Skiers Find New Offseason Thrill In Towering Drainage Ditch

This drainage ditch ski session appears to use the same location as kayakers Rush Sturges and Ben Marr, who, in an absurd 2014 GoPro video, hit breakneck speeds as they slid over concrete and water.

Snowless skiing is a time-honored tradition. Not so long ago, a skier went viral for carving turns through gravel and dirt as they shredded down a dry hillside. Famed professional skier Candide Thovex’s Ski The World Audi advertisement featured the Frenchman sliding down dunes, grass, waves, and pretty much anything that traditionally isn’t meant to be skied.

Then, there’s Buldozlife, a crew of European skiers who added some gritty street skiing flair to the snowless shenanigans. In BPC 2, they shredded stair sets, flipped into canals, and raced through what looked like narrow irrigation channels. The Hood Crew also deserves an honorable mention for Thirsty, which opens with some of the finest escalator skiing around.

Does any of this look like a good time?

Not in the same way as skiing a foot or two of fresh snow, that’s for sure.

But I'd be lying if I said the odd patch of concrete or two hadn’t tempted me. One of my fondest memories of growing up as a skier involved squeezing into a tiny drainage pipe and colliding with my friend in front of me, whose skis got stuck under the ice.

That was one of our versions of type two fun. It offered the perfect combination of silliness and pain.

If we can celebrate all manners of life-threatening ski stunts like ascents of towering peaks, massive cliff drops, or triple corks, ill-advised summer skiing shenanigans are worthy of recognition, too, at least until the snow starts falling again.