They said there would be snow and sure enough, there's snow on the ramp.

[ AUDIO ]
Bjorn Leines checks out the jump and wonders how they're gonna keep some snow on the thing. (6-27-97)

Bjorn's brother Eric intends to jump. But being an alternate, he may not get the chance. (6-27-97)

Peter Line doubts San Diego is as good for hucking as it is for surfing. (6-27-97)

Jimmy Halopoff checks out the monster kicker as the snow begins to blow. (6-26-97)

Neal Drake wonders if the snow will stick and if Jim Rippey might jump clear off the ramp. (6-26-97)

Todd Richards: Topic of conversation...The Big Air Jump. (6-23-97)

[ RELATED ARTICLES ]
Snowmaking Process (6-18-97)

[ SOUND OFF ]
What do you think of the X Games? Tell the World in the SOL Message Boards.

[ PHOTOS ]

[ X - GAMES INDEX ]

This thing is huge. Stupid huge. In fact, it's ludicrous huge. See that little car in the corner.

by Lee Crane

The big question being asked around the Oceanside venue of the X Games this week has been, have you seen the snowboard big air jump? Of all the strange and amazing things that ESPN has pulled off in San Diego the Snowboard Big Air has got to be king.

Not that there hasn't been a slew of whack hurdles for the X Games Crew. After weeks of fighting local neighbors they finally got the okay to close off Rancho Del Oro Drive in Oceanside for the street luge. At Mariner's Point on San Diego's Mission Bay they paved a huge section of grass for the street skating event. They were even forced by the city to hire a crew of biologists to monitor a Tern (yes, the bird) breeding ground to make sure the Games didn't disturb their nesting. But none of this compares to the snowboard jump they built at Mariner's Point.

Driving over the Glen A. Ricks bridge on San Diego's West Mission Bay Drive isn't the same anymore. Now, all that shows up on the horizon is a humongous white jump structure with an American Flag flapping at the top. From the bridge the jump looks more like the Matterhorn at Disneyland than a venue for snowboarders competing for $17,000 in prize money.

In reality the Big Air Jump is stupid huge. It's 90 feet high, 50 feet wide, and 250 feet long. It's built on a cement foundation and created entirely out of scaffolding. On it's shoulder two elevators sit idle, a casualty of Cal OSHA inspectors who barred them from being used by snowboarders. The jump's backside displays two 40 foot tall X Games logos stacked one on top of the other and on Friday morning, if all goes well with the Polar Technologies snowmaking equipment, the jump will be covered with 185 tons of snow. For exactly how they will do that click here.

Forgetting its size for a moment, there is still the question of what is a snowboard big air jump doing on the beach in San Diego? The only answer appears to be, "It will be totally cool to introduce snowboarding to the Summer X crowd."

Most of the snowboarders signed up to compete, however, still haven't seen the monster. In fact, some are worried that it might be just a little too big for the riders comfort. They're not scheduled to ride the jump until Friday, June 27 and already three of the five women have backed out according to snowboard and skateboarding sport organizer Don Bostick. "As of now Athena, Morgan LaFonte, and Barrett Christy aren't coming," he said. "But I haven't talked to them yet so we'll see what happens. I told Hillary Maybrey and Tina Dixon that now all they have to do is show up and jump and they're in the money."

The jump was designed by Jim Rippey--maybe not the best guy to design the jump as he has absolutely no problem doing backflips off 70 foot cliffs and was recently honored with the title "most likely to die snowboarding" by Medium Megazine. While he may push the level a little one thing is for sure: he knows how to jump and knows what will work.

Currently, the jump features a good run in, a 12-foot-high kicker, a 25 foot gap, and a steep landing zone into a grassy run out. No one knows exactly how it's going to work after the snow is blown on and there's really no way to tell without talking to the guys and girls who will ride it during practice on Friday. We'll have the word from all the riders as soon as they see it, so check back during the week.

[ X - GAMES INDEX ]