The Stash: Killington’s new all-natural terrain park

Snowboarding started as a backyard sport — kids riding these Snurfer-type/skateboard-type boards over homemade jumps and through the trees. Almost 30 years later, The Stash, an all-natural terrain park at Killington that was designed by riders at Burton Snowboards, brings the sport full circle.

Being an old-school skier (translation: I like to keep my skis on the snow), I generally avoid terrain parks. Just watching the riders slide on the street-style metal rails makes me cringe. “Doesn’t it trash your skis’ (or snowboard’s) edges?” I ask. It’s a question mostly answered by shrugs.

In The Stash, the rails are mostly made of friendlier materials — natural materials, such as birch trees and other logs. Even the trash cans are carved from wood. This past week, a rail that arches maybe eight feet off the ground and carved into a dragon from Oregon timber was installed. One snowboarder tentatively slid a couple of feet up it, then jumped off laughing and swearing.

There are five such parks in the world: in addition to Killington, Burton built Stashes at resorts in California (Northstar-at-Tahoe), France, New Zealand, and Austria.

Killington’s Stash winds through the woods for about a half-mile, and the only time I cringed was when a rider lost his balance on a stonewall rail and landed on his backside on the polished concrete top.

Features that made me say "wow" were a jibbable wooden fence, a Sequoia-sized log rail, and the Sugar Shack (minus any maple syrup), where riders were sliding down a stair rail. The day before, some of the Burton-sponsored riders were flying over the shack, I was told. (OK, that would make me cringe too.)

"It's really creative," said Stowe rider Nils Mindnich, 14, who's competed since he was six and is now sponsored by Burton and Red Bull. "It looks like no one had to build much even though it took an immense amount of effort to make. It looks really natural."

Asked whether some of the features were intimidating, Jaron Van Meter, 20, a snowboarder from Rome, N.Y., confessed yes. But he still liked how well all the features were sculpted, the natural feeling of the park, and the "cool atmosphere."

So cool, in fat, that even someone as uncool as me had fun skiing through the trees and watching the riders play.

Posted By Peggy Shinn, Globe Correspondent