We love the scenic beauty you get to enjoy while riding around a place like Mammoth Mountain, but no matter how beautiful the mountains are, the terrain park will always be one of the most exciting places to ski or snowboard at any resort.
If you want a piece of that thrill and are venturing into the terrain park for the first time, you may be wondering what terrain park gear you need to ride there, so the ASO Mammoth team has put together a tiered guide to the terrain park gear below.
Read all about it, then visit the ASO Mammoth shop for the best ski and snowboard rentals in Mammoth Lakes!
Must-Have
Helmet
You can argue about gear for the terrain park for days, but the one thing that everyone agrees on is that you need a helmet.
You should always wear a helmet while skiing and snowboarding anyways, but it is especially important in the terrain park due to the nature of the riding and features there.
For example, a run through the terrain park means spinning and jumping through the air on groomed snow that’s not nearly as forgiving as loose powder. Even the best riders will fall, which is why they wear a helmet.
On top of that, terrain parks have hard features like rails and boxes that could cause serious damage if you were to hit your head on them.
For that reason, a helmet is our one piece of gear that is truly required to ride in a terrain park.
Good to Have but Not Necessary
Wrist Guards
Wrist guards are especially helpful for beginners in the terrain park, but any skier can benefit from them since they’ll protect your wrists from injuries that could keep you off the snow.
An ideal ski or snowboard fall is one where you don’t try to brace yourself with your arms and stay loose to avoid serious injury, but when riding in the park falls can happen at angles and positions that would never happen regularly on the slopes.
Wrist guards will keep your wrists supported so that even if you do brace yourself with your wrists, you’ll have a better chance to avoid injury.
Park Board or Skis
Of course, a snowboard or set of skis designed for the terrain park will help you ride better there.
Park gear is often made more flexible, has a twin shape for riding switch, and a camber that helps you butter and spin on your board. Still, if you don’t ride park all the time then all-mountain or freestyle gear may give you similar benefits without completely committing to the park.
Flexible Boots
Like park boards and skis, flexible boots are designed to help you get the most pop and lean out of your riding as possible, but they may make it more difficult to carve elsewhere on the mountain.
For Pushing Your Skills
De-Tuned Edges
Lastly, de-tuned edges can make your board or skis slide more smoothly on rails and boxes, but they may also take away some of your carving ability.