In Mountain Movers, National Geographic Channel Goes Behind the Scenes of Building Winter Action Sports Courses
“When you have a project as big in scope and magnitude as the Winter X Games … we’ve got no window for error.”
– Chris “Gunny” Gunnarson, Owner, Snow Park Technologies
(WASHINGTON, D.C. – April 23, 2013) When snowboarding’s super stars like Shaun White, Louie Vito and Mark McMorris perform insane freestyle tricks in the halfpipe, it’s a soaring, exploding sight to behold. One crew is responsible for designing and building these progressive snow sport venues that allow them to take flight. Chris “Gunny” Gunnarson and his team at Snow Park Technologies (SPT) build some of the most innovative projects on snow.
Mountain Movers, National Geographic Channel’s new adrenaline-packed series presented by Chevrolet, goes behind the scenes to show viewers how these world-class, high-intensity snow competition courses are constructed. Starting Thursday, May 9, at 8 p.m. ET/PT, bundle up as the hazards of winter weather, avalanches, heavy machinery and big personalities present constant challenges. But when metal, wood and snow are finally transformed into something Mother Nature never dreamed of … it’s epic. (Visit www.natgeotv.com and follow us at twitter.com/NGC_PR.)
Gunny is the creator and owner of SPT and an iconic, highly respected name in the snow sports industry. At a young age, he became interested in the infrastructure necessary to fuel his snow sport passion and was fascinated with the concept of moving tons of snow to create winter works of art. In the 16 years since SPT was born, Gunnarson and his crew have designed and built more than 250 competition courses, including all of the Winter X Games in the United States and Europe, the Burton U.S. Open and the Winter Dew Tour. When reality TV producer Jason Carbone met Gunny, he knew that he had to capture the real-life drama of his world, battling the most extreme weather that Mother Nature can dish out to create the pulse-pounding competition courses for the world’s most popular action sports events.
Working in the most remote locations under extreme conditions, Mountain Movers profiles the SPT crew’s every move — from battling with avalanche control to building a halfpipe in blizzard conditions. In each episode, we’ll see passion and craftsmanship at work. No one understands how to move and shape snow like this team.
Meet Gunny’s all-star cast of snow-business veterans at SPT:
Mike Bettera (Director of Operations, SPT Parks). A “mediator” who works with resorts to help them stay up-to-date and relevant within the industry by creating new and innovative programs and projects.
Mike Binnell (Director of Logistics). Gunny’s original partner in creating SPT. He is a builder at heart who knows how to run every piece of machinery used on the builds.
Chris Castaneda (Director of Operations, X Games). Essentially Gunny’s protégé, he has worked with Gunny since his teen years. He is an organized, calculated manager of time and personnel with a razor-sharp, dry sense of humor.
Sarah Castaneda (General Manager, a.k.a. Den Mother). A multitasking, “bad-ass sweetheart” whose ongoing task is to keep the guys focused on their jobs.
Josh Chauvet (Director of Resort Programs). A former competitive snowboarder and returnee to SPT who manages the relationships with resorts and coordinates the multiple sponsored events run by SPT.
Elliot Cone (Project Manager). A self-described resident alpha hillbilly of the group who “bleeds diesel.” His upcoming assignment is the Dew Tour and the U.S. Open.
Tyrone Coyne (Shop Supervisor/Lead Fabricator). A self-taught builder and SPT’s lead fabricator of jib features, which he makes from scratch for each individual project.
Aaron Dettling (Designer/Project Manager). The only man on the mountain with a calculator in one hand and a computer in the other, he’s the detail-driven, engineer-minded member of the crew.
Corley Howard (Project Manager). A 19-year veteran snowcat operator, as well as a former X Games athlete and skicross champion.
Sean Picard (Shop Assistant). Works under Tyrone to cut, chop, tack, fit and weld steel parts together to create some never-been-attempted jib features.
Frank Wells (Project Manager/Director of Business Development). A former professional snowboarder and the best halfpipe builder in the world. Frank is also SPT’s ambassador to the action sports business.
Episodes
“Stairway to Hell”
Thursday, May 9, at 8 p.m. ET/PT
SPT will be designing the halfpipe and slope-style courses for this premiere event of the winter season. Their main focus will be creating a massive, Mountain Dew signature staircase and rail feature that will contain the biggest wall they’ve ever built. Undoubtedly, with a feature of this size, problems arise. Because of the feature’s size and weight, it’s going to be extremely expensive to ship. They must come up with a new design. Gunny decides to have Aaron, his carpenter, build the stairs on the mountain, out of wood. This is the first time that Aaron has ever had to build a complete staircase on snow, leaving the window open for complete disaster, whether it is manmade or caused by Mother Nature. This build will be a challenge for everyone. Not only will they have to push to build a course in a unique fashion, but they also will have to contend with equipment failures, weather delays and the sheer size of the wall and rail features.
“The Meltdown”
Thursday, May 16, at 8 p.m. ET/PT
SPT’s next major project: an Olympic training camp for elite Red Bull athletes. While warm temperatures make it a high-risk project, Gunny is determined to get the job done, sending SPT’s “Jr. Meteorologist” Frank to lead the charge. But when Frank and lead snowcat operator Corley arrive at Sun Valley, they are shocked by the lack of snow on the ground, and are forced to redesign the course before Red Bull pulls the plug on the project. Corley and Frank hit the ground running and make some serious progress pushing snow, until Corley faces a potentially fatal accident with his machinery.
Narrowly escaping a disaster, Corley continues to build the massive 65-foot jump. But just as the temperatures drop and the SPT crew finally make headway with the jump, Mother Nature strikes again, sending an unprecedented rainstorm on a course to destroy their progress. Already behind schedule, the SPT crew must wait out the bad weather before they can get back on the snow.
“X Games”
Thursday, May 23, at 8 p.m. ET/PT
It’s time for SPT’s most stressful, most anticipated event of the year: the ESPN X Games in Aspen, Colo. As the original course designer for all 17 years of the ESPN Winter X Games, Gunny still feels the pressure to build the biggest, most intense courses the industry has ever seen. Gunny has passed the torch to his young protégé Chris Castaneda to lead the crew from SPT, who will have to manage the diverse SPT personalities of veterans Mike Binnell and Aaron Dettling, as well as rookie Landon Taylor. Extremely cold weather, malfunctioning equipment and tight deadlines quickly pile on to the intensity and difficulty of this worldwide televised live event. With the highest-caliber athletes waiting and the whole planet watching, SPT will have their work cut out for them.
Mountain Movers is produced by Good Clean Fun for the National Geographic Channel. For Good Clean Fun, Jason Carbone and Sarah Kane are executive producers. For National Geographic Channel, executive producer is Michael Mavretic, senior vice president of programming and development is Kevin Mohs, executive vice president of programming is Michael Cascio and president is Howard T. Owens. General Motors is a co-producing partner and Chevrolet is the lead media partner of Mountain Movers.
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National Geographic Channels
Based at the National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C., the National Geographic Channels US are a joint venture between National Geographic and Fox Cable Networks. The Channels contribute to the National Geographic Society’s commitment to exploration, conservation and education with smart, innovative programming and profits that directly support its mission. Launched in January 2001, National Geographic Channel (NGC) celebrated its fifth anniversary with the debut of NGC HD. In 2010, the wildlife and natural history cable channel Nat Geo WILD was launched, and in 2011, the Spanish-language network Nat Geo Mundo was unveiled. The Channels have carriage with all of the nation’s major cable, telco and satellite television providers, with NGC currently available in 84 million U.S. homes. Globally, National Geographic Channel is available in 440 million homes in 171 countries and 38 languages. For more information, visit www.natgeotv.com.
Good Clean Fun
Good Clean Fun is one of industry’s top producers of celebrity driven reality series, capturing the compelling drama of real life with a proven track record of keeping America tuned in. The Los Angeles-based company has cultivated relationships with talent that make it a powerhouse offering viewers insider access to the lives of their favorite celebrities. Breaking onto the scene with “Run’s House,” Good Clean Fun helmed six seasons of this NAACP award-winning hit for MTV, depicting the lives of hip-hop royalty, led by patriarch Rev. Run (Joseph Simmons) of Run DMC struggling to wrangle his wife and children into one happy hip-hop family. Dubbed “a reality television milestone” by the New York Times, “The Life of Ryan” introduced America to then 17-year-old teen skateboarding phenomenon Ryan Sheckler, which broke fresh ground for the genre and brought extreme sports to mass audiences. Good Clean Fun currently produces the Style Network’s hit reality show “Tia & Tamera,” which premiered in 2011 to record-breaking numbers, becoming the most-watched show in the network’s 12-year history. www.goodcleanfunllc.com
Snow Park Technologies
Snow Park Technologies (SPT) is the world’s leading consulting team for special projects on snow. SPT’s wide range of expertise includes designing and building some of the most renowned resort terrain parks and halfpipes; high-profile ski and snowboard competition courses; and countless on-snow productions. SPT also provides event production services, sport organizing and marketing services aimed at youth categories. The SPT team is a collection of the most experienced and talented freestyle park and pipe innovators in the world, whose dedication and passion for snow sports has redefined the winter landscape and what is possible on snow. For more information, visit SPT’s website at www.snowparktech.com and follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/snowparktech and Instagram @snowparktech.
Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 140 countries and selling more than 4.5 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature spirited performance, expressive design and high quality. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.