Digging. It’s one of the aspects that makes Red Bull Rampage so unique. What other event can you think of where athletes must build and choose the course they’ll compete on? Each rider can select two of their closest and most trusted buddies to help tackle the gruelling desert terrain of Virgin, Utah.The harsh dirt gives nothing for free. Dig teams must battle the elements and terrain, carefully clock-watching as their eight days countdown. Throughout the week, Ethan Nell and Dylan Stark will begin to test their features while their dig crew is on standby at the sidelines, ready to make any tweaks needed.
– Dylan Stark’s Rampage Dig Crew –
Adam Dunne (a.k.a Scribbles) and Mark la Londe
Dylan’s crew are all rookies; it’s their first time digging at Rampage. It’s awesome to witness them bring a relaxed vibe to the venue, despite their lack of experience. Dylan’s line heads looker’s left from the start, traversing across the ridge with a mix of raw terrain and built features. Before halfway, his line joins up with Szymon Godziek’s, and they share the double drop that leads into the legendary canyon gap. This gap was made famous in 2013 when Kelly McGarry backflipped the 72ft canyon, landing him in second place. When McGarry accomplished the unthinkable, the take-off for the gap was constructed from wood. However, this year, the take-off is an all-dirt structure, still with the spirit of McGarry at the heart of the build. Finally, Stark’s line will see him do a sequence of jumps before hitting his quarter pipe feature before the finish corral.
“We’re going through this gnarly experience together. The process of selecting the dig team is relatively simple, people who you can trust and who know how to have a good time. I’ll be hanging out with these people for two weeks. I’ve been digging with Markie for years; he can move dirt like a tractor. Nobody knows him unless you go to Costco, but he’s a legend there. Scribbles showed me around in Whistler one year, and then he came to help build for Real Heat 2; he was supposed to stay for 2 weeks but ended up staying 5. I would love to have a bigger crew, but we’re only allowed two diggers.”
Dylan Stark
“When we scoped the mountain, Dylan had a clear direction of what he wanted to achieve, and that makes our job super easy“
Scribbles
“My normal day job is pushing shopping carts at Costco 40 hours a week, so actually, for me, this is my vacation. Despite how tough it is out here, it’s still a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I couldn’t be more stoked to support Dylan. I’ve been away from the scene for a while and only recently got back into MTB, so being here at Rampage is pretty surreal.”
Mark la Londe
– Ethan Nell’s Rampage Dig Crew –
Dakoda Osusky and Ryan Mcnulty
Looker’s right, Ethan’s line traverses the far ridge before going into his biggest feature; a 70ft drop. You can expect big air and style from the 5th time Rampager.
“My team consists of two, Dakoda and Ryan. They’re local to the Rampage venue, so they know the terrain and what it’s like to dig out here. Important to me is they know how to ride, and they know what I like to ride; I couldn’t do Rampage without them”
Ethan Nell
“Digging is tough. Long days, hot sun and brutal terrain, it’s so unbelievably dusty and dry out here. But the hardest part is wanting to ride.”
