We are very lucky to have 7 dedicated Park groomers on Blackcomb, Marty Gautrey, Oleksander Iskat, Kirby Litzenberger, Jason Josling, Lucas Ouellete & missing from the photos, Tim Austin & Andy Morrison. Marty is the lead hand & Kirby & Andy are our pipe shapers. Our grooming team is the best ever, bringing grooming experience & a Park background to the team. Nothing happens in our parks & pipe without our Groomers who continue to deliver quality building & grooming each night.
The Park staff take care of the hits during the day & the lead hands, Fred Lepage & Eric Gendron, pass on the maintenance & new build requests to Marty & Olex @ the start of their grooming shift. Our Groomers use Pisten Bully snow cats & specifically the Park Bully model. Specialized combing teeth have been added to the Park cat blades for even better ramp shaping when back blading. The Park groomers also use forks which attach to the snow cat blade to move & install the rails. We all owe a huge thank you to our Park groomers on Blackcomb for all their hard work & dedication in bringing you the best Parks & Pipe experience. Here’s a little back ground on our drivers:
Marty Guatrey – Lead hand & grooming the B Park since 1990. Marty started in Lake Louise, made the move to Whistler & has been working in the Parks in winter & Bike Park in the summer. Marty likes working with the younger crew & enjoys skiing what he builds. “I love building jumps. It’s challenging to build & progress with the skiers & snowboarders needs. It’s great to watch people having fun & enjoying my work & I do have a beautiful work environment”.
Oleksander Iskat – Works opposite shifts to Marty & leads the team on Marty’s days off. Olex has been grooming in the Park for 5 years & also has been a key member of the Bike Park in the summer. “I get to build what I want to ride & have the freedom to build an idea. I try to make everything I build as safe as possible. I may not ride the biggest hits but I’m happy to see people progress on our features”.
Jason Josling – 2nd year in the park grooming. J was mostly in the Terrain Garden last season and now grooms the main Nintendo Park & helps out in the Highest Level when needed. “I’m still learning but feel I’m 100% better than last season. My job takes precision, a skilled eye & attention to detail. I try to make everything safe, rideable & fun”.
left to right: Oleksander, Lucas, Kirby, Marty & Jason
Lucas Ouellette – 1st season grooming & worked on the Parks day crew last season. Lucas is mostly in the Terrain Garden but is also working on the secret jib & jump section in the Highest Level Park “I like building stuff & hitting it the next day. It can be lonely @ times yet peaceful inside the snow cat. I crank up the punk rock tunes & build the jumps.”
Kirby Litzenberger – 6 seasons @ Whistler & specifically grooming the super pipe. Kirby took a couple of seasons off but we are stoked that he is back on our pipe team once again. Top riders know when Kirby has cut the pipe, it rides perfect. Kirby built his first pipe in 1988. “It takes vigilance to build the best pipe possible. I want to build & maintain the best pipe. Being rated #2 for pipe is not good enough. Southern Cali is all hype”.
Tim Austin – 2nd year Grooming the Parks & also came from Park day crew. Tim rides what he builds & rides hard. Tim started grooming the Terrain Garden his first season & is now involved in the main Nintendo Park grooming team.
Andy Morrison – Our longest serving groomer with over 16 years of grooming experience, Andy works on the winter & summer Glacier half pipes. Andy has been pipe shaping for over 5 years & has used the Pipe Dragon & the Zaugg Pipe shapers.
left to right back row: Lucas, Oleksander, Marty. Front row = Kirby & Jason
