Chad's Gap

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.
Please improve this article if you can. (July 2007)

Chad's gap is one of the most well known and prominent gap jumps in the world. It formed in Utah's Wasatch Mountains, across the street from Alta Ski Area in Grizzly Gulch.

[edit] History

The gap is named after Chad Zurinskas, who jumped the gap in 1999 after he found two mining piles while hiking, and decided it would be possible to jump them on skis. Together with Candide Thovex, Andy Brewer, Brent Benson and ski-movie maker Kris Ostness who was making his first ski movie Clay Pigeons. They built a 5-foot (2 m) jump to try and clear the gap. Chad tried twice and came up a few feet short, but just as the film equipment was being packed up Candide Thovex asked Chad's persmission to attempt the gap. On his second try he landed it, pulling at that time the, "largest, cleanest mute grab ever recorded!"[1] Not to be shown up, a few days later Chad succeeded on his first attempt of the day. Brent Benson was able to capture Chad's successful attempt and the photo was publish in Powder magazine in the September 1999 issue, bringing the gap to the world's attention.[2] Candide came back the following year and tried to strait-air the gap and kept on crashing into the wall. On his 5th attempt he tried and completed a D-spin which blew away the action sports world.

A huge kicker is necessary, and you must hit it at at least 50 miles per hour (80 km/h) to have a shot at clearing the gap. Depending on the snow and how well the launch ramp is built, the 2006 ramp was a 14-foot (4.25 m) buffed ski run, skiers can get a 120-160 foot soar.

"There have always been ‘gap jumps’, just like there have always been ‘extreme skiers’. But Chad’s Gap started the craze." -- Kristen Ulmer[3]

Tanner Hall broke both of his ankles while sessioning the gap in 2005. He also made several successful jumps while filming for "Teddy Bear Crisis", including a Switch 180, 540 and a few switch 900's.

Tanner Hall's infamous ankle break became known by skiers and boarders world wide, the hilarity ensued on Newschoolers.com when Tanner Hall said this famous quote that fateful day

Tanner: "Ow, f**k my ankles are broken!"

Anonymous Filmer: "His ankles are broken!"

Tanner: "Ahhh!"

Later in an interview conducted by EXPN, Tanner Hall said it felt like there was "dynamite in my boots."

Chad's Gap has only been cleared by a few snowboarders, including Travis Rice and Romain De Marchi , who completed a backside 540, switch backside 540, cab 720, a backside rodeo 720, as well as a backside 180 no grab in the snowboarding video "Pop - Absinthe"