We know that skiing sand is possible, but how about slag from a Superfund site? Local Butte skier Robert Lester proved it was possible by shredding it two separate times. According to The Ravalli Republic, the first shredding session occurred in the Summer of 2020, and the second time happened in July. Lester grew up shredding the Discovery Ski Area near Butte, and would frequently drive by the slag hills of Anaconda. Located near Butte, Montana, these slags hills were created by the former Washoe Smelter stack and the presently operating Black Diamond Processing Plant. These facilities create slag hills that have an estimated amount of about forty-three million “high-quality iron silicate granules.” This mostly includes arsenic, lead, and copper byproducts. To pull this off safely, Robert Lester bundled up in winter attire to protect against what would’ve been a painful crash, and put on an extreme amount of wax. The results? Pretty phenomenal footage.
Lester said that he got the approval both times to shred the slope from British Petroleum, Black Diamond, and Atlantic Richfield Co.(ARCO), who run the facilities. A level of controversy has been stoked from this ski escapade though, as the operators of the site claim otherwise. The EPA remedial manager for the Superfund project, Charlie Coleman, claimed that the members of the ARCO staff denied that they gave Lester the approval to shred the site. Obviously, this ski run was a major legal and health risk, and shouldn’t be attempted. Looks kinda fun though!
Image Credits: Robert Lester
