December 22 , 2007 Today marked the beginning of jib installation in the Quiksilver Park. It was also the first of our Park Build Sessions where we invited up park locals to be involved with the construction and gain some first-hand insight into how parks are built. James, Andrew, Tom, and Zavier all pitched in with digging out fencing, moving rails into position, hand shaping, and of course, some feature testing. Thanks for coming out guys!
The major project of the day, which is captured in this video, was the install of our brand new S Rail. From start to finish it took around 3 hours to build the platform, move the rail into position, hand shape, fine tune, and test. Hopefully this video shows a bit of the work that it takes to install what some may think to be a simple feature to set up. Cashen does some excellent running commentary from the snow cat thanks to the new wireless microphone kit we purchased. This will come in very handy for future film shoots.
December 22 was an extremely snowy and foggy day. Both have their pluses and minuses for construction conditions. Snow is great as it enables us to construct, but it is also difficult watching it all fall and pile up when you know how amazing the rest of the hill must be. Fog is one of the worst weather conditions for construction as you are not able to accurately depict the landscape from a distance and sometimes cannot even see the blade in front of the machine. Actually the only real advantage to fog is that you don’t feel bad having the park closed as it would be unridable anyways.
December 14 , 2007 - First Oakley Night Jam Session The Oakley NightJams hosted by Coastal Riders kicked off on Friday December 14th with a great turnout under very snowy skies. Around 60 or so skiers and snowboarders got the contest series underway with lots of amazing tricks being thrown down and lots of prizing being won courtesy of Oakley and Coastal Riders. I was hoping to film more of the action but it was getting very snowing and wet and I didn’t want our nice HD camera getting ruined. I still managed to capture lots of action but didn’t get the final session on the Up Down Rail. Next session I’ll make sure I have an assistant to follow me around with an umbrella. Any volunteers? Since this video, the Paradise Jib Park has been rebuilt thanks to all the new snow and hard work of the Park Crew. At this pace, we will begin construction of the Quiksilver and Rookie Parks very soon! In the meantime, enjoy the pow turns on the Olympic chair!
December 1 , 2007 - Opening Day Park Session So we got some features built- the sky opened up and started dumping snow so we had to act fast to get a park going. Despite the short notice, the turn-out for opening night was great. We appreciate the enthusiasm you all showed. It's nice to know that other people are as stoked as us about the park season ahead. Overall, the combinations look really good! Thanks for voting on the layout, we think it works well. As you can see from the footage, no one hesitated to hit up your designs, so keep those votes coming in. We've got more snow on the way, so the Quiksilver Park build is just around the corner. We need your input, so go check out survey #3 and let us know what you want. Also, we've got a music survey dropping very soon, so start thinking about your mix for the brand new park sound system. You'll get credit for your mix and the winner gets a prize.
November 22 , 2007 - Survey #3 Here is how survey #3 will work: Each park has 2 layout options. You watch the video to find out what they are, then vote on which one you like best. This video is a little mix of the layout maps, some interview footage of Dave Cashen, checking up on a shop update and how paradise is coming along. Also, we're leaving Survey #2 up for a while longer, so if you haven't responded, you can still do it.
November 14 , 2007 - New WallRide Under Construction This is a solid example of the kind of innovation that Dave and his crew are bringing to the Parks this year. We're all pretty stoked to see it in action.
We shot this video in the Peak Shop, where most of the features are built. We really like how the blowtorch effect worked out in the end! The video editing is getting a bit easier, but we still want to play around with some of the FX in the program to make these clips tighter. Sound is always tough. Plus, it was hard to do justice to the size of the wall ride- this feature is going to be quality once it's in place in the park.
Also, remember that we'll be running some contesting later on to get you guys up here personally to help build and maintain. We'll throw in some sick prizes too. Stay tuned.
November 1 , 2007 - Interview with Dave Cashen, Parks Supervisor New to the Grouse Mountain team, Dave has spent the last 17 years or so in the ski and snowboard industry as a sponsored amateur then professional snowboarder, company owner, coach at Camp of Champions & Icarus Shreducation, film maker, park designer/builder and all aspects in between.
Dave is going to be the guy who has to marry your ideas for building the best park Grouse Mountain has ever had and his own ideas from years of amateur and professional riding, with the corporate necessities of budget and safety.
October 31 , 2007 - Jib Fleet This is sort of like online shopping, only you don't need Pay Pal and the bill goes to someone else.
Here is a photo inventory of the features in our arsenal right now. Have a browse through it and see what catches your eye. Remember, picking favourite features is just the first step: possible combos and layouts come later. Also, if you've seriously bailed on one of these features here or somewhere else in the past, try not to hold a grudge. This could be your year!
October 12, 2007 - Introduction to BYOP
We had a lot of fun with this video. With brand new video equipment and brand new editing software we kind of fumbled our way through it. Side Cut (where the Quiksilver Park is) looks so different in the summer and on video it seems like it could be shot in a different country; we can't wait for snow. Thanks again to the gurus at Alterna Action for the Quiksilver Showdown footage, which is the winter stuff you see edited in there. For everybody who asks: that tune is called "The Smell of Grass" and it's by Marlin. Very solid track, you'll have it in your head all day. Our first BYOP (Build Your Own Park) survey will be on November 1st and it will be all about making preliminary decisions on what type of park you want to see this winter. Tell your friends and get the word out about this, because this winter the Grouse Parks are going off. Thanks for checking this out
