Terrain parks aren’t what they were in the footloose and fancy-free early ’00s. While some resorts continue to build innovative features (thank you Whistler, Breckenridge and Park City), others have succumbed to the onslaught of personal injury lawyers and dumbed down their parks or removed them altogether.
In the spirit of a sputtering economy, here are some steps for making your own funboxes and jibs. This simple, three-feature mini terrain park cost about $60 (less than a half-day ticket at some resorts), and it provides hours of litigious-free entertainment. The only person you could sue is yourself.
Raid Junkyard
- Get a tetanus shot
- Be on the lookout for steel. Last time we checked, it costs around 10¢ a pound as opposed to over a buck/pound for aluminum.
- Don’t forget the legs. Get more leg material than you think you’ll need because you’ll need it all.
- Don’t be enticed by anything that’s too thick. Drilling a 3/8th inch hole through a 1/8th inch piece of steel is much easier than through a ¼-inch piece. Believe us.
Build Stuff
- Get your tools. No welder? No problem. You don’t need anything but a drill, hacksaw, and some bolts.
- Get familiar with the Dremel tool. It is your friend. If you have one, use it.
- Grind off all the burrs from the feature’s edges for a smooth ride. Few things suck worse than getting snagged and face-planting on a piece of steel.
- Reinforce your features to make them tough as possible. You don’t want your rails breaking when you’re on them.
This is also a good time to detune your jib skis or snowboard. Just hold a file at a 45-degree angle to your edge, and go to town, or better yet, use the Dremel tool. When you can look at and say “that would suck on ice” it’s just right.
Admire Your Work
- Box ($15.00): The most obvious pick in the scrapyard was this server cabinet. All it needed was a place to sit. Instant fun box, no construction required.
- Pipe ($10.00): This thing screamed “give me a pair of legs and session me until you can’t walk anymore.” How do you say no to that?
- Conveyor ($35.00): We found this jewel in the aluminum pile. It was more expensive than all the steel stuff combined, but anyone who has ever worked in a warehouse has stared longingly at the conveyor belt and wondered…
Session
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Tags: DIY, do-it-yourself, freestyle skiing, freestyle snowboarding
Looks like Im going to have to do some more research, but this is a really good strting point.
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Really enjoyed this blog post. Fantastic.
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