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Here’s another legendary spot in the Midwest that has seen hundreds of different maneuvers go down over the course of time, a location that gets you a film clip or a feature that provides a healthy warm up to the day. Somewhere throughout the years the handrail on the right was bent by a large object, providing a small change in the design while throwing a small technical tweak the riders riding this handrail must deal with, as Keegan Valaika did with a smooth ‘cab 270 frontboard.’ Photo: Blotto
When an architect sets out in designing a building, city park, overpass, or any other structure that includes public safety devices, never did it cross their minds that these long metal bars called handrails — sometimes square, sometimes round — would fuel an entire niche within snowboarding while influencing terrain parks worldwide. The handrail, in its simplest form, is the classic down-bar, a piece of metal running straight down a set of stairs used for pedestrian stability, and perfect for enthusiastic snowboarders. It was the early street-riding pioneers taking what they knew from skateboarding and applying it to the snowboarding process during the winter months that fueled a revolution. It’s absolutely incredible where it’s gone from there and hopefully this gallery shows you a little bit of that.
As a bonus, I included the trick names with each image, because you’ll get a kick out of saying them aloud, whether you’re the seasoned snowboarding veteran or an innocent bystander taking note of these freestyle fanatics risky life and limb in the name of fun and filling up video parts. Enjoy.
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