So last weekend the Wallenberg “big four huck yourself” went down in San Francisco. I am long past the age where I can jump down massive cliffs on my skateboard but it is seemingly the direction for the most hyped contests in skating these days. And personally I would rather wait in an airport queue or lick rubbish than watch your average
double set lemming style contest, but for some reason Wallenberg
was different for me…
Maybe it is the sheer legendary stature of the set, maybe because it has truly stood the test of time with its gnarl factor? Maybe it is cause
Gonz broke the ice back in ‘91? I went to the spot in 1996 and I couldn’t work out how you would hit it. The length was just ludicrous. (I think it is 17 foot long!) The speed needed would be fierce, and there was only a small section of schoolyard available for runway. It was explained to me that you had to bomb the hill outside first, and then mach up the driveway, through the gate and into the schoolyard. Man even if I was towed by a rocket, I doubt if I could have cleared it. Even with the roll in, there was no way I could have imagined what would have gone down last weekend.
If you follow the skateboard circus on the interwebs you may well have seen Cole’s 360-backside flight by now, among other atrocities. If not well, you can check out the action over here at
Thrasher, the Lakai/Girl journey over there at
Crail Tap (check Carroll’s face after the back three: priceless!) or you can see some clips over here at my personal favourite rendition: "Road to Wallenberg:
The Jimmy Carlin Experience" where Jimmy even outshines Cole’s athletic prowess with some serious car dancing.
Car dancing is a very old phenomenon, but Carlin (below) truly takes it to the umpteenth level.