By Benjamin Spillman, Reno Gazette-Journal

Most of skiing and snowboarding fans have never heard of Frank Wells.

But if they’ve ever watched their halfpipe heroes crush a freestyle competition during the X-Games, Burton Rail Tour, Burton Peace Park, Dew Tour or other major events they’re familiar with the quality of his work.

“A really good halfpipe, basically, there’s no resistance,” said Wells, a former professional snowboarder who has been designing and building terrain features since 1999. “There are no curbs, or kinks, it is just very, very smooth.”

Wells is a senior project manager and snowcat operator for Snow Park Technologies, a Verdi, Nev.,-based company that’s come of age with the Gen X and millennial age skiers and snowboarders who transformed snow sports in the past 20 years.

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