The Ravinos Legacy
I’m standing at the lip of “The Wailer” in Vail, CO, 20 feet above the landing below. It’s St. Patrick’s Day, and 11 members of the Ravinos just sent a train of backflips off the cliff. My heart pounds. Iconic flaming skull patches on cutoff denim jackets are all around me, worn proudly by the group whose legacy I’ve been chasing for years.
Nearly a decade ago, I stood on this same edge, with hopes of joining the mythical Ravinos. But what I didn’t understand then was that the Ravinos weren’t just about riding. I knew the Wailer was a rite of passage, and backflipping it was supposed to be my initiation into the club. I didn’t earn my patch that year. I left the mountain not just disappointed, but with a fixation on learning what made the Ravinos so special.
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