Shayboarder.com

Tom: Hi, I’m Tom. Born in Aurora, IL, then moved to Cochranville, PA where I wasted away most of early years aimlessly wondering through school. Still didn’t have a clue, so I followed the path that would have the most skiing involved. Came out west to college in Steamboat Springs, CO, where I eventually graduated, and became very involved in all aspects of year-round mountain operations, mainly terrain parks.

Shay: What is your job title?

Tom: Terrain Park Attendant by winter, Trail Crew/Operator/Sawyer by Summer.

Shay: Who are your sponsors?

Tom: Red Bull, 686, Candygrind, 4frnt, Fuel Gloves

Shay: Did your parents question your job choice?

Tom: They had always thought it would be a part-time/side job while I was in college, but once I had graduated, I really saw no reason to go back to school and it would be much more beneficial for me to learn more about the industry I was already involved in.

Shay: What was your first set up?

Tom: Well the very first was a pair of used 160cm Dynastar rentals that I had purchased with some sweet Salomon rear entry boots. 75 bucks went a long way back then.

Shay: What is your current set up?

Tom: Currently riding Technica Rival RX boots, on 181 Rossignol Ghettos w/FKS 155 bindings.

Shay: What was your first job?

Tom: IT support at a community college I used to take classes at. It really turned out to be, play counter-strike all day and get paid for it until someone’s printer exploded. I’ll never forget the feeling of getting a paycheck for playing video games all day. Guess that’s why I always want to have fun with my job rather than punching keys in a cubicle.

Shay: What’s a great day of skiing to you?

Tom: Clear skies, high in the low 20’s and an empty freshly groomed park.

Shay: Who are your influences?

Tom: As for athletes, mainly Adam Delorme and Tony Gallina. In the industry? Not sure. Hate to say it, but maybe my boss Brian. He’s been working on parks since the dinosaurs I think. At least he says so. I think a lot of people in the park realm get burnt out pretty quick.

Shay: How long have you been skiing?

Tom: About 19 years by now.

Shay: How many days do you get to ride a year?

Tom: Pulled around 160 this past season. I count my work days, cause we’ll get ride breaks and I can probably squeeze in enough laps to equal someone else’s “day”

Shay: How many people are on the Breck Park Crew?

Tom: There’s about nine of us on the day crew…anywhere from 4-6 on per day. Tack on 3 more for our night cat crew.

Shay: How many terrain parks does Breckenridge have?

Tom: Four parks and four pipes.

Shay: Do you test the jumps/features?

Tom: Yep, every single one. You don’t need coffee to wake up when you have to test freeway at 8:30 in the morning.

Shay: What is the biggest jump?

Tom: Big is a relative term really. Our #2 in the freeway triple line measured out to around 80ft, but was a pretty mellow lip that shot you straight out. #3 probably takes the cake. It was only around 70ft, but most people would swear the lip was a quarter pipe looking at it. (Thanks Jon Olsson!)

Shay: What is your favorite feature at Breck?

Tom: I’d have to say just about everything in our Peak 8 parks. Freeway is awesome for the huge jumps and rails it has. Park Lane is great because of how insanely progressive the jumps are, as well as great rails to learn new stuff on.

Shay: Does the park crew have any input on designs or layout?

Tom: A little bit here and there. We are obviously around all day, so we can see what features flow smooth and which ones are just not working. We’ll mention something to the cats every now and then, but most of the time, they have their stuff dialed.

Shay: What competitions are held at Breck?

Tom: North American Open, Snowboarding Grand Prix, Spring Massive…and a bunch of others I can’t remember.

Shay: Do you prepare the terrain park for those events?

Tom: It’s mainly our job to make sure all the features are absolutely perfect before the comp, and keep them that way during it. Pretty similiar to what we would do on an ordinary day, just that we’ll fix them more frequently.

Shay: What are key components to keeping a good park?

Tom: Having people who know what they are doing…on both the day and night shifts. That’s how it is here, and why things work out so well for both of us, and all the locals, team riders, etc…who ride our parks. A budget is usually a good thing too, so you can have a massive array of features to put out and mix it up a bit during the year.

Shay: Prior to Breckenridge, what other terrain parks have you worked at?

Tom: I originally got into this whole gig at Steamboat. I was really just feeling it out the first two seasons I was there, but as I started to get better at freeskiing, I would use every moment I worked to really try and make bigger/better features that were safer, more refinded, and more enjoyable for whoever was riding our park. After slaving away on the awesome pay, I finally became Park Supervisor and really wanted to take things to the next level. We had come up with some of the best park designs that the place had probably ever had (at least to where our park was stuck at) but management decided that park progression was unncessary. I didn’t really like working 12 hour days or 18 days straight, to be welcoming of an attitude like that. So shortly thereafter, I left, and the rest of the crew that had their skills dialed, soon followed.

Shay: What’s your average day like at work?

Tom: Get there at 7 in the morning, and cruise through the parks to make sure everything is smooth and set. Go through and fix any chunder or crumbs that might be lying around, and post up all the wind flags for the jumps (the most useful things in the park). Once set up is finished, it’s the usual routine of fixing jumps/lips during the day, with a final run through at the end of the day, so everything grooms out perfect overnight.

Shay: What are some memorable experiences from working at Breckenridge?

Tom: Just about every day. There is so much talent out there on a daily basis. Whether I’m riding through or working, people are always throwing down. I love it so much there, I spend as much time in the parks on my days off as I’d be when working.

Shay: How is working for Breckenridge (any cool work events, work environment, job perks)?

Tom: Mad props to our sponsors, they really hook it up. Red Bull, 686, Candygrind, Smith…love you guys.
Shay: What experience did you have or attributes before getting the job?

Tom: When I first got into the whole realm…I really didn’t have much other than the fact that I love to ride parks. To this day I almost think that’s a key thing to have to work in them, because then you have that much more appreciation for the work you do. You do the work to the best of you ability, cause you know what a sweet lip or a smooth jump feels like when you hit it.

Shay: What’s the best park you’ve gotten from your job?

Tom: Easily the sponsors and the hookups. They really help out in a lot of ways. Whether its some equip to aid the almost non-existent park crew pay, or some awesome end of year parties.

Shay: Any disadvantages of your job?

Tom: Powder days. Not because I want to ride the pow, but because of the foot of snow we have to rake off everything.

Shay: What’s the busiest time of year for you?

Tom: Just about every weekend is pretty busy. Having Denver down the road is the real trouble maker.

Shay: Education vs. Experience…which do you think is more important?

Tom: Experience hands down. To my knowledge, there really is not that much education out there for my line of work. So whether it’s experience parking in a park, or riding it, you should be able to do pretty well. Don’t forget a good work ethic. If your not a hard worker, it’s definitely not for you.

Shay: What advice would you give to people wanting to work on a terrain park crew?

Tom: My last answer summed it up pretty well. Experience is a major plus, but provided that you can work hard and like to ride park, you should be able to do alright. There will be the bluebird days where it’s the usual setup and maintenance runs, and the hell powder days where you rake until your arms are about to fall off.

Shay: Final thoughts?

Tom: Is it winter yet?