Zaskoda

Remember when I said how great it would be if Texas had an artificial park? Well, it’s happening! The plans are to finish the park by 2008. Unfortunately, I don’t know if the park is just ‘proposed’ or if it’s funded and under way. I will have to try to find out.

The place is called Coolzone Winterplex. I’ve heard that it’s an indoor place. Given our summer heat, this may very well be a good idea. I must admit, I can’t imagine riding inside.

I was also right about what material would be used. It is indeed Snowflex. Check out this CBS video announcement about the park. I was a little surprised to hear that there was nothing like this in the world. I know Europe has enjoyed Snowflex parks for a while. I wonder if our park is going to offer something new and different – other than the rather annoying notion that it’s a theme park. I’ll have to get beyond that real fast though, because I’m going to be able to snowboard in my own backyard!

Here’s the press release from March:

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Texas Snowpark

Being from Texas, snowboarding has always meant long trips to somewhere that actually has both mountains and snow. For a long time, I pondered and discussed the idea of an artificial snowboarding surface. In my mind, some kind of little styrofoam balls seemed like the right way to go. Eventually, I caught a reference to artificial turf in a snowboarding magazine – thus confirming that it does indeed exist.

Then, while checking out Snowgo, I found my way to this article and eventually to the website for Snowflex. This stuff looks pretty cool. Unlike my idea of lots of tiny balls, these surfaces are more like astroturf with extra padding. According to the article, it doesn’t ride like snow, but it’s “pretty darn close!” It sounds like fun regardless.

But that article was about a resort in the UK. I’ve dug around for more info on artificial snow turfs and it seems it isn’t used at all in the US. This is ironic because snowboarding was invented in the US. If I could go to somewhere close and ride a day on artificial turf for a reasonable price, I’m certain I’d be there at least a couple times a month. Does anyone have any investment capitol they need to get rid of?

I tell ya, I’d like to do it… I’d like to bring Snowboarding to Texas!

Snowboarding, Texas Snowpark