Taking ‘Home Mountain’ to a New Level

Most skiers and snowboarders have their home mountain in which they spend most of their time.  Usually, the closest spot to home, perfect for a quick Saturday rip before the crowds or maybe even to get some post-work laps.  For one Fairbanks, Alaska man, he has taken the phrase ‘Home Mountain’ to a new level.

Josh Martinez is an avid snowboarder who has transformed his backyard into a terrain park.  There is a kicker though–that is there is not a literal ‘kicker’ jump.  His backyard is flat.  Yes, he has a terrain park on a perfectly flat backyard.

Martinez says it helps the creativity of his riding.  He is able to do so much with flat ground and smaller features that do not require much if a run-in for speed.  Freestyle skiing and riding have transformed a lot lately into incorporating more creativity.

He drops in from a home-made ramp from the deck of his house.  It allows him to get enough speed to hit one or two features from a variety of different lines.

There is a whole contingent of people who don’t do all the high flying 70 ft jumps and massive cannon rails.  The slower and more progressive nature of park riding has bred many people just like Martinez.  The ability to do tricks like stalls and other jibbing tricks which can be done with many household items like piping, benches, and logs allow creativity to takes its course.

Martinez is not a ‘newbie’ to this game.  He was a former terrain park builder for Alyeska Resort and has also worked as a terrain park manager for Hulbert Nanook Park on the University of Alaska-Fairbanks campus.  This experience has helped him make the most of his space and understand how features sit in the snow.

Martinez works a few different jobs but still makes time to rip his backyard park once or twice a week–something that makes the manpower hours worth it for sure.