Nev. company revolutionized ski, snowboard tricks
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.