If you’re an expert or advanced rider, Okemo won’t offer enough of a challenge unless you're happiest in the park and pipe. But the resort, home to 2006 Olympic halfpipe gold medalist Hannah Teter, has a thriving community of riders not confined to the young and restless. Gray-haired ski patrollers and instructors foster a pro-boarding attitude.

Parks and pipes
Okemo’s 500-foot-long, Zaugg-maintained, SoBe superpipe was one of the first earthern pipes built in Vermont. The walls are 18 feet high. For those seeking a bit less air, there’s a minipipe at Hot Dog Hill.

PARKS AND PIPES REPORT

Okemo has five terrain parks in addition to the superpipe. Blind Faith Terrain Park, in the South Face area, has rollers, bank turns and tabletops. The Dew Zone is on the main mountain next to the superpipe. It’s loaded with rails, including rainbows, Cs, rollercoasters, flat-to-down and flat stock rails. The Nor’Easter Terrain Park is the longest. It contains rails, step downs, spines, S-turns, tabletops, funboxes, hips, double tabletops, hit tables, rollers and pyramid jumps. Hot Dog Hill, below the Sugar House, is geared to beginners.

The constantly evolving parks are groomed nightly. They’re designed by Park Rangers and have staggered take-offs to accommodate various abilities and comfort levels.