Mountain Creek has announced a major terrain park expansion, creating the largest park in the East. This new, all-mountain 60 acre terrain park will encompass both South and Bear Peaks, and result in five additional intermediate trails returning to the ‘backside’ of Vernon Peak where the award-winning terrain parks had formerly been located.
Mountain Creek has built an industry-wide reputation as home to some of the best terrain parks in the country. The resort’s terrain parks have been featured and recognized in nearly every industry publication and hosted top-tier professional snowboard competitions, including the US Grand Prix of Snowboarding and the US Olympic Halfpipe Team selection in 2006. The resort’s in-house design and fabrication division, the JibLab, which has been responsible for more than half a decade of innovation and recognition, as well as a host of off-site and out-of-season snow events in locations as diverse as Trump Atlantic City Casino, Love Park in Philadelphia and Union Square in New York City, will now turn its full attention to Mountain Creek South.
Mountain Creek South is serviced by two dedicated high speed detachable quads, the latest in high-efficiency snowmaking for consistent conditions, and night lighting. The lodge will get a complete makeover and attitude adjustment, including new retail, food, bar and lounge areas, while incorporating art, music and performance into a unique community space.
The primary goal is to build one the best parks in the country. To accomplish this, the resort has doubled its park staff, and the JibLab is busy designing and building new features, as well as refurbishing some old favorites to ensure the parks remain fresh and exciting throughout the season. The focus will be on segmented progression through the terrain park network including smaller ‘junior jibs’ which will cater to novice freestylers, the first ever ‘jump line’ at Creek, and new larger features for the highly skilled terrain park aficionados.
With more freestyle terrain and features comes an increased focus on safety and education. To instill an attitude of 'play hard, play safe,' Mountain Creek has revamped and improved its Park Pass education to be truly best-in-class. The new program will be free, but mandatory for everyone utilizing the terrain parks, from the most experienced riders to, and perhaps most importantly, the new or casual terrain park user, and incorporate both video and live presentation to teach respect and proper terrain park etiquette.
"Some years ago we recognized our natural geological and geographical realities", said the resort’
s Bill Benneyan. "With our highly accessible suburban location we have a demographic slant towards youth and convenience-driven guests. Having grown up at smaller mountains ourselves, we knew that our experience has always been about creating new ways to have fun on the slopes. The convergence of the growing interest in terrain parks and a revitalization of freestyle skiing set the stage for our commitment to build one of the best Parks in the country. The performance of the JibLab and Park Crew for the past 5 or 6 years speaks for itself."
Speaking of the next phase, he goes on to say, "Our newest initiative is really just the natural evolution of managing our growth, as any company would. It’s just a lot more exciting. Our opportunity now is to bring to market a unique environment totally dedicated to the education and celebration of the lifestyle around the terrain park; while at the same time relieving some pressure points at Vernon Peak. The East’s Largest Terrain Park aside, we believe this shift will better serve all our guests."
With this move, Mountain Creek will repurpose the often underutilized South area and dedicate one third of its trails to freestyle terrain in order to cater to the growing segment of the snowboard and ski market who utilize terrain parks. According to the National Ski Areas Association, the youth snowboarding segment is the only growth demographic in snow sports, and many of these young participants are drawn to freestyle terrain. At Mountain Creek, 60% of guests are under 24, and 65% of guests of all ages snowboard, which reflects a national trend at smaller suburban resorts. By providing a dedicated terrain park environment in proportion to the size of this market segment, the resort will create a unique experience for that customer that will truly be best-in-class, while also improving the experience for the leisure ski and snowboard segment at Vernon Base.
Mountain Creek South is scheduled to debut on Saturday, December 15, one week after opening day at Vernon Base on Saturday December 8th. Season Passes are on sale now. Visit mountaincreek.com for more information.
