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Orientation of the Pipe

Halfpipes should face South. This is the ideal as it is warm for the competitors and the viewing public and it offers the best light for photographers. It is however, an orientation that requires more work and maintenance as the walls receive even sunlight and tend to melt faster.

The North orientation offers more durability and less maintenance, but it will be a cold and inhospitable place where few will want to ride and where the walls remain hard and icy.

The East and West scenarios for pipe orientation have limited potential because one wall remains in the sun and the other shadows. This forces maintenance on one wall that is consistently getting soft and mushy, while the other wall remains icy. These orientations are to be avoided if possible.

Other significant orientation problems include depressions in the slope, the nearness of trees that cause shadows, icy spots, and areas that are windblown or windswept that cause the pipe to be unbearably cold and icy.

Foundation # 4: Work/Expense of Halfpipe Construction