First Try: The Snow Loop of Death
By Dave Sypniewski

Everyone knows that snowboarding is easier than skateboarding, right? So, if it was done on a skate it should be no problem on a snowboard, right?

The dream started back in January, on a chair-lift ride with Wes Makepeace. We were discussing how insane the Birdhouse video was, how cool the loop wa, and about Duane Peters, and how no one had tried to do one on a snowboard.

I told my pal, Wes, that I would figure out a way to build one, and he would be the first shredder to do a full loop. That was that. Some initial ideas on how to build it: dig out a snow drift, wood structures, or maybe just make it like you would make an igloo. Then, after a couple months of powder days, the dream faded from my thoughts.

It wasn’t until I heard the rumors that another snowboarding mag was planning on building one that the dream was revived, and that lit a fire under me. The race was on.

We made the first "snow-loop"–there I claimed it. Around 3:30 PM on 5/13/99 at Mt. Bachelor the snow-loop was completed and ready to ride.

Cut to the chase–no one made it around. There are numerous reasons why: because of insurance only two people (Andrew "Wes" Crawford and Marcus Egge) were allowed to try, because of time restraints only four hourswas allotted for the attempts, and I jeeked it by not bringing pads for the practices.

For now the ball is in their court, but I have vowed to build another one. Keep checking here for updates, and look for the more complete story in our the second issue.

Crawford is the big man. Andrew was the first to ever attempt to do a loop on snowboard. Total commitment, unfortunately he went to fast. He will do next time, I'm sure of it.