Report on the Moon Park Shapers

We interviewed Damien and Alex, the 2 shapers at Méribel Alpina’s Moon Park.

A Shaper is someone who works at a terrain park.

He is in charge of safety at the terrain park and also of the construction and shaping of the elements according to a plan established at the beginning of the season.

He is responsible for the maintenance (by removing any dangerous object such as balls of ice or stones and putting in place all the poles and signs indicating the difficulty levels).

He is in contact with the clients to welcome them and answer any questions they may have about the terrain park.

 

This refers to jumps of varying sizes or equipment such as a box or rail.

There are several different levels of difficulty at theMoon Park :

 

-beginner and amateur(green and blue lines): a 700m long freestyle area, with 8 four-metre tables, 10 woops, 1 rainbow rail, 1 rainbow box, 1 three-metre straight rail, 1 flat box, 1 four-metre box, and 1 eight-metre box.

This course is indicated by the green and blue signposts at the start point.

 

- advanced and pro (red and black lines):a 600m long freestyle area with

1 table with 2 kickers of 15 and 10m, 1 step up step down, 1 flat bar rail, and 1 rainbow rail.

This course is indicated by the red and black signposts at the start.

 

We arrive at the Moon Park at around 9am and we inform the ski patrollers of our arrival. We put in place the security netting to slow people down in dangerous areas. Then, zone by zone, we remake the elements with a shovel so as to improve on the work done by the machines. Once everything is ready at around 10am we inform the Services des Pistes that the park is open and maintained.

 

During the day the elements need work doing to them so boarders or skiers can enjoy them safely. We also explain the safety rules to follow in the Moon Park (for example, not to cut across someone who is following a line, to take into account the difficulty of each element, respect the rules of the draglift etc.)

Around 4pm, the netting and poles are put into place to indicate the Moon Park is closed.

 

 

You need to love freestyle and the mountains and, above all, to be welcoming and good with people. You also must learn the techniques of shaping (for example, calculating the angle of a reception area) and the regulations to follow in creating the elements.

 

 

Most importantly, don’t rush ahead of yourself : familiarize yourself with the course and the elements, and then choose the course suited to your ability level.