The Pipe Master

From New Zealand to the Ski Tour to the X Games to Breckenridge, Frank Wells is cutting superpipes of the future

I found Frank Wells, 35, enjoying the view from his rented condo at the base of Warm Springs in Sun Valley. “Check it out man, I can watch football and the halfpipe competition at the same time!” Maybe you haven’t heard of Frank Wells, although he was one of the first pro snowboarders in the early 90’s. If you’re a skier or snowboarder you’ve definitely seen his work. He is “the man” for cutting halfpipes. As a project specialist for Snowpark Technologies, Frank builds the halfpipes, jumps, and rails for almost every major competition in the , including the X-games and The Honda Ski Tour’s halfpipe. He spends seven months a year based out of Breckenridge and the other five in where he is a co-owner, director and slope manager at the New Zealand Snowpark, an entire mountain devoted to jumps, rails, and halfpipes outside of Wanaka on the South Island. Freshly married with a nine-month-old daughter, Frank’s life is certainly busy right now. He has to catch a flight tomorrow at seven to start cutting the pipe for the X-games…here’s what he had to say about where he’s been, what he’s doing, and where he’s going.

Lat34: How did you parlay a career as a professional snowboarder into Snowpark Technologies?

FW: Before I started snowboarding I was a skateboarder, so I had an understanding of transition and what works and what doesn’t. I started working for the Mount Hood Snowboard Camp. I was hand shaping the features up there until around 1997 when I started operating snowcats. From there it just kind of blew up and I’ve been trying to keep up with it ever since.

Lat34: You work as a park consultant as well?

FW: Yeah, that’s how I got involved with the New Zealand Snowpark. Two mogul skiers actually had the idea and wanted to know what I thought. So I flew down there to check it out and it just clicked. By the end of the second day I was drawing out design ideas on bar napkins and couldn’t wait to make it a reality. It was really a case of being in the right place at the right time

Lat34: What goes into making a superpipe?

FW: It starts with alot of snow, and on top of that knowing how different conditions affect the snow. Like here in Sun Valley with the super cold temperatures recently, that affects how I cut the pipe. I also talk a lot with the athletes to see how it’s riding, but in the end it takes a series of judgement calls and patience.

Lat34: How difficult is it to operate a snowcat with a pipe dragon?

FW: You’ve got to have a steady hand, that’s for sure but it’s all about numbers, knowing how much snow to cut off and being firm enough cut it correctly but gentle enough not to disrupt the snow and pull out chunks.

Lat34: So where are you headed in the future?

FW: Besides the whole family thing, I’m buying a house in Breck which I’m excited about. I’d also like to start working more on the Hollywood film stuff that I’ve just started doing. Something I did recently was build a halfpipe in between two houses…that was pretty cool. I’m also getting into tourism in since I own a village down there and have the place pretty wired. I’m also getting more specialized, this spring I’m talking to some guys who want to break the world quarter-pipe record so I’ll be building them something huge. I’d also like to surf a bit more, the endless winter is great but those tropical surf trips are needed to recharge the batteries.

Lat34: Thanks for your time Frank, and great work on the pipe, it looks amazing!

- Kitt Doucette