TRUCKEE, Calif. The terrain parks and halfpipes at Booth Creek Ski Holdings’ six resorts will boast cutting-edge design and new energy this winter after the owner of six resorts recently announced its affiliation with Snow Park Technologies (SPT).

In joining the Booth Creek family, SPT will concentrate on the operational development of terrain parks, halfpipes, snow skate parks, special events and other non ski related activities.

Chris “Gunny” Gunnarson, general manager and founder of SPT, was named director of youth market development for Booth Creek last winter. He spent the last year consulting with each of the resorts.

Booth Creek president Chris Ryman said Gunnarson and SPT are critical to attracting more youth to the slopes.

“Gunny and his crew are world renowned in the snow sports industry for their expertise in terrain park development, design and construction, as well as youth marketing,” Ryman said. “With Booth Creek, their trendsetting vision will continue to evolve so that we are providing a premier product at each of our resorts.”

Additional SPT principals are operations manager, Josh Chauvet, and project specialist, Frank Wells. SPT will be based out of Booth Creek’s Truckee, Calif. offices.

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“I’m stoked to be able to integrate Snow Park Technologies with Booth Creek - it’s the best of both worlds for me,” Gunnarson said. “This new arrangement allows each entity to benefit from the other. With Josh and Frank in the starting lineups for both Booth Creek and SPT, we’re well on our way to building a team of the best terrain park designers and builders in the world.”

SPT will continue to design and construct courses and parks for events worldwide, including ESPN’s Winter X-Games, The Vans Triple Crown of Snowboarding, Japan Slopestyle, and Burton’s U.S. Open and European Open.

Founded in 1998 by Gunnarson and partner, Mike Binnell, clients have included Microsoft, Vans Triple Crown, Nixon Jib Fest, the World Championships of Snowboarding, Vail, Beaver Creek, Copper Mountain, Mount Hood Meadows, Sun Valley, Jackson Hole, Theatre-Japan, Angel Fire and Bombardier.

Gunnarson began his career in the snowsports industry in 1992 with a position in snowboard awareness education and hill safety at Snow Summit Mountain Resort in California. He later became the first freestyle snowboard patroller in the United States at Snow Summit, gaining exposure throughout the industry. This position led to an understanding of the design and construction techniques of terrain parks as Gunnarson was charged with studying accidents in an attempt to improve safety in the parks.

His duties evolved into managing the development and construction of Snow Summit’s terrain park. Gunnarson became an independent consultant to media, resort promoters and manufacturers in 1996. Since1997, he has overseen the terrain park construction as course designer for the ESPN Winter X-Games.

Chauvet most recently served as youth action sports brand manager at Mammoth Mountain. In his four years at Mammoth, Chauvet designed and managed the Unbound Terrain Park and led youth specific marketing efforts. He has also designed and built many courses including three years designing Snowboarder magazine’s Superpark, the Burton European Open, the 2000 Gravity Games, The Vans Triple Crown and the ESPN Winter X-Games.

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A professional snowboarder for eight seasons, Wells cultivated his expertise from his time in the pipes. He served as on-hill manager at the Mount Hood Snowboard Camp between 1991-2001. He has been a consultant at SPT since 1998, building half-pipes for The Vans Triple Crown and the ESPN Winter X-Games.

Booth Creek consists of six resorts across the United States including: Northstar-at-Tahoe and Sierra-at-Tahoe in California; Waterville Valley, Cranmore Mountain Resort and Loon Mountain in New Hampshire; and The Summit at Snoqualmie near Seattle, Wash. Booth Creek is the fourth largest ski resort owner in North America (www.boothcreek.com).

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