According to the publication, nearly 1,800 votes were cast for the 16th Annual Ski Area Management Terrain Park Contest, in which 60 entries from mountain resorts around the world competed for the top spot in one of four categories.

Bear Creek emerged victorious in the Features category and was named Best Terrain Park Feature in the World.

“We have an outstanding team that takes great pride in creating unbelievable guest experiences on and off the slopes,” said Erin Visco, General Manager of Bear Creek. “This award is a true testament to the hard work of our team members, and we’re so proud to receive this recognition.”

Drawing inspiration from Snowboy Productions’ Holy Bowly event, the Bear Creek team, led by head builder and park groomer Aiden Bulwicz, took advantage of a record cold spell in the last few weeks of January 2022 to piece together the elements of the Snow Park.
Using a Prinoth Bison X, Bulwicz built one snow feature per night for three nights in addition to his usual grooming routine, with some fine-tuning done by three or four members of the morning park crew using Arena Snowparks rakes. The features included: a 20-foot-tall x 60-foot-long hip; a six-foot-deep symmetrical bowl section; and a 15-foot-tall volcano, all made of snow. Although located in the large park, these features were used by all skill levels due to their dynamics, which allowed parkgoers to take the elements at their own pace.

Bear Creek receives a prize pack of swag from Prinoth, the contest sponsor.

“We had a great field of submissions this year from resorts small and large, as well as the debut of our new category, ‘Terrain Park Crews,’” said SAM publisher Olivia Rowan. “The SAM Terrain Park Contest showcases the creativity, hard work, and progression of terrain park builders. It aims to inspire mountain resort professionals to continue refining their park offerings, and it reinforces the importance of terrain parks in the overall operation of a ski area.”

The award-winning Terrain Park is part of Bear Creek Mountain Resorts snow activities which operate daily from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. with 23 trails over 86 skiable acres at a vertical drop of more than 500 feet. The resort offers skiers the use of Quad Chair and Triple Chair ski lifts and a Magic Carpet lift to shuttle guests to the top of the mountain.

In addition, individual ski session tickets, season passes, overnight packages, and learn-to-ski sessions are available.