Expansion of Perisher’s Playstation Leichhardt Terrain Park
EXPANSION OF PERISHER’S PLAYSTATION LEICHHARDT TERRAIN PARK
Photo: Boardworld
Perisher’s PlayStation Terrain Parks are renowned for being the best in Australia and some of the most innovative parks worldwide. The Playstation Leichhardt Terrain Park is the leading park in Australia for intermediate riders to be able to build confidence and learn new tricks to help progress their skills.
For this season, the Leichhardt Terrain Park has undergone major improvements that have seen earthworks completed through May, just in time for the winter. The Park has been expanded allowing for better flow through the park while also making it longer and providing more options for features that riders can hit.
The expansions and improvements mean that more riders can experience a greater range of Intermediate Park riding, ranging through from lower to upper intermediate skiers and boarders. Perisher’s Mountain Manager Andrew Kennedy is excited to say that “The Park will be approximately 20% wider this year and will also be longer, flowing down towards the base of Happy Valley T-bar.”
Perisher will again host some of the best international Slopestyle teams for the 2016 season, including the Norwegian Slopestyle Team who trained at Perisher in 2015. Luke Allen, Head Coach of the Norwegian Freeskiing team says “As far as the access and the ability to train while we are at Perisher, it is one of the best situations I have ever had in the world. With the quick laps, easy viewing of the entire park and the friendliness of the staff, it’s incredibly easy for us to get what we need done”.
Other improvements made to the park this year include a new entry point which will allow for a better flow line into the jumps. The inruns to the jumps will be running down the fall making the take-off and landings smoother for all riders. The improvements mean less snow is required to make the jumps level and therefore can be opened sooner and stay open for longer.
“With the change of the entry location to Leichhardt Park, skiers and boarders not wanting to ride the parks will have better access to Powder Ridge”, says Perisher’s Mountain Manager Andrew Kennedy. This is great for skiers and boarders as they can now access Powder Ridge from higher up, giving them more options to ride when the wind blows fresh snow onto that face.
Perisher’s Terrain Park Manager, Charles Beckinsale, is very excited about the expansion for this season and the possibilities that will come with it. “We’ve realigned the jump lines and made some changes that will open up the area and allow for more design possibilities for this park. There’s room for more rail features and rebuilds throughout the season, which will be great for park riders” says Charles.
The park will be able to accommodate more boxes and rails with various difficulties so riders will be able to build their rail skills right from basic in-ground boxes through to more advanced rails that more advanced skiers or boarders can enjoy while not in the PlayStation Slopestyle Terrain Park “We’re not just opening up the park; we’re building a whole new set of jibs. I’m really excited to get home and start working on the new boxes and intermediate features for Leichhardt Park” says Charles.