Lake Tahoe: Squaw Valley opens 22-foot pro half-pipe to skiers and riders

A challenging, 22-foot half-pipe built for professional skiers and boarders at Squaw Valley has opened to the general public, but just through the weekend. Visitors who take to the slopes at the Lake Tahoe-area resort can find the Mainline superpipe off the Siberia chair lift.

The super-pipe, built as part of the Red Bull Training Grounds, where elite athletes worked out over the winter, comes with a pedigree. Elite freeskier Bobby Brown, 19, of Colorado, performed the first triple cork1440 at the site on April 19. (For the uninitiated like me: The “1440” means four 360s and the “cork” refers to the spinning and flipping move.)

Here’s a glimpse of Brown’s amazing feat (below). But don’t try this at home ... or anywhere, unless you know what you’re doing.

The super-pipe will be open to the public 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3 p.m. daily through Sunday. A regular lift ticket -- $59 for adults in spring, down from $88 for winter -- gets you in and gets you access.

But in an email, spokeswoman Amelia Richmond gave this advice to big-air wannabes: “Anyone can go through and check it out, but we do caution skiers and riders to only attempt to get air or do more difficult tricks once they’ve advanced to that level.”