For me the Flower Skate Shop Rail Jam is now a must send event. For the 4th year in a row, the Jam at Snow Ridge closed the season down on the Tug Hill. It has become the embodiment of NY park. A carnival of riding, it’s sheer pandemonium as bodies get tossed. 55 riders come from across the state, some driving hours, to ride a 100’ magic carpet and slide on rails. It almost seemed wrong to be riding rails on a powder day but deep down it felt so right.
Along with the contestants, Mother Nature has been in regular attendance for each Flower Jam. The last three years have been beautiful bluebird spring days. This year with significantly less snow on the ground, she delivered a foot of fresh snow to soften the course.
Of course all the other regulars were there, the Flower Shop boys, the Woods Valley crew and even some of the gang from Full Send and Neon Wave came out from the Finger Lakes. As the final touches were put on the rails, I caught up with Nick Mir. I told him I would take out a second mortgage if he spun the lifts just once for us. He laughed and rejected my offer, but he did say there was a small chance of cat ride to the top. I was elated.
The start of the jam was pushed back due to the fresh snow and a few late arrivals still traveling through the storm. At noon the carpet started spinning and riders descended on the course. Up top a tube was set perpendicular to the course as coping. Below it the creeper rail and large “pill” tank were set in the snow.
At the bottom were two round rails and the elbow rail. Alongside those was a corrugated tube pointing to the sky like a canon, appropriate for a pole jam. The wall ride towered over it all at the finish, but the pièce de résistance was the challenge rail consisting of the flat-down rail followed by the flat-down-flat rail. It was gnarly.
The Pro division kicked off and none other than Matty B led the charge. The youngbloods from Woods Valley were not to be outdone tackling the challenge rail right off the start with no fear. Eventually Sal and Bobby G showed up and they decided to bring the ruckus.
The boys attached a rope to the end of Sal’s vintage snowmobile and started towing riders into the hits with tremendous speed. A train of riders flipped over the pill and then back up behind the snowmobile to flip the tube jam. It was pure carnage and it was absolutely beautiful.
After the Pro division it was time for the Ams. Inspired by the chaos I had just witnessed I grabbed my board and headed up. John from Flower was steadfast behind the lens as always not missing any of the action. With the camera on me I didn’t land anything good, I guess my “sponsor me” video will have to wait until next year.
A half an hour flew by and before long they announced the qualifiers for the pro division. The 12 riders who qualified headed back up for one final 15 minute session. Besides all the flips, hammers were getting thrown down on the rails. I saw a few crazy makes on the challenge rail and some real creativity being shown on the creeper ledge.
When the round was finished we headed into the wax house for the announcements. Besides celebrating the winners, it felt like we were celebrating the Ridge itself. The ops team did an awesome job not just setting up the rail jam but keeping the season alive all winter.
I had one Utica club left in my six pack and offered it to Nick. He gladly accepted and it seemed a wave of relief came over him with the end of the season. It’s one thing to aprés after a long ski day, it’s a drastically different thing to aprés after a very long ski season.
Before I left there was one unofficial event left. Lindsay, one of Snow Ridge’s resident shredders, was gathering the troops for King of the Mountain. Inspired by the movie Out Cold, we would mob run the mountain with a cup of our preferred beverage. The winner is the person who gets down first with the most liquid left in their cup.
Caleb, the man behind the snowcat made good on Nick’s promise as I grabbed a seat in the snowcat and we headed up the North slope. It was my first time in a cat and behind us a long line of riders grabbed on to a rope being dragged behind the cat. Up top we filled our cups and agreed the decorative chair in front of the lodge was the finish line. Caleb called the start and we were off. Lindsey and Steve bombed the cat track to win it, but the rest including myself couldn’t resist the knee deep pow. At the bottom we all hung out and said cheers. What a finish.
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Nick does it good!
Great article. Just like being there!
I hope the unofficial event becomes a tradition. Cheers to everyone at Snow Ridge!