USASA Halfpipe Event
@ Windham Mountain, NY
words by Lauren - photos by Janine Talbot
Catskill Mountain Series - January 27, 2007
This
was a special day - the season's DEBUT of the Windham Halfpipe. The very
first day it was finished and open for riding. And the USASA competition had
the honor of christening it. It was the first halfpipe open in the state of
New York in 2007 as far as we know.
Brian Dilger
Windham
piled snow, shaped, and carved for 60 hours straight with all hands on deck
by the park and pipe crew, to get this pride and joy pipe ready for the
competition. The pipe is over 500 feet long, with walls 12 or more feet
high. Nice solid fairly smooth walls. with just a few holes. Windham used
their new piece of equipment, the Zaugg Designer to shape this monster.
The
pipe was purposely shaped a little narrow from wall to wall as the season
opens, and it will get wider over time as the walls get recut. This is a
delicious pipe to ride right now, and I found myself going higher up the
walls than usual. Maybe it was me, or maybe it was the pipe.
The
run that it is on is just the right pitch, with no nasty double fall line,
and the walls are not over vert. The pipe is close to the bottom of the
mountain for easy "walk up" viewing. And it is visible from the lift for
convenient chairlift gawking.
Lauren Traub Teton
By the way, for some reason I've been only riding the same 3 trails in my
previous visits to Windham. I just found out there are runs I never dreamed
of here, and a whole separate set of runs on the far peak of Cave mountain
that look so far away they could be another resort! And there are terrain
park features all over, besides in the main park. The run called "Why Not"
was like nothing I've ever seen with huge 20 foot mogul rollers that made
you feel like an ant cavorting in a bag of giant marshmallows!
All this in addition to a very fine and lovingly built and maintained
halfpipe! And a friendly (and kid-friendly) Saturday night party crowd in
the lodge besides. A bonfire out by the Adirondack chairs facing the hill
too. Everything you could want, at Windham
