by Madison V. Fisler
Dec. 20, 2013. The Appalachian Terrain Park (ATP) at Appalachian Ski Mtn. has been drawing huge crowds to their signature event, Fresh Fridays, since the event first began in 2006 due to the tireless effort of their design and build team who has been pushing the limits of the North Carolina terrain park scene over the last few years with cutting-edge custom designs.
This year, the first of many Fresh Friday events will be held on Friday, Dec. 20. The ATP Crew plans to rebuild the top feature pad in Appaljack with some unique and fun rails, boxes and much more for all ability levels.
“We are still brainstorming a lot of things, but there will definitely be a lot of things we have never quite done before,” said Drew Stanley of Appalachian Ski Mtn.
“We have these half-domes called orbs and we are looking at doing some great creative things with them. We are going to isolate the whole build to the upper part of Appaljack and we have at least three new features that have never been hit this season.”
The Fresh Friday events are very laid back and informal with free registration for everyone with purchase of a lift ticket.
“This is less of a competition environment and more of a fun group of people riding something brand new,” Stanley said.
“We have music, different announcers, and even giveaways for riders and spectators. As long as you have basic riding fundamentals, you will have a great time.”
And the event isn’t just for adults. The family-friendly Fresh Fridays bring out participants of all ages, from seasoned shredders, to the college crowd, and even kids as young as seven.
“We try to tailor our setups so there are features for everyone,” Stanley said. “We want to make sure that no matter where you are skill-wise, we have something for you.”
This year, more than 50 riders are expected to turn up for the first Fresh Friday event, and even more will watch the fun from the sidelines.
“I really enjoy having Fresh Friday events because for us, it encourages us to keep things new and changing. It allows us to create a whole new slope and that is a lot of fun for us. Having these events throughout the season gets everyone together, it’s a fun sense of camaraderie.”
SPY Optics will be on hand for the event with some awesome giveaways and fun contests for all riders. This event is completely free for all riders with the purchase of a lift ticket. Registration will be from 5-6:30 p.m. in the Alpine Ski Shop, and the event will begin at 7 p.m.
“This year, the SPY guys will be coming out to do some wacky, fun events both ski related and for the spectators too!” said Drew Stanley of Appalachian Ski Mtn.
“They do all kinds of fun things like diving for hot dogs, track bag races and lots of great unique events.”
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