiers
there a pain in the ass
Jan 24 2008 1:15PM
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fivefootthree
Posts: 371 - Karma: 31
that makes a lot of sense
that would be better than an all out national pass
Jan 24 2008 1:20PM
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Mooose...
Posts: 1807 - Karma: 77
sounds good to me
Jan 24 2008 1:25PM
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CerpinTaxt
Posts: 79 - Karma: 10
A buddy of mine crushed a little kid last year as he crossed the landing of a jump. The kid was ok, but my buddy was out for 2 months with a broken collar bone.
Jan 24 2008 2:12PM
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PASKIINGSUCKS
Posts: 9097 - Karma: 777
The whole nationwide or statewide pass would be sick for sure.

I've got a side comment that is a little bit of a step back but on the same topic. I know it might be intrusive but why don't they put big bright signs at/near lips and landings that say "HEY DUMBASS DON'T STAND HERE" or something. For all the gapers I've seen standing on the lip/landing I have never seen a sign like this. Granted it is probably on the safety signs at the top of the park, but I'm talking like clear as day right off the side of the landing(out of the way of course). That way if some dad is bitching at you for telling his kid to get off the landing you could just tell him to suck it and point to the sign.
Jan 24 2008 2:16PM
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Pirruccio
Posts: 1301 - Karma: 70
im gunna start telling gaypers whats up
not be a dick
just be like
look im looking out for you and my self
does it matter if you ski here or a begginer trail?
please dont ski here
Jan 24 2008 2:23PM
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PASKIINGSUCKS
Posts: 9097 - Karma: 777
They could put the "7 to little girl bonk" vid clip in the park passes video, that would get some attention and keep some kids from standing in the landing.
Jan 24 2008 2:25PM
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BEARS.
Posts: 5380 - Karma: 696
or you could just scare the fuck outta them by wearing 4xl pants below your knees. then starting a rap battle.
Jan 24 2008 2:33PM
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Pirruccio
Posts: 1301 - Karma: 70
best idea yet
Jan 24 2008 2:37PM
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Microcosm
Posts: 4765 - Karma: 153
that would be hilarious and useful.

I think the vibe of the park has a lot to do with it too. Looking at where some parks are set up and how you can sort of tell at the entrance if it's going to "scare off" someone who doesn't know what they're doing. Anyone getting this?


Jan 24 2008 3:54PM
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skiP.E.I.
Posts: 7617 - Karma: 20,175
that is an awesome idea. Brookvale PEI is even getting a park pass enxt year and it is TINY. it will be so awesome, but kinda suck because if I want to go home for a break to PEI then I won't be able to hit the park, because I wouldn't have a pass, so a universal one would kick ass, If you could just prove you know how to be safe in the park.
Jan 24 2008 4:06PM
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skiblandford
Posts: 1503 - Karma: 2
search bar
Jan 24 2008 4:07PM
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Celone
Posts: 1998 - Karma: 114
i still say that we have like a ranked pass, like be able to get a park pass for like expert amateur and beginner park, so that if you suck but you wanna try park then you can get a pass for beginner park, and same for opposite

sure it is a pain to do, but its totally worth it. maybe youd have to fill out an information paper and a waiver to be able to choose your pass
Jan 24 2008 6:31PM
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fivefootthree
Posts: 371 - Karma: 31
like a real steep section or moguls or something right at the entrance so the little kids get scared  and dont go in
Jan 24 2008 7:33PM
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jacobg
Posts: 255 - Karma: 14
i go to a small mountain in the east called butternut. they require park passes and it has worked a little
Jan 24 2008 7:37PM
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