World Renown.
Steve Petrie and Arena Snowparks build our snowpark. He is the “go-to” guy for terrain park and pipe building in photo shoots and contests around the world. His work is so renown that the Whistler 2010 Olympics were contested in an Arena Snowparks built halfpipe. Every year Steve and his crew strive to out-do their previous year’s work and blow everyone away.
Check out an interview by Gerhard Gross, Associate Editor of Snowboard Canada, with Arena Snowpark's Steve Petrie for the low-down and top secret plans.
Find out how Steve Petrie turns this...
Into this...
COC - Last summer was the best it's ever been. What can we expect in 2010?
Petrie - This summer we want to expand the rail line down the middle of the park
so riders can hit 5 or 6 rails in a row with 2 or 3 rail options that ends in a wall ride. We want to put three big jumps in a row so that you can hit a big table, a bigger table that goes right into a
big step up.
COC - Sounds sick. What find of new features do you have planned?
P - We are building a bunch of new rails and boxes, including wall rides and street-style set ups. We want to add two huge hips somewhere in the park.
COC - With record breaking snowfall in Whistler this year, it's shaping up to be a great season. How will this affect the park?
P - It's pretty simple: the more snow we get the more features we can build. It makes it easier to build the larger features and helps us keep the park in good shape right through the end of summer.
COC - What's the craziest feature you've ever built?
P - We built an 80ft. spine gap at Super Park 6. It took the riders a while to warm up to it but in the end it was the most filmed/ photographed feature. Another cool feature was a step-up over a rock face on Blackcomb. If you under shot you would plow into a vertical rock wall and fall 40ft. to flat.
COC - That sounds gnarly. It's a good thing you're so good at building jumps. What's your secret?
P - You need to have a good idea of what the jump is going to look like in your mind before you start. After that you just have to be proficient with the machinery and listen to rider feedback. The snowcat can do 98% of the job but you can't be scared to get out of the machine and finish it by hand.
COC - What stokes you out the most about C.O.C
P - Seeing the reaction from the campers when they
first show up and see the park. Getting to see their riding progress throughout
the week is cool too.
COC - Thanks Steve, you're the man. Kids, sign up for
camp now. You don't want to miss out on this summer.
Steve Petrie, there's a method to his radness.
Steve hard (or hardly) at work.
