Star skier & wunderkind Cody LaPlante shreds ghost town

Bridgeport, CA – (March 23, 2017) – This March, 15 year old, Cody Laplante, all star skier and wunderkind, took advantage of the weather patterns bringing legendary snow (~17 feet this season) to his home mountains on the West Coast. Originally from Truckee, CA, the opportunity to find urban settings to ski amidst this record-breaking season was a priority for LaPlante.

After tracking snow patterns, LaPlante saw how covered Ghost Town in Bodie was and decided to travel the 13 miles via snowmobile into the abandoned Ghost Town. Assisted by a safety and State Parks team, LaPlante and the crew built a dream ski-park within the eerie buildings.

The old mining settlement at Bodie in California is arguably America’s best-preserved ghost town. Dating back to around 1859, Bodie is frozen in a state of “arrested decay,” looked after as a historic park but not restored to its original condition. This makes the town both authentic and mysterious, with original fixtures in the buildings left untouched since their occupiers deserted them. In essence, it is as though an entire community just disappeared. “Since I’ve been working at Bodie, this is the most snow I’ve ever seen here,” says State Parks Peace Officer (Ranger), Joshua Heitzmann, “for Cody to be able to come out here and do this is very, very unique.”

“Doing interesting and urban skiing projects like this really helps progress the sport and I want to be a part of that,” says Laplante, “I’m so grateful to the Bodie Foundation for letting us come be a part of the experience and bring some attention to the ghost town.”

For LaPlante, building the right jumps also acted as training for a challenging upcoming competition season. Last year, LaPlante became the youngest to ever stomp a triple flip on skis and was offered a spot on the US Freeskiing Slopestyle Team. Cody will compete in Slopestyle, Halfpipe, and Big Air and compete for a spot on the upcoming 2018 Winter Olympic team.

Donate to the Bodie Foundation and help preserve it’s past at www.bodiefoundation.org/donations

About Cody LaPlante:

Proving to have talent well beyond his years, US freeskiier Cody LaPlante has already finished first overall at the USSA Jr. Nationals in 2015/16 and been named the youngest member of the US Ski Team. He is now looking towards the 2018 Winter Olympics being held in Peongchang, South Korea.

Born in California in 2002, LaPlante first began skiing at the age of two when his parents, David and Jessica LaPlante, would take him to the mini park on a harness. He began competing at nine years old at took first place in the Slopestyle in the nine-and-under division of the USASA Nationals. Since then he has gone to take numerous titles including the Overall title in the USSA Jr. Nationals this year.

Not one to let his age and small size stand in the way of trying new things on the slopes, much of LaPlante’s notoriety comes from a stunning track record of progressive skills uncommon for athletes his age. Backflips at seven. Dubs at 11, all four-way-dubs at 12, triples at 13, and in October, the world’s first triple misty 1440 while training in Cardrona, New Zealand.