Industry News
Words by Ryan Mulcahy
With the North American snow season coming to an end with a few usual suspect resorts holding on to the last bit of snow many of us have turned to other sources to fulfill our needs of adventure and adrenaline. But at the same time there are many of us who just can’t quite get enough of snow sports and go to extensive lengths to scratch that constant itch that is only satisfied when we click into our skis or strap on our board. Here to fill that void is Snogression.
In order to satisfy this addiction of sliding down snow and flying through the air during the summer months there is a few options one could pursue. Sure there are a few places that offer snow and or glacier skiing with a large variety of options depending on your needs. Most famously Whistler has many camps and opens for glacier skiing most years around mid June. Also there are a few options in Oregon that give a similar experience. Bear Tooth Basin is North America’s only summer only resort and is open now through mid July. Lastly if you want that true winter experience and the ability to ski deep pow then your best bet is the southern hemisphere such as South America or New Zeeland. A recent survey done by Freeskier asked the tops pro skiers to rate their favorite Summer skiing spot and results are in a pie graph featured below. But depending on the time and or financial resources you have many of these options are out of the reach for many of us.
But what is a snow addict to do? Well over the past few years indoor training facility have been developed in order to give you that need and allow you to better your skills in a controlled setting. I have been to quite a few of these place including Wood Wardard Tahoe and Copper, as well as the training warehouse at Windells. But I can say with all honesty none of them compare to Snogression in Salt Lake City Utah.
Started by Kevin Brower a pro skier who lives and rides in the area along with help from a few friends. The facility features four trampolines, two of which are super tramps, two foam pits, and a training ramp where riders can launch into one of the pits or hit interchangeable rail features. In order to generate enough speed for the ramp, Brower conceived a propulsion mechanism based on a wakeboarding winch that he calls the Hyperdrive. Based on my experience this is what sets the place apart from others I have used. The fact that you get to use your own skis and boots at Snogression to practice and progress is a huge advantage. Most other places have roller skis, but here you get a snow like feel and real skis which thus allows you to take your newly learned tricks to the snow much easier.
I have frequented the facility since moving to Utah late last summer and feel that my time at Snogression has bettered my skiing in a big way. It has allowed me to learn to spin both directions with comfort and give me confidence in my 720s that I did not have prior to training at Snogression. My typical session is usually about an hour on the trampolines, an hour on the ramp with my skis and the last hour on the rail section of the facility.
The first session you are required to undergo training from the staff and is $35 and after that all sessions are $20 for 3 hours. They offer sessions most days and two 3 hour sessions on Saturdays. If you are in the SLC area this is a place you must visit and see.
