The Snowboarder's Journal - The Snowboarder's Journal 21.2
FLY ANEW: The Gravity of the Blackcomb Halfpipe
Words: Jonathan Van Elslander 2023-10-24 09:49:46
Canadian Olympian Justin Lamoureux reliving the glory days in the Blackcomb, BC, mini pipe.
Photo: Matt Bruhns
Spring snowboarding is always a celebration. But this year in Whistler, BC, after a half decade of limbo and consternation, there was a little something extra. This spring, a halfpipe finally re-emerged at Whistler Blackcomb.
It was a long time coming. The main Blackcomb pipe, ungroomed since before the COVID-19 pandemic, had been left so neglected that many met its return with disbelief. Controversial and infamous Whistler halfpipe advocate Liam Robinson, a.k.a. Halfpipe Guy, said he was “bewildered” when he heard the news of its return. Canada’s own Darrah Reid-McLean said, “I refused to get my hopes up until I took a lap through it.”
The new pipe looked a little different than the old one. Rather than being built in the old superpipe ditch, it was instead constructed on top of a slope near the main Blackcomb Park thanks to a monumental effort pushing snow. The Whistler Blackcomb parks crew managed to cut the new, smaller pipe by machine completely above the ground, which left a small amount of trepidation among riders.
But once everyone got on the mountain, memories of the painful wait melted away faster than the spring snow. On a beautiful spring day, the halfpipe quickly brought people together. Pros like Reid-McLean, Chris Rasman and Mikey Ciccarelli immediately took to laying down tricks both on and above the coping. Its gravity drew younger riders and veterans alike to one spot on the mountain, fueling reunions, reminiscences, going big, going small, and more. Ciccarelli was captivated by “seeing the amount of people gathering and hiking the pipe together,” while Reid-McLean added, “everyone was so happy and having so much fun. It kind of felt like we time traveled back to what I imagine snowboarding was like in the ’90s.”
At no point was this more evident than when the pipe suddenly became a staging ground for reclusive Whistler legends. First was Kevin Griffin, finally returning after years afield surfing in Bali, who announced he was truly back with an enormous lien air. Soon after, the legendary Kale Stephens dropped in, and thanks to the camera of Dave Brocklebank of D.O.P.E., the halfpipe faithful both on and off the mountain that day got to witness Stephens lace his classic, magnificent methods. Stephens himself said that it was “unfathomable” that the mountain has had no pipe for the better part of five years. In its return, he said his highlight was riding it with his mom, who drove Stephens to pipe contests like the US Open decades ago, and now “just turned 80 and was cruising through the pipe.”
The climax though was the return of the true, eponymous “Michalchuk,” the alley-oop backside rodeo that Mike Michalchuk famously invented decades ago. Halfpipe Guy says watching Stephens and Michalchuk was “surreal,” while Ciccarelli adds “seeing those legends still get after it that hard was inspiring.” Stephens, meanwhile, says riding with his old friends was “like going back in time.” In 2023, Whistler was once again host to a shirtless Michalchuk boosting his signature trick well overhead, even bringing it ever so stylishly back to fakie.
The celebration of a moment like that exemplifies something important to snowboarding. Back in the day, when the U.S. Open was racing only, it was halfpipe snowboarding that helped launch us into the unfettered thrill of freestyle. Then, for the better part of the next two decades, it was in halfpipes that the snowboard community gathered. The joy of The Open, Whistler’s Westbeach Classic, or countless other contests was thanks, in large part, to the central nature of halfpipes. Now, in watching both legends and newcomers fly anew, Whistler was able to see again that the true strength of snowboarding is reflected in the halfpipe. “It’s a sense of community in a halfpipe,” Stephens says. “It’s a hub for people.”
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