Silver Star Mountain Resort, BC – Silver Star Mountain Resort was recognized as one of the best places in Canada to session a precision terrain park in SBC Media’s 2008/09 Resort Guide, so when Silver Star’s Terrain Park Supervisor Andy Leighton gave me the opportunity to join the park crew for a day to see what goes into maintaining Silver Star’s Telus Terrain Park, I jumped at it.

Tobi making sure the lip is dialed

8:40 a.m. - Hamblen Tobi meets me at the top of the park to give me a crash course in park maintenance. Tobi shows me how to properly groom the features, and we make our way through the park smoothing out take-offs, putting up sponsor flags and marking each feature.

8:55 a.m. - Leighton radios patrol to let them know the park is open for business.

9:00 a.m. - Andy gets a call telling him that Ride Guide TV will be filming in the park today. The stress level peaks as we start cutting everything so it’ll look tight on film. It’s not long before I’m soaked in sweat.

Andy and Mike reshaping the lip of the barrel jib

10:15 a.m. - After a quick lift ride to get back to the top of the park, we re-group and form a game plan. Mike Rapinchuk and I tackle one feature, while Tobi re-cuts another. When we’re finished, everyone converges on the barrel jib to re-shape the lip and level the top of the platform. Even though it’s cloudy, it’s super warm and it’s not long before I’m drenched in sweat again.

Terrain Park Manager Derek Pankoff tests the 55-footer before it’s opened to the public

11:30 a.m. - The build crew has been hard at work, and the brand new 55-foot booter sitting in the jump line is proof of this. Before we finish cleaning up the barrel jib, Silver Star’s Terrain Park Manager Derek Pankoff shows up to take the booter’s virginity before it gets opened to the public.

Lunchtime is a gourmet affair in the Telus Park. Mike Rapinchuk makes sure the grill is stocked

11:45 a.m. - Lunchtime is no joke. Everyone heads to the hut where the grill is out, and the propane is flowing. It doesn’t matter if it’s pork, PB and J, pizza or a tuna sandwich, everything ends up on the BBQ. The sun comes back out while we trade stories over lunch, and prepare for the afternoon ahead of us.

Before…

12:45 PM – With Tim Hus blaring from the park’s sound system, Mike and I head down to start work on the culvert, while Tobi and Andy work on a few features closer to the hut. The culvert’s transition is more than 30 feet long, and the entire thing needs to be cut and raked before it’s anywhere near ready to be hit. Once again, I’m covered in sweat by the time we’re finished.

…and after the culvert gets cut.

1:30 PM – The best part of the day. I finally get to strap in and test out the features I’ve been working on all day.

Silver Star’s L-XL lane

3:00 PM – We shut the gates at the top of the park and start the process of smoothing out and raking the lip of each feature. Every takeoff in the Telus Park, excluding the large jump line, is groomed by hand to make sure it has the right shape and the proper amount of kick. The whole process takes a little less than 45 minutes. With everything looking primped, we put away our tools and get psyched up for the one-footed race back to the village.

4:00 PM – Even though it has been a long day, Andy, Mike and Tobi all have the energy of 12-year-olds on a sugar rush when we get back to the locker room. It’s obvious to me that these guys love what they do, so to say thanks for taking care of the park I’ve been riding all season, and for letting me hang out for the day, we head out for a few coldies on my tab.

For more, check out Silver Star's website .