Normally, Chattanooga-area residents have to wait on the weather to provide a chance to snowboard, just as Josiah Brower did when about an inch of snow fell at the Lookout Mountain Golf and Country Club in December 2010. This weekend, Shaun White wannabes can put their skills to the test with the Chattanooga Rail Jam competition in the parking lot at Mellow Mushroom Waterside.IF YOU GO
What: Chattanooga Rail JamWhen: 4-10 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23Where: Mellow Mushroom Waterside, 2318 Lifestyle WayAdmission: Free but a $5 donation to Tennessee RiverKeepers is good for one drink ticketPhone: 423-892-6767Website: http://railjamsignup.pgtb.me/fGqzpb
Nevermind the predicted high of 57 degrees. A snowstorm will hit Chattanooga on Saturday, Feb. 23, but this cold front will get no farther than the Mellow Mushroom parking lot in East Brainerd.
For Chattanooga Rail Jam, the city’s first snowboarding competition, 6 tons of snow is forecast, and periodic “storms” will blow through to keep this mini snowboard park ready for action.
“We’re building a jump-off ramp that’s 10 feet high,” says Steve Gilbert, owner of Dodge City Ski Shop on East Brainerd Road. “(Competitors) will slide down, make a jump and snowboard across the rail.”
Dodge City is a co-sponsor of the event, along with Mellow Mushroom Waterside. The Waterside Lifestyle Center is off Shallowford Road between I-75 and Gunbarrel Road.