Nov 1, 2009
Erik Langman Brings The Art of the Park to Stratton
Earlier this month, Stratton Mountain welcomed its new Terrain
Park Manager, Eric Langman to the resort for the 2009-10 season.
Langman joins Stratton from Vail, Colorado and carries over a
decade of prior experience with terrain parks and pipes. The Buffalo 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.
.
At Stratton, Langman 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. (March 15-22)
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 an enduring commitment to creating top-notch terrain features.
It was 1985 when Lyle Blazedalecut 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.
We 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.
Source: Jack Duhaime, Stratton Mountain