Superpark 6 - Day Four
by Jamey Voss
At 6 a.m. the 112 foot table looked almost majestic. The pinkish sun lit up its flanks the same way it lit up the peaks of the Three Sisters to the West. The quarter mile in-run was perfectly groomed and fast from the cold night. All was quiet on Mt. Bachelor, but not for long. The soldiers of Superpark were staging down below and the stillness would soon shatter. In the clear skies of day five, a bomb was about to drop.
Ready to put the "super" back in Superpark 6, all riders converged on the massive table. Firm and a bit chattery, the in-run was ready. Atop the giant mound of snow, filmer Kris Ostness ordered all present to slip the landing. The filmers and photographers set up in the trees and finally the stage was set. Someone needed to step up and jump first into the line of fire.
Whister local and member of the Canadian Special Forces Ryan McKeeman stood at the top of the run-in with the eye of the tiger. He hit the monster table first opening it up for Rex Thomas, Steele Spence and other superparkers. The most impressive jump of the day on the monster table was Tim Durtschi’s massive zero spin.
Meanwhile, Candide Thovex was working on a special ops mission of his own. With shovel in hand he directed a crew of eight and a snowcat. Candide wanted a down rail on the landing of the last table in the rhythm section. He got it and when the cat pulled away and the last of the snow was packed down what remained was a 25-foot flat-down rail with distance measurements of 55-feet from takeoff to kink, and at least another 10 feet to where Candide would actually land on it.
Candide began with a speed check jump, landing next to the rail, and things progressed steadily. Gap to rail. Corked 450 disaster.Corked 810 disaster. Candide’s peers were in awe. Basically, he did a corked 900 with a rail slide just before landing. He even found time to throw in a tail grab, proving once again he is on a whole different level. The Candide show came to an abrupt halt when the rail bit him. His posse of french mafia members swooped in and rushed him off for medical attention in a tinted window suburban.
Day four closed with McKeeman starting things off once again on the huge step down at the top of the course. The jump featured about 75 feet of out with 30 feet of down. McKeeman got a little too much out on the first jump and did a double-eject front flip. Proving Superpark is no walk in the park, McKeeman gathered himself and headed back up to try again. Travis Perkins threw down with some big spins, but the MVP of the step down was Poor Boyz Productions wildcard Matt Philippi. He found the right speed and floated effortless grabbed 3s.
Day four proved to be pivotal in Superpark 6. Features were hit, shots were got and for the sixth year in a row Superpark became the biggest and best terrain park event in the world. It is not, however, over yet. Saturday night is slated for the rail jam session that will make one rider $1,000 richer. Check back in to POWDERmag.com for coverage of day five of Superpark 6.
