Mammoth Mountain Opens Superpipe

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Mammoth Mountain Opens Superpipe

http://www.firsttracksonline.com/news/s ... 49187.shtm

Mammoth Lakes, CA (Sunday, December 11, 2005) - The whoops and hollers could be heard from the Thunder Bound Express Chairlift Saturday morning as California's Mammoth Mountain opened its Super Pipe for the 2005/06 ski and snowboard season. This year, the Unbound Team built an Olympic-size Zaugg pipe with the same dimensions as the pipe that will be used in the Olympics in Torino this February.

This Super Pipe is 450 feet long and has 18-foot walls and 20-foot transition. Through December, athletes from international Olympic teams including the US, Canada, Sweden, Germany and others will be training in Mammoth. Notable Olympic hopefuls training in Mammoth's pipe include Danny Kass, Ross Powers and Mercedes Nichol.

"Olympic hopefuls are coming to Mammoth to train because we maintain our pipe with three professional pipe builders seven nights a week," said Oren Tanzer, Unbound Terrain Park Director. "The pipe is always cut perfectly and Mammoth has sunny weather and ideal pipe training conditions."

The Unbound Team, along with snowmakers worked around the clock to get terrain park features and the Super Pipe up and running even without the early season snowfall Mammoth had in previous years. Mammoth has had terrain park features available since Opening Day on November 10. Currently, Mammoth has the only halfpipe open in California.

"Despite a slow start this season due to lack of snow, our entire team at Mammoth, including our pipe builders, snowmakers have done an amazing job to get this huge pipe open in time for all the athletes to come train," Tanzer said.

Immediately following the completion of the Super Pipe, the Unbound Crew headed over to Canyon Lodge and began construction of the Canyon Pipe. Work on the Super Duper Pipe is beginning on Monday. Upon completion of the Canyon Pipe and Super Duper Pipe, Mammoth will have three parks and three pipes.