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Breckenridge’s Park Lane Done?

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Film.
Posts: 2631 - Karma: 2,462
https://www.summitdaily.com/news/breckenridge-ski-resort-plans-to-replace-its-50-year-old-two-person-lift-5-chair-with-a-high-speed-quad/
Seeing posts on their instagram @breckparks that many think this is the end of park lane.

If so truly a tragedy and one of the most legendary terrain parks that revolutionized the sport.

Pour one out
Apr 17 2023 11:08AM
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weastcoat
Posts: 6218 - Karma: 70,835
bro whaaaa

Vail squashing yet another park smh
Apr 17 2023 11:28AM
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eheath
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Why didn't you make a thread when they got rid of Freeway?
Apr 17 2023 11:29AM
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Film.
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eheathWhy didn't you make a thread when they got rid of Freeway?

Because park lane was still there, looks like both could now be gone.
Apr 17 2023 11:48AM
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The.Fish
Posts: 2269 - Karma: 4,988
Just because there is a chairlift doesn’t mean they can’t put a park on it. They just will have to build jumps 4,5,6 off to the side or move park lane to a different trail.
Apr 17 2023 11:53AM
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foolmetwice
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They have said that one of the benefits of this lift will be better access for park users
Apr 17 2023 11:54AM
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Film.
Posts: 2631 - Karma: 2,462
foolmetwiceThey have said that one of the benefits of this lift will be better access for park users

That’s not what people are posting and what their instagram account is reposting on their stories.
Apr 17 2023 11:59AM
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christianwearsch
Posts: 214 - Karma: 1,580
A buddy of mine is ski patrol at Breck and he confirmed they are completely getting rid of the park. Your suspicions are confirmed. My last time skiing their park will likely be this Saturday (if it’s even open). Sad to see

**This post was edited on Apr 17th 2023 at 12:48:01pm
Apr 17 2023 12:43PM
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eheath
Posts: 61261 - Karma: 120,324
Film.Because park lane was still there, looks like both could now be gone.


freeway is far more iconic IMO but the writing has been on the wall since dew tour left Breck, parks don't make profit unfortunately.
Apr 17 2023 12:46PM
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Film.
Posts: 2631 - Karma: 2,462
christianwearschA buddy of mine is ski patrol at Breck and he confirmed they are completely getting rid of the park. Your suspicions are confirmed. My last time skiing their park will likely be this Saturday (if it’s even open). Sad to see

**This post was edited on Apr 17th 2023 at 12:48:01pm

LDOH was yesterday.



Damn man that’s horrible news.
Apr 17 2023 2:22PM
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christianwearsch
Posts: 214 - Karma: 1,580
They’re open far into May, that’s too bad. I was excited for some slushy park laps. Abasin can have my money instead
Apr 17 2023 2:34PM
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Film.
Posts: 2631 - Karma: 2,462
christianwearschThey’re open far into May, that’s too bad. I was excited for some slushy park laps. Abasin can have my money instead

Copper is also going to have central open this weekend then moving to a smaller park off Eagle till May as well.
Apr 17 2023 2:39PM
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eheath
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christianwearschThey’re open far into May, that’s too bad. I was excited for some slushy park laps. Abasin can have my money instead


yeah this is the worst part about it all, theyve done this the last couple years, open late but take the park out in april, its just a slap in the face of the CO park skiers, obviously y'all are moving on to different areas.
Apr 17 2023 2:44PM
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mattytru
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It is quite a shame. I think Park Lane was more iconic than Freeway and was more relatable for most park skiers. Curious what next year will look like...
Apr 17 2023 4:06PM
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scratchskier321
Posts: 2556 - Karma: 1,321
eheathyeah this is the worst part about it all, theyve done this the last couple years, open late but take the park out in april, its just a slap in the face of the CO park skiers, obviously y'all are moving on to different areas.


all of us who created demand for parks in the first place are 30 or 40 now... I'm not sure the next generation of kid skiers even want to ski park?
Apr 17 2023 4:33PM
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eheath
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scratchskier321all of us who created demand for parks in the first place are 30 or 40 now... I'm not sure the next generation of kid skiers even want to ski park?


go on tiktok/instagram and you'll see there are plenty of young kids skiing park.

park skiing was never profitable, the demand was a weird 90s/00s extreme sports phase that fizzled out hard by the time social media came around. it was basically an add on for most western resorts, usually driven by slopestyle/halfpipe events. resort managers like Vail aren't interested in the liability and saving few 100k is a drop in the bucket, but every cent matters to a profit driven business.

seems like there is a ton of drive for park skiing, especially on NS and at smaller resorts, but its not on a pedestal like it used to be in the 2000s.
Apr 17 2023 4:48PM
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Film.
Posts: 2631 - Karma: 2,462
scratchskier321all of us who created demand for parks in the first place are 30 or 40 now... I'm not sure the next generation of kid skiers even want to ski park?

Besides vail resorts nuking their parks id say the emergence of all Woodward facilities shows the sports growing.
Apr 17 2023 6:36PM
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foolmetwice
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eheathgo on tiktok/instagram and you'll see there are plenty of young kids skiing park.

park skiing was never profitable, the demand was a weird 90s/00s extreme sports phase that fizzled out hard by the time social media came around. it was basically an add on for most western resorts, usually driven by slopestyle/halfpipe events. resort managers like Vail aren't interested in the liability and saving few 100k is a drop in the bucket, but every cent matters to a profit driven business.

seems like there is a ton of drive for park skiing, especially on NS and at smaller resorts, but its not on a pedestal like it used to be in the 2000s.

rich kids want to ski through the park and see cool tricks on cool features. Maintaining your parks makes your ski area more attractive for visiting families. I think this is what will preserve parks at the big resorts
Apr 17 2023 10:23PM
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eheath
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foolmetwicerich kids want to ski through the park and see cool tricks on cool features. Maintaining your parks makes your ski area more attractive for visiting families. I think this is what will preserve parks at the big resorts


i really wish this was the case, its definitely not man.
Apr 17 2023 10:24PM
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foolmetwice
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Film.That’s not what people are posting and what their instagram account is reposting on their stories.


that ig definitely isn’t affiliated with breck in any official capacity and I listened to a podcast with their vp from this spring and she said the lift would be an improvement for park users, mayb she was full of shit tho
Apr 17 2023 10:25PM
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Farmville420
Posts: 4287 - Karma: 54,147
eheathfreeway is far more iconic IMO but the writing has been on the wall since dew tour left Breck, parks don't make profit unfortunately.

True, that's why vail stock is down and Alterra (primarily resorts that have woodward parks) is doing astronomically well compared to them
Apr 18 2023 12:07AM
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Trifes
Posts: 644 - Karma: 5,466
scratchskier321all of us who created demand for parks in the first place are 30 or 40 now... I'm not sure the next generation of kid skiers even want to ski park?


yeah the scene started to grow again over the last years.
Apr 18 2023 4:46AM
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partyandBS
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Lol i was lightly involved in the process and confirm there will absolutely be a comparable park to park lane that is accessed by the new 5 chair. Don’t fret.
Apr 18 2023 11:55AM
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christianwearsch
Posts: 214 - Karma: 1,580
partyandBSLol i was lightly involved in the process and confirm there will absolutely be a comparable park to park lane that is accessed by the new 5 chair. Don’t fret.


I’m getting mixed messages. I was told they’re just turning it into another groomed run. But glad to hear it’s not completely done
Apr 18 2023 4:02PM
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skierman
Posts: 8211 - Karma: 6,589
eheathWhy didn't you make a thread when they got rid of Freeway?


Because 99% of the kids on this site are too fucking pussy to have hit the Freeway jump line.
Apr 18 2023 5:20PM
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partyandBS
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skiermanBecause 99% of the kids on this site are too fucking pussy to have hit the Freeway jump line.


That shit was huge!! I would straight air the first jump only lol. Unless you’re a training comp jock, people were rarely in there. Even when all the pros were going to breck in their Dew Tour era they were still mostly be in park lane. People dub jump 6 all the time. Unless your going for triples, freeway was pretty obsolete.

there were talks about removing the zip line above freeway so that would allow for features to be placed there again if it were to happen. It sags to low. Unless you’re pat goodnough. Then it sags just right 😆
Apr 18 2023 7:25PM
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skierman
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partyandBSThat shit was huge!! I would straight air the first jump only lol. Unless you’re a training comp jock, people were rarely in there. Even when all the pros were going to breck in their Dew Tour era they were still mostly be in park lane.


You have no fucking idea. Maybe its because you're a pussy who spent most of his time in the pussy park and when you noticed someone, you assumed they were there for most of the time.
Apr 18 2023 7:33PM
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partyandBS
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skiermanYou have no fucking idea. Maybe its because you're a pussy who spent most of his time in the pussy park and when you noticed someone, you assumed they were there for most of the time.


Lol there was only one entrance to both parks. So it was blatantly obvious how many people were going over there from my perch atop the pussy park.
Apr 18 2023 8:47PM
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Rparr
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I bruised both of my heels knuckling the freeway jump line lmao. Still traumatized 10 years later
Apr 19 2023 12:43PM
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hotdog.
Posts: 2876 - Karma: 120
skiermanBecause 99% of the kids on this site are too fucking pussy to have hit the Freeway jump line.


pretty much.

Remember when kings crown at PC would get built to the absolute moon and no one would ride it... As an east coast kid I was always stoked to get to ride that solo vs join the mob scene down by the halfpipe
Apr 19 2023 3:40PM
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Film.
Posts: 2631 - Karma: 2,462
partyandBSLol i was lightly involved in the process and confirm there will absolutely be a comparable park to park lane that is accessed by the new 5 chair. Don’t fret.

Comparable scares me with vail resorts. They’d likely argue A-51 is comparable right now as it was in 2015 when everyone knows that’s not true.



guess we will see
Apr 19 2023 8:49PM
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iH8pow
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Does Breck have any park left this season? Just got some new Nomads I really wanna try out, Vail closes this weekend and not sure if Breck will be worth it if no park.
Apr 19 2023 9:43PM
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partyandBS
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iH8powDoes Breck have any park left this season? Just got some new Nomads I really wanna try out, Vail closes this weekend and not sure if Breck will be worth it if no park.


Naw. Shoulda got an ikon cause copper, abasin, wp all got parks still open. And powdr corp is on ikon and they doubled down on parks by acquiring woodward when VR took some lengthy strides back from parks.
Apr 19 2023 9:53PM
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Trifes
Posts: 644 - Karma: 5,466
partyandBSThat shit was huge!! I would straight air the first jump only lol. Unless you’re a training comp jock, people were rarely in there. Even when all the pros were going to breck in their Dew Tour era they were still mostly be in park lane. People dub jump 6 all the time. Unless your going for triples, freeway was pretty obsolete.

there were talks about removing the zip line above freeway so that would allow for features to be placed there again if it were to happen. It sags to low. Unless you’re pat goodnough. Then it sags just right 😆


freeway, especially the dew line was mad fun to hit, though i didn't like the fact that jump 4 5 were always busted by wind. love to deck a jump like that in december hard pack conditions to spend the rest of the day in the lodge wondering why you flew 10 hours there lmao
Apr 20 2023 4:15AM
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Film.
Posts: 2631 - Karma: 2,462
Just wanted to revisit this, they finally opened their “medium” park on peak 9 today and zero updates on freeway. Breck parks are officially dead. Unfortunate to see
Jan 6 2024 6:23PM
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mattytru
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freeway is getting close. jumps look solid. we will see
Jan 16 2024 11:36PM
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partyandBS
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jumps were pretty on point per usual. Lips for the rails were extra firm lol. first lip for the pretty rowdy S was super low but I was into it. the Z tube after the lip was well above the rail lol. then it was a flat tube to slightly down pill which was sick. long as fuck tube. Pretty long dfd and a rainbow box. pretty solid but the park scene is absolutely dead only saw one other person actually hitting the park and pretty positive it was Keri Herman who rides for them lol. i hope they revive the scene. host a jam or something when the park is finally done or hold a low budget video contest. $500 for best insta edit within a week after opening or something like that would help. doesnt have to be some big grand thing.
Jan 19 2024 4:29PM
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Slugger66
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Trying to wrap my head around VR's overall attitude toward parks. They've killed some parks (Breck, Key) and revived others (Carinthia). Maybe it's a mountain-by-mountain thing? I would've thought the Carinthia revival reflected a strategic change back to parks for all Vail mountains.
Jan 19 2024 7:50PM
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mattytru
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partyandBSjumps were pretty on point per usual.

how big would you estimate each jump to be? hyped to get in there
Slugger66Trying to wrap my head around VR's overall attitude toward parks. They've killed some parks (Breck, Key) and revived others (Carinthia). Maybe it's a mountain-by-mountain thing? I would've thought the Carinthia revival reflected a strategic change back to parks for all Vail mountains.

idk i think parks just really aren't in vail's business model for western mountains. they want to sell epic passes to families who will come out on a vacation for a week or two and stay in vail owned real estate. they know denver (or whichever major city is near the epic resort in question) will buy an epic (or ikon, its a toss up year by year) pass instead of a smaller mountain's pass due to price. i think vail both doesn't care about park skiing and doesnt particularly want a freestyle scene at their mountains anyways. they are in the business of casting the widest net for customers and creating a safe, beginner friendly environment for them that doesn't scare anyone off. they make more money off their real estate holdings than they do off the operation of the resorts.

now for eastern mountains it might be different because vail knows nobody in the west is booking trips out east to ski. i'd imagine that they recognize a good park is a draw for the teenage kid in the wealthy nuclear family that they are trying to attract from new jersey. while the parents of this family might just decide where to take their 'out west' trip, they might consider their kids' opinions more if they are going to be driving 7 hours every weekend and the kids are gonna be skiing this resort every weekend. but idk. i worked park crew at stowe for a few years and vail was absolutely killing the park scene by disallowing larger features, regimenting the number of beginner features that MUST be present in a park, etc. maybe they have determined that carinthia is one of the biggest draws to mount snow and that otherwise the mountain risks not having enough ridership.
Jan 20 2024 10:14AM
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BK
Posts: 2353 - Karma: 1,122
partyandBSThat shit was huge!! I would straight air the first jump only lol. Unless you’re a training comp jock, people were rarely in there. Even when all the pros were going to breck in their Dew Tour era they were still mostly be in park lane. People dub jump 6 all the time. Unless your going for triples, freeway was pretty obsolete.

there were talks about removing the zip line above freeway so that would allow for features to be placed there again if it were to happen. It sags to low. Unless you’re pat goodnough. Then it sags just right 😆


There were also years though where you could ski both Freeway and Parklane in one run, by taking small track thru the trees. So yes, folks would be in Park Lane, but that doesn't mean they didn't most (or all) the jumps and rails in Freeway as the top section was stacked and the bottom of Freeway not so much (except for rails next to the pipe and sometimes 1 more jump).

**This post was edited on Jan 20th 2024 at 1:05:50pm
Jan 20 2024 1:03PM
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partyandBS
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@mattytru i am a terrible judge of distance but I would say its very much so like jumps 1-3 in park lane in previous years. step ups and the landings are money. over spun the first one and it was pretty mellow and i skrrrted the fuck out of it lol.

they are way low down the run because its pretty steep for park features above it. some sort of peace park/flow features would be cool or rail lines going diagonally across the run could be a decent use of space there. they’re not blowin at this point and wont get the snow to add in any additional booters
Jan 20 2024 4:40PM
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mattytru
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partyandBS@mattytru i am a terrible judge of distance but I would say its very much so like jumps 1-3 in park lane in previous years. step ups and the landings are money. over spun the first one and it was pretty mellow and i skrrrted the fuck out of it lol.

they are way low down the run because its pretty steep for park features above it. some sort of peace park/flow features would be cool or rail lines going diagonally across the run could be a decent use of space there. they’re not blowin at this point and wont get the snow to add in any additional booters


sweet! hyped to check em out
Jan 21 2024 12:10AM
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