If you’ve ridden the Whistler Mountain Bike Park’s Fitzsimmons chair, enjoyed a bulldog on the Longhorn patio or simply walked past Skier’s Plaza in the last few weeks, you’ve probably noticed the towering jumps in the Boneyard are nearing completion. Red Bull Joyride—the flagship event of Crankworx that everyone turns out to watch—is less than two weeks away.
The team behind the course build is contracted specifically for this event every year, their specialized skill set essential for such artistry. Leading this team of diggers and machine operators is Justin Wyper, a former slopestyle competitor himself who has gained a reputation as the go-to guy when you want to build the perfect jumps, berms and landings. While you may be familiar with his work on the Joyride course every year, Wyper’s work also shows up in other competitions like Rampage and many Red Bull film projects. Like Realm, where he also has a riding cameo in front of the camera next to slopestyle star Brandon Semenuk.
I caught up with Wyper a few weeks ago to talk about how the Joyride course comes together, what riders are looking for on their run and the team that helps him make it all happen. He was happy to take a break from the scorching temperatures in the Boneyard and take a phone call in the shade.
Pique: How long have you been building slopestyle courses?
JW: I got into course building around 2014, that’s when I started working with Paddy Kaye and Joyride. It was around then I also started working with Brandon (Semenuk) as well. We’d grown up on the contest circuit together and 2014 was around the time he was starting to taper off from slopestyle competition. I’d get him out to ride the Joyride course and give us (the builders) some honest feedback. That led us to working together outside of the Crankworx stuff on his personal film projects and other comps like Red Bull Rampage.
As time went on, getting out to travel and do film projects is harder and harder with a family now. But every once in a while I still get out to enjoy myself on those special projects.
You were a young aspiring slopestyle rider during the early days of Crankworx. How would you say the slopestyle course design has evolved?
It has evolved with the riding. When Red Bull came in and the slopestyle went back to the Joyride brand, we were able to build on what had been done in previous years and tweak some designs that weren’t working as well. (The Boneyard) used to be fall-line and mostly downhill with lots of braking, then you’d have to pedal into the next jump. Now we’ve got the speed so dialled that all you have to do now as a rider is think about the tricks. We can’t control factors like the wind and the sun, but we make it as smooth and fast as possible so riders can focus on what they’re there to do.
How do you get those huge Joyride jumps looking so perfect?
We’re lucky here with the dirt we have, but when you pull it out of the ground it’s quite rocky. We use a machine to remove big rocks, but our crew rakes and sifts all the remaining dirt by hand. With that fine dirt, you add water and it binds together so well. Once it packs and dries, it’s almost in a concrete-like state. After the excavator has roughed in the jump, we shape the top four inches of dirt to exactly what we need, without worrying about it falling apart. We’ll also spray the sides of the jumps and the course with hydroseed to encourage grass to grow. That has three benefits; it looks really good, the root systems help guard against erosion on steep slopes, and it helps keep the dust down.
How big is the builder crew that you work with every year to make this course happen?
We generally have two machine operators going from May until August, one specialist for bulking the dirt and laying it out and one specialist for the shaping. Then we have four or five guys on the hand crew that are raking, sifting and packing. We also have two or three carpenters working on all the wooden structures. I play a big role here, but none of it would happen without this crew. They’re all just as passionate as I am about building and riding. They put their heart and soul into it, and that’s really what makes Joyride what it is.
Vince Shuley steers clear of the Boneyard, unless he’s watching Red Bull Joyride. For questions, comments or suggestions for The Outsider, email [email protected] or Instagram @whis_vince.
