GIRLS AND BEACH BALLS: Women head to PC for water ramp camp
A bunch of ladies, 32 in all, converged on the Utah Olympic Park to pop and drop at the first Roxy Bikini Pop Drop presented by Axis Freeride and SheJumps. Entertainment value ranged from high to higher as skiers boosted all sorts of ramps but mainly into water.
"This is the equivalent of the beach in Utah," said Susan Larson, Roxy’s Western Scout.
In one corner, there are trampolines, in another there is a beginner ramp, and in between there are a number of aerial jumps where Olympian mogul skier Shannon Bahrke was spotted taking a few pop drops. Women in the camp ranged in age from six to 30. The majority had never hit a water ramp prior to the event and they came from all over: California, Idaho, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. The first day was full of firsts from sliding on a turf/carpet with skis and swimming in ski boots, to doing a misty on a trampoline.
Here is Q&A with the youngest and oldest participants of the Bikini Pop Drop.
Amber Simonpietri, 6
POWDER.com: Where are you from and how did you get into water ramp jumping?
Amber: Truckee. Me and my mom watched my brothers for a really long time.
POWDER.com note: While at lunch with her girlfriends ages 7-10, she started to sing a song, but not just any song, an adaptation of "I Believe I Can Fly."
Amber: "I believe I can cannonball," she belted.
POWDER.com: So what do you like doing other than water ramp camp and skiing?
Amber: I like having my friends over.
POWDER.com: What's your favorite candy?
Amber: I like it all.
POWDER.com: What's your favorite trick?
Amber: Front flip but I can't stick it. And the spread eagle.
POWDER.com: Are you scared of doing these tricks?
Amber: (She just shook her head in that "are you kidding?" type of way)
Jaime Krakowiak, 30
POWDER.com: Where do you live? What do you do?
Jaime: Breckenridge. I work at an architecture firm.
POWDER.com: So what's it like water ramping with all these young girls?
Jaime: It makes me feel young. It makes me feel like I'm at summer camp again ... I'm proud to be 30.
POWDER.com: You said you never drop or jump off anything while skiing. Why did you come to this camp?
Jaime: I started skiing seriously at 21, and didn't start off as a kid in the terrain park. I realized at 21 that that stuff hurt (to land) so I stayed on the ground. But I knew (the Roxy camp) would get me out of my comfort zone.
POWDER.com: What is your goal here?
Jaime: I've been doing more backcountry and telemark skiing, I want to accomplish a lot of things in the backcountry, I need to leave the ground. Also, I told myself I could do a backflip by 30 and I didn't make it, so now it's 31.