It can take two people to get in and out of the bowl at Laramie’s skatepark in wintry conditions. The threat of slipping on the smooth, frozen concrete lurking below fresh flakes is a constant for the volunteers shoveling and launching snow over the coping. 

Thomas Mazzetti, one such volunteer clearing the park on Dec. 23, found his winning strategy for staying vertical was to actively try to slide through the smooth contours, especially through the full pipe.

“So you expect it,” he said. 

Even if it means spending  hours hauling heavy snow across 15,000 square feet of slick concrete, volunteers have been showing up for at least nine years to help clear the frozen debris from the LaBonte Skate Park, according to Josh Kaffer. 

  • Josh takes a running start to push the snow over the lip of the concrete bowl

Kaffer has led advocacy efforts on behalf of the park in the last few years, and said the recently formed nonprofit Skate Laramie — also known around town as Friends of Laramie Skatepark — delivered a trailer with on-site equipment like shovels and brooms for volunteers to use. 

A snow-free skatepark by Christmas is the goal each year, Kaffer said.

“Typically if we can do that, it is significantly easier to keep it clear all winter and of course more fun for anyone getting new equipment for the holidays,” he wrote in an email, noting that a core group has kept it clear this year. 

After the snow is shoveled, swept into piles and launched out of the bowl, the sun gets to work drying the concrete to make it clear for skating — or even walking.

Madelyn Beck reports from Laramie on health and public safety. Before working with WyoFile, she was a public radio journalist reporting for NPR stations across the Mountain West, covering regional issues...

Join the Conversation

1 Comment

WyoFile's goal is to provide readers with information and ideas that foster constructive conversations about the issues and opportunities our communities face. One small piece of how we do that is by offering a space below each story for readers to share perspectives, experiences and insights. For this to work, we need your help.

What we're looking for: 

  • Your real name — first and last. 
  • Direct responses to the article. Tell us how your experience relates to the story.
  • The truth. Share factual information that adds context to the reporting.
  • Thoughtful answers to questions raised by the reporting or other commenters.
  • Tips that could advance our reporting on the topic.
  • No more than three comments per story, including replies. 

What we block from our comments section, when we see it:

  • Pseudonyms. WyoFile stands behind everything we publish, and we expect commenters to do the same by using their real name.
  • Comments that are not directly relevant to the article. 
  • Demonstrably false claims, what-about-isms, references to debunked lines of rhetoric, professional political talking points or links to sites trafficking in misinformation.
  • Personal attacks, profanity, discriminatory language or threats.
  • Arguments with other commenters.

Other important things to know: 

  • Appearing in WyoFile’s comments section is a privilege, not a right or entitlement. 
  • We’re a small team and our first priority is reporting. Depending on what’s going on, comments may be moderated 24 to 48 hours from when they’re submitted — or even later. If you comment in the evening or on the weekend, please be patient. We’ll get to it when we’re back in the office.
  • We’re not interested in managing squeaky wheels, and even if we wanted to, we don't have time to address every single commenter’s grievance. 
  • Try as we might, we will make mistakes. We’ll fail to catch aliases, mistakenly allow folks to exceed the comment limit and occasionally miss false statements. If that’s going to upset you, it’s probably best to just stick with our journalism and avoid the comments section.
  • We don’t mediate disputes between commenters. If you have concerns about another commenter, please don’t bring them to us.

The bottom line:

If you repeatedly push the boundaries, make unreasonable demands, get caught lying or generally cause trouble, we will stop approving your comments — maybe forever. Such moderation decisions are not negotiable or subject to explanation. If civil and constructive conversation is not your goal, then our comments section is not for you. 

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  1. For My Fellow Wyoming Citizens

    On Tuesday November 8th, 2022 the Citizens of Wyoming spoke clearly to whom they want to represent them in the Capitol Building and in Washington DC.

    For the United States House of Representatives the top vote getter was Harriet Hageman from Cheyenne to get the job.

    For Secretary of State the top vote getter was Chuck Gray from Casper to get the job. Good luck on hand counting the votes!

    And the winner was the American People and Liz Cheney. Representative Cheney clearly made her case to the American voters of the dangerous a threat Donald J Trump is to our Constitutional Government. This led to the defeat of the deniers and extremist from getting a foothold across the country in local, state and national office. Except here in Wyoming. Guess we still have not got the message!

    Charles Randolph Wheatland Wyoming

    Reply