Life In The Halfpipe

February, 1999

Seen from a chairlift, the halfpipe looks like a colony apart from the slopes, an encampment of the Hey Dude tribe dedicated to the pursuit of aerobatic hang time. Riders fly down a monster-sized ditch carved into the snow, soaring up the sides and into the air, attempting tricks that would put mere mortals in traction. The stereotype is that the halfpipe is Slackerville, populated by goateed and pierced Mountain Dew drinkers who sleep in dope-smoky vans in Pizza Hut parking lots. The truth is t...