If there is one snowboarder who knows Mammoth Mountain inside out, it is Gabe Taylor. As one of the area’s most respected riders, Gabe has been a mentor to dozens of pros to emerge from the incubation chamber that is the Unbound Terrain Park. Guys like Garret Warnick and Jaeger Bailey owe a lot to Taylor, whose headstrong demeanor and positive attitude often surpass his powder friendly freestyle skills. Last season, after a 10 year run as a pro rider, Gabe dropped in to a new challenge with the MMSA marketing department. With Mammoth Opening Weekend upon us, we caught up with Gabe to see what’s new this season.

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Last year you hung up the pro hustle and took on a real job as Mammoth Mountain’s Unbound Marketing Manager. What’s that all about?
I think it all started with this one day in particular. I woke up and went shredding like always and then went down to Bishop and played golf. I came home and was like, “What am I doing with my life right now!” I mean this is awesome, this is everybody’s dream, but I do it every day and I’ve done it everyday for I don’t know how long. I don’t have any perspective to grow from this place I put myself in. So it was ironic that only a week later I found myself talking with some people here at Mammoth.

So, this was like some sick personal challenge?
I think it was a combination of a lot of things. I had this skill set I has acquired over the years because as a pro snowboarder these days you have to market yourself. So my eyes were wide open the whole time I was pro because everything about the business of snowboarding intrigued me as well. So I began to just feel something was lacking having this head full of knowledge and not putting it to use. Looking long term, of course I knew it was best to do just that. So it was just one of those doors that opened at the right time. Because at the end of the day, I just want to be able to go snowboard, and I can still do that with this job.

What was your “work” like the past 15 years?
I mean, as a pro snowboarder you work your ass off during the winter sometimes, but then there are a lot of days where you don’t. You cruise, you go snowboard and have more fun a than any human should be allowed. Having worked for about a year, I certainly have that perspective I was looking for! When people talk about 40 hours of work in a week, that’s an actually thing, it’s not just a number. When you are neck deep in marketing briefs and punching computer buttons you understand what that means a lot better. So kids out there, you guys scraping by off snowboarding — work your ass off. Never give up. You can make it happen.

What exactly do you do at this job of yours?
So early on in the job the big boss calls me into his office to ask me about ways to keep our terrain parks fresh and exciting. He asked me what my idea of a terrain park was. While everyone else looks at terrain parks as these man-made things, my mind has gone to the natural terrain over the years. So I had this idea of taking the Hemlock’s which is one of our best hike-only, side-country zones at Mammoth and turning it into a Travis Rice Ultra Natural-style area. Basically utilizing some of the natural features that are there, but just giving them a nudge in the right direction. There are a bunch of take offs and a bunch of landings but they don’t really meet up. So if we could get in there and accentuate what is already there, we might be able to do some really cool stuff. So we’re going to go slow and see what developed there. The point is, we really have people who understand snowboarding at Mammoth and who allow for opportunities that you just wont get anywhere else.

Any other plans around the hill this year?
Of course, our crew have been hammering on some awesome new rail features this summer in the garage. Also we’ll have a new park called Rhythm Ridge over by Chair 4. It’s kind of like a boardercross meets Holy Bowly, choose your own line park. Our terrain park manager and I were talking about what’s actually fun in park and we both brought up the idea that it’s the side hits and weird little things that are the most fun for everybody so that’s the kind of thing we are bringing back, not just the big, pro caliber jumps. Fun, flowy, different stuff.

Opening weekend is upon us, what’s in store?
Main Park is going to be open — we can promise that. There will be movie premiers down at Wave Rave including Mr. Plant, which I highly advise everyone to check out. There will be parties in the Village with bands and all that. For me it’s probably the funnest weekend of the year just because of the energy behind it. You’ll see friend you haven’t seen all summer and everyone is fired up to kick it off.

Check out the schedule for opening weekend at Mammoth Mountain here.

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