It seems like as a community, both skiers and snowboarders have lost a lot of love for pipe riders. Some even say pipe events should just be scrapped. Hell, look at what the Dew Tour did this year...
But after riding a superpipe this weekend, and having the living shit scared out of me while not even getting air out of the pipe, I think we are forgetting just how insane pipe riders really are. If you've never taken a run through a superpipe, I can understand why you may think pipe is lame. But I'm telling you, those things are no joke. They are wayyyyy taller and more gnarly than they look on TV/videos. I could never imagine boosting those things 20+ feet.
Pipe riders are absolutely mental, and have earned my respect forever. Hitting a 65 foot slopestyle booter for the first time was nowhere near as terrifying as hitting that damn superpipe. So to those who have never stepped foot inside one, and bash pipe, your opinion is irrelevant. To those who have, and still bash pipe, why?