Posted By:

Maggie aka "The Turninator"

We are thrilled to welcome new Terrain Park Manager Parker Gokey to the Sugar Bowl Team. Parker brings tons of prior terrain park and mountain management experience into his new role and he is highly respected in his field. We caught up with him for a quick interview to see what he has planned for the ’21/22 season at Sugar Bowl. Check it out:

Can you start by introducing yourself and giving us an overview of your experience in the ski industry?

“Hi I’m Parker Gokey. I’m the terrain park manager at Sugar Bowl. I’ve been building parks at Mount Ashland in Southern Oregon for the last 10 years, I was their Outdoor Operation Manager. I’m brand new here, starting last May.”

I also want to build a park that every kind of person can enjoy, from the little shredders to the Rad Dad or Mom. We’ll be building more snow features in the area near our halfpipe. When you look down the flow park, you won’t see a straight line of features. There will be features spread across the area that all connect into one another.”

What are you excited to build at Sugar Bowl to improve the terrain park experience?

“I want to bring flow park features into the Sugar Bowl Terrain park. Of course, we will have our main park with jumps, rails, everything like that, but I also want to build a park that every kind of person can enjoy, from the little shredders to the Rad Dad or Mom. We’ll be building more snow features in the area near our halfpipe. When you look down the flow park, you won’t see a straight line of features. There will be features spread across the area that all connect into one another.”

For example, maybe you have a jump to start, but on the side of that jump you’ll have an oval or a volcano that will bring you across [gesturing] to a hip over there [gesturing]. I’m also excited to build more terrain-based learning features into our program.”

What’s unique about your approach to building parks?

“I’m very hardworking. I’m generally always the first person to show up at work, whether it’s here or any job I’ve ever hand. My style is getting everything out there. I never want to see features in the parking lot, I want to see feature on the snow and I want to see people hitting those features.”

What do you love about working in the ski & ride industry?

“I’m originally from New Hampshire so ski history is very much in my blood. I love snowboarding and skiing together. I do both as well— I’ve skied since 1992 and snowboard since 2004. The most rewarding part of working in this industry is seeing people in our terrain parks, hitting features, and having fun. That’s what skiing and snowboarding is all about.”

What are your favorite terrain & conditions to ride? 

“I mostly lap the park and I am always looking for a rock to jump off of. On a powder day I’ll be first in line with the other powder hounds.”

What made you want to become the Terrain Park Manager at Sugar Bowl?

“It’s independent and family-oriented. It’s definitely not a small mountain but it still has that small-mountain community feel. I have a young family and it’s the kind of place I would want my kid to learn to ski.”