Mt Hutt NZ Recruits US Terrain Park Expert for on Mountain Transformation (12-Jun-08)

Mt Hutt ski resort out of Christchurch on the South Island of New Zealand is set to have the most advanced terrain parks

Mt Hutt ski resort out of Christchurch on the South Island of New Zealand is set to have the most advanced terrain parks in the Southern Hemisphere with its new recruit being inventive park designer, Jonahs David.

With more than 12 years experience working with terrain parks, in the Lake Tahoe (United States) region, Jonahs will be building on his experience from popular resorts such as Alpine Meadows, Sugar Bowl, Heavenly, and Sierra.

Inspired by Mt Hutt’s location and surroundings, Jonahs’ vision for the ski area’s terrain parks is to bring high country back to the mountain, while offering riders some of the most exciting jumps in the Southern Hemisphere.

Considered a first class jump builder, Jonahs has built features for some of the world’s top jumpers including Chas Guldemond, Torstien Horgmo, and Andy Finch.

“This work encompasses the two things I like doing most, snowboarding and building. I enjoy creating fun things for a living and I’m an avid snowboarder so park building was obvious for me,” said Jonahs. “We want to make the parks fit in with the natural surroundings, and there’s plenty of stuff around to make a jib out of - something exciting to ride not just another flat box.”

Dave Wilson, Mt Hutt Ski Area Manager said Jonahs was one of the best jump builders in the world and was excited to have him onboard.

“We’re really enjoying his enthusiasm for the job and the way he reuses some of the interesting stuff you can find around this area. Freestylers are in for an exciting ride this year.”

Other terrain park developments at Mt Hutt this year include a new mini terrain park, designed to make progression from novice through to intermediate level easy and fun.

“By further expanding our well developed terrain park network we can look forward to getting 10,000sqm of terrain open early in the 2008 season. We’re expecting the new mini terrain park to be a huge hit with our youth and novice contingent,” said Mr Wilson.

Mt Hutt is scheduled to open tomorrow, Saturday June 14. For snow updates see www.nzski.com