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The action-sport boarding school Wy’East Mountain Academy debuted the United States’ largest dry slope airbag system—an all-weather training system for skiing and snowboarding—in a ceremony on June 17. The air-bag training system, which is 80 feet wide, 200 feet long and can be adjusted for jumps between 35 and 55 feet, will give young snowsport talent the unique opportunity to safely practice their technique no matter the snowfall level.
After eight years of planning, two years of construction, and a few months of intense field work, the academy’s new landing system by Austria-based BangerBags was unveiled at a ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring three-time gold medalist and halfpipe legend Shaun White. White grew up attending the High Cascade Snowboard Camp on WMA’s campus. He told reporters at the opening ceremony (which coincided with the launch of Project Gold, a nationwide talent search with U.S. Ski and Snowboard that ran its first session June 15–21 with 60 Olympic hopefuls) that the camps shaped him not only as a rider but also as a person.
“This is a key moment for developing talent here in the U.S.,” White said in a statement.
High Cascade Snowboard Camp and Windells Freeski Camp, also hosted on WMA’s campus, and fellow Project Gold partners attract Olympic hopefuls through their action sports programs. WMA students had the opportunity to drop in before an audience.
“You won’t find anybody at this place who isn’t living the dream,” says Nick Goepper, an Olympic medalist and WMA alumnus. “Action sports is continuing to grow and evolve and stuff, and it’s cool to see Wy’East and Windells really embracing that.”