Local Canterbury rider and photographer Niels Ypelaar has been following developments up at Mt Hutt recently which have seen the birth of their first Superpipe…Heres his report from pipeside as to what’s been going down over the past few weeks…Check the full story coming in the May 2014 issue…

At the end of the winter just been Mt Hutt locals witnessed something never seen before, something that they hope will continue for many winters to come. With the Olympics looming, a handful of the worlds best Snowboarders along with a hard working team had a 22ft Superpipe built just under Mid Towers for an Olympic training camp. The riders, included Olympic gold medalist Torah Bright, high flyer Danny Davis, brothers Ayumu and Eiju Hirano and their compatriot Ryo Aono, Hannah Teter, Kaitlyn Farrington, Queralt Castellet and Valentino. It was these select few who made things happen reaching deep into their own pockets to bring the project to fruition.

With John Meville and Jamie Kennerley behind the mammoth job of moving 50,000 cubic meters of snow and Benny Bright coordinating, an Olympic sized hafpipe was formed! All of the riders have trained hard to produce an Olympic gold worthy run and the tricks have been being thrown down, 15 ft FS airs, Cab 900’s, FS double cork 1080’s and everything in between. Amongst all the hard work and training, the public, mainly Mt Hutt locals were invited to check out what was happening and the crew that made the effort were definitely rewarded when the Superpipe was open to all to shred for just over an hour.

After a solid season and with only limited time until the Sochi Winter Olympics, Mt Hutt and Methven have been witness to something special. Lets hope this keeps happening in this part of the world for years to come!!

Photos: Niels Ypelaar

The first ever Superpipe at Mt Hutt. Could this be the start of something for Canterbury riders after all these years?..Lets hope so!

Ryo Aono, Frontside 5

Torah Bright, Cab 9

Danny Davis, Frontside Air