Stratton Welcomes New Terrain Park Manager
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Langman comes from Vail, Colo., and carries more than a decade of prior experience with terrain parks and pipes. The Buffalo, N.Y., native has already spent his first few weeks on the ground clearing trails, building rails and preparing Stratton's critically acclaimed parks for the upcoming season.
He will be responsible for all levels of the resort's terrain parks, from the beginner Parkway all the way up to the Superpipe used at the 2010 U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships in March. He will also play a key role in Lower Middlebrook's makeover into a 2,000-foot, 15-acre rider's playground and the move of the expert park to the Sunbowl.
Stratton Mountain, a resort that had a halfpipe before the rest of the world knew what it was, has a long history of shaping snow into parks as well as a commitment to creating top-notch terrain features.
It was 1985 when Lyle Blazedale cut that first pipe from a pile of snow with an excavator and Stratton started earning attention for cutting-edge parks, pipes and events including the U.S. Open. Today, the U.S. Open Superpipe runs 420 feet long with 22-foot walls, more than double the size of the original pipe.
The Stratton Mountain Media Room recently sat down with Langman to get his thoughts on his new job and the upcoming season.
Q: Tell us a little bit about your vision?
A: I'd like to push the creativity of terrain park riding. I want to get the park rider thinking in different ways. It might be through different park lines, newer features, newer setups of old features. I want to challenge their creativity.
Q: Is there an artistic element to what you do?
A: Art is in my blood. My whole family is involved artistically in something. My dad does some interior design, I have an aunt that's an art teacher, another makes costumes for a Broadway Play. I guess I have more of a functional artistic skill that I'm glad I'm able to share with people.
Q: So the mountain is your canvas?
A: Absolutely. The mountain is my blank canvas.
Q: What have you been doing since you've arrived?
A: I have been prepping rails and building features riders will find pretty cool. Widening the trail, cleaning up, making sure the rails are prepped and assembled properly.
Q: What are your initial impressions of Stratton?
A: I'm thrilled to be here. I have a great boss in Al Desroches, who lets me know what I need to do. I'm also surprised at how friendly people are on the East Coast. And let it be known that it isn’t easy to find a quality pizza or a deli sandwich in Colorado either.
Q: Any thoughts on being able to construct the U.S. Open course?
A: It's awesome. I don't know how else to describe it. For somebody who is building the parks, it is an amazing thought. It is one of the biggest events in snowboarding and I couldn't be more excited.
Q: It won't be your first U.S. Open experience though will it?
A: Nope. I was at the 25th U.S. Open thanks to a road trip with Snowboard Magazine where we were testing boards. We finished up here at the Open. It was four of us who grew up riding together back in New York. I was able to ride the pipe during practice and it was intimidating as hell to be dropping behind some of those guys, like Shaun White, who have defined the sport.
Q: Final thoughts?
A: I'm open to feedback. I know I just can't build the park that I want it to be. It's going to take a lot of teamwork. It's going to be a process. It has to be and I want that type of feedback.
