Word and Photos: Ben Shanks Kindlon and Colin Wiseman.
Video: Jann Eberharter.
Looking at the faces gathered at the Coal Pad in Glacier, WA a couple weekends back, you wouldn’t have been able to tell that half of these guys and gals nearly dropped to the ground from heat exhaustion just hours earlier. The majority of the day’s grime had since been washed away from a dip in the nearby Nooksack River, and the builders’ bellies had been filled with a well-deserved barbeque. The concrete deck surrounding the bowl was dry, and despite a full day of manual labor, it was time to skate. Between blasting frontside airs on a haggard section of the original Coal Pad transitions, Jamie Lynn was able to shed some light on the situation at hand, orchestrated by Grindline Skateparks.
Jamie described Glacier and nearby Mt. Baker as a “magical location for snow throughout the winter.” But, he added, “We don’t get to tap into the magic that it holds in the summer months as well. We now have that opportunity.”
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Displays the photo gallery for a selected Gallery Album.Through a fundraising effort in late March that brought in north of $20,000 and a whole lot of blood, sweat and cement, Glacier is now home to a world-class skate spot. A concrete, three-leafed clover of a bowl now sits off a gravel road in the deep green rainforest a few hundred yards behind Graham’s Restaurant. It’s open to the public and free of charge. Constructed by some of the country’s most talented and hard-working skate park builders, this behemoth was built at cost thanks to Grindline’s generosity, unbridled community support and a dedicated group of volunteers. Ryan Davis, Mervin Mfg’s Northwest Board Sales Representative, was a driving force behind the fundraising efforts. He has also been on hand to put in work throughout the build process and says, “We’re getting an $80,000 skate park for $25,000. We just witnessed the birth of a unicorn.”
As if the bowl wasn’t already gorgeous enough, the coping is lined with handcrafted ceramic tiles from Jamie and allegorical pro snowboarder Mike Cummins. Jamie’s spray-paint pieces also ring the eco-block walls of the spot. But Jamie sees his creative input as just a complement to the overall artistry of the bowl. He referred to the bowl as an “efficient sculpture that can be utilized on many different levels.”
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Displays the photo gallery for a selected Gallery Album.This past Friday, while preparing for the final concrete pour, Jamie walked us through the place. He pointed out donated crystals and tiger stone embedded into the coping alongside his tilework, referencing the energy they bring to a structure built to create natural momentum. Jamie also paid homage to the artistry of Mount Baker Hard Core underground legend Brian “Little B” Hartman, who was the lead designer and builder on the project. After 13 years of designing skate parks, Hartman’s skills in laying concrete are no joke, but he’s a modest guy. “It’s just lucky that I get to be here,” Hartman said. “This is where I’m from and I’m proud to do it.”
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Displays the photo gallery for a selected Gallery Album.Little B wasn’t the only MBHC legend on the scene. Tex Devenport was integral to the project, even offering up a piece of his land until Coal Pad property owner Joe King stepped up and donated the space to the community. Tex not only chipped in with dozens of hours of volunteer labor, but contributed a bit of flesh and a great deal of blood to the project, literally, when he lacerated his calf on a spike of rebar during construction. “The leg was a small sacrifice for the skate park, just a mild flesh wound,” Tex said, laughing.
On Saturday, July 18, the bowl was dry and ready to skate. With a huge tarp to shield the sun and help cope with 90-degree temperatures, a few dozen locals and an out-of-town contingent became familiar with the clean lines, tight pockets and ten-foot deep end. Jamie patrolled the deck with a mega-phone and a generator-driven PA system blasted Slayer and Sabbath and Santana. Maple Falls resident and MBHC founder Jeff Fulton traded mountain bike laps with skate laps. Young Kailani Lauderdale heckled his dad, bowl builder Joe, until Joe dropped in as well. And members of the community young and old filtered through to have a look at their new gathering place—a place that will serve as a focal point for Glacier board-riders through the summer months, a place to channel the innate flow and energy of the Mt Baker community for years to come.
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Displays the photo gallery for a selected Gallery Album.A huge thank you to the following folks, in no particular order: Ryan and Jami Davis, Brian Hartman, Tex Devenport, Joe King, Joe and Kailani Lauderdale, Jamie Lynn, Mike Cummins, Matt French, John Hayes, Brice Niebuhr, Rio Dondero, Jeremy Miller, Dave Price, Jamie Jacobs, Jeff Fulton, Marina, Schoph, Pete Cook and the Cook family, Chris and Nick Leigh, Sky, Donny, Woods, Wes Makepeace, Mike Corvin, Bob Lee, Kari Hoss, Kurt, Cody, Darnelle Hicks, Lib Tech, Volcom, Vans, Evo, Grindline Skateparks, Mervin Manufacturing, DieCutStickers.com, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Mt Baker Snowboard Shop, Mt Baker Ski Area, The Howats, Drag the River, Chair 9, Hidden Wave, WWS Boardshop, the entire community of Glacier, WA, and anyone else we may have missed who dedicated time, effort, resources and good vibrations to make this bowl a reality.