Photo of snowboarder on rail at CMC Cloud City Rail Jam

Take 5: Jordan Thomas of the Cloud City Rail Jam at CMC-Leadville

This Q & A with Jordan Thomas on Colorado Mountain College in Leadville’s annual Cloud City Rail Jam event was published in the March 22 Summit Daily News. This year’s event takes place Saturday, March 26, starting at 11:15 AM. By Phil Lindeman.

Photo of snowboarder on rail at CMC Cloud City Rail JamThere’s nothing like a spring rail jam.

When the weather warms and the snow softens, skiers and snowboarders from across the nation descend on terrain parks to show off their stuff. Colorado has long been home to a few of the nation’s biggest and baddest parks, and by now, just about every park is running at full strength.

But it doesn’t happen overnight. Behind the scenes at Breckenridge, Copper, Keystone and elsewhere, dozens of groomers, builders and designers with park crews spend hundreds of hours creating nearly perfect features. Some are former pros, others are self-taught, and still others learn the ins and outs in the classroom before moving to the field. Click for full article.