At the turn of the millennium, there were nearly every Finnish ski resort. Now they are only a handful of them throughout the country.
When Toni-Markus Turunen Take the snowboard under, the direction is usually a snow gutter.
The pairs were still very popular in the early 2000s, but now there are only a few in Finland.
– It does make it sad. This was a trend, but nowadays youth enjoys jumping and parked, says 40-year-old Turunen.
The Turunen heel of Turunen from Kuopio is nearby in Kasurila, Siilinjärvi. Halfpipe has been built there for more than 35 years.
Slope manager Antti Argillander There are many “former young people” like Turunen in the Kasurila Snow Gutter.
– The same ones that started to skip when it was in. They praise that we were still bothered to build this, Argillander says.
A handful of all over the country
During the golden age of Halfpipes, they were in dozens of ski resorts. In some centers, such as Ruka and Vuokatti, there were two pieces.
This winter there are six snowmobiles throughout the country.
– The exact amount varies from year to year. It can be said that there are three constantly maintaining: Kasurila, Talma and Kalli, Executive Director of the Finnish Ski Responsion Association Harri Lindfors tells you.
According to Lindfors, two reasons are explained by the decline in the paippers. First of all, snow gutters used in racing was so large that the construction and maintenance costs increased significantly.
Another key factor is the growth of so -called parking counting.
– Ski resorts prefer to build parks because they are more cost -effective in terms of user numbers and go to multi -level skiers. In Paipi, a beginner has a higher threshold, Lindfors lists.
In Kasurila, both park and Halfpipe have been built for snowboarders. According to Argillander, a ski manager, a beginner can do well in both, but perhaps a little more safe in Park.
– Our paippe is 4.5 meters in height. In the old days, that size was big, but at the current dimension it is small. The current superpips are seven meters, he compares.
There is already a nostalgia value
Toni-Markus Turunen once rose to the top of the world as a Pipe calculator. He toured the World Cup and World Cup in the Finnish national team Antti Auto, Markku Kosken and Risto Mattila with stars like.
Turunen’s toughest achievements include the World Championship bronze medal in 2000 and the second place in the World Cup in 2004.
– In my opinion, the biggest thing was when I first pulled 1080 degrees in the race. It was so rare at the time that he heard it from the audience, he remembers.
According to Turunen, Halfpipe may still become popular in Finland if a young Finn makes a breakthrough in the sport. So far, no snowboarder is close to this, but the freezer skier on the ski paip Jon has done well in the world.
Nostalgia may also bring the paippers back. For example, the Mustavaara ski resort in North Karelia has acquired a Halfpipe-Plan in case it would still be used.
– Making a good paipy requires a lot, but the end result can be great. The best thing about the paip is that even small jumps can get a style that fails in jumps or parcels, Turunen says.