For release at will

Winter 2007/2008

Contact: Bonnie MacPherson, director of public relations
Okemo Mountain Resort | 77 Okemo Ridge Road | Ludlow, VT 05149
802-228-1947 | bmacpherson@okemo.com

TERRAIN VARIETY - MIXING THINGS UP

LUDLOW, Vt. – Okemo is renowned for its snow quality and grooming prowess. Offering the East’s third greatest amount of skiable acres – 624 to be exact – there’s plenty of room to mix things up and add some variety to all that edge-to-edge corduroy.

This winter, Okemo’s operations team will be devising ways to create more terrain variety on alpine trails. “A lot of the excitement of skiing is terrain change,” says Vice President of Mountain Operations Barry Tucker. “We’re planning to build more character into some of our trails.” In addition to allowing a few of Okemo’s more difficult trails to take on more natural characteristics by grooming less often, some trails will receive a little extra grooming attention to create gradual swales with subtle fluctuations that will make the snow surface more interesting.

Also adding to Okemo’s terrain expertise this year will be Okemo’s new Snowboard Ambassador Ross Powers. A legend in the world of parks and pipes, Powers is the holder of more halfpipe titles than any other rider in history, including a gold medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and a bronze medal at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan. In addition to working with Okemo’s award-winning grooming team to offer more terrain variety, Powers will be running snowboard camps to benefit the Ross Powers Foundation, a non-profit foundation for athletes with financial need, and attending events at the resort to build excitement for the sport and the winter outdoor lifestyle. “Okemo is an awesome family resort with great terrain parks,” said Powers. “It’s a place where I can train and raise my family.” Powers has a 4 year-old daughter, Victoria. He and his wife, Marisa, have recently celebrated the arrival of their second daughter, Meredith.

On the Lower Tomahawk trail, a “FamilyCross” park offers intermediate skiers and riders a chance to enjoy a playful assortment of big bank turns, rollers and snow mounds as they wind their way down the trail. For more adventurous snow sliders, Okemo features five additional terrain parks, ranging in difficulty from the introductory Hot Dog Hill to competition-worthy Nor’easter and the Dew Zone, as well as Okemo’s SoBe Superpipe, at 450 feet, the longest superpipe in the East with 18-foot high walls and a deck-to-deck span of 55 feet. The SoBe Superpipe is serviced by its own surface lift, The Pull.

Okemo Terrain Parks

Nor’easter
Located on Okemo’s Nor'easter trail, this is the resort’s largest terrain park. It hosts features for the most experienced riders, including Okemo’s signature “Truth Rail,” as well as many other large rail and box features. There are, of course, a variety of jumps, step-ups and step-down table tops. The North Star Express Quad services Nor’easter, enabling skiers and riders to get many runs in throughout the day.

The Dew Zone
Located next to the SoBe Superpipe, this park is home to some of Okemo’s most unique features. The stair case will make a return appearance this winter, as well as the Van. This compact park includes a couple of jumps and is frequently used for slopestyle comps. The Zone is also serviced by The Pull surface lift.

Blind Faith
Located in Okemo’s Southface area, Blind Faith offers mostly medium to large features. While this park is somewhat secluded, it is definitely worth the trip to check out. Easily serviced by the South Face Express Quad, this terrain park invites skiers and riders to run laps for as long as they’d like.

Hot Dog Hill
Located just below the mid-mountain Sugar House Lodge, this park is a great place to learn how to hit rails and boxes. Some nice low and wide rails, and a couple of new low, flat boxes should make the learning experience as easy as possible. Hot Dog Hill is serviced buy the South Ridge  Quads.

JG Base
Located at Jackson Gore with smaller features, this park is walk-up accessible, but guests must have a lift pass.

For more information, please call (802) 228-1600, or visit www.okemo.com.

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