High n Dry in AZ
Words and photos by Ping!
baK iN da' daY...
I was lucky e'nuf to grow up in Phoenix, AZ. during the 70'z-80'z, and be a part of the whole
skateboarding emergence from the SO. CAL scene to the people of Earth everywhere. We were
especially blessed in Phx. because we had hundreds of (empty!) pools all over the "Valley of the Sun",
plenty of banks and ramps, and some secret round spots in the desert to skate too....
Here are some of the radd skateboarding stories I remember:
OK, probably the craziest adventurez were the DESERT PIPE trippz...
Then next project was the "Hassayumpa pipes". One time, we rolled a car on the road on the way
out, like 50 miles out in the desert, 10 miles IN on a dirt rd. My stupid teenage friend had borrowed
his dads NEW station wagon, and decided to do a slide at 60+ mph, we rolled 3 times!? We finally
hiked to the freeway, and got a Buckeye sheriff to take us home, while my friend irritates him with
"Andy Griffith" jokes (I also had herb in my shoe :) SCARY!! The next day, we tried again, and hit the
jackpot...
Soon, the crazy redneck security guard showed, and they argued, my friends basically told him to
"fuck off". SO, he went and called the local Sheriffs. They all arrived, we bailed "commando" into the
desert, crawling with our equipment thru a wash back to our car. They busted our friends, but we got
away (muddy), that time anyway....
One time, we drove out 70 miles or so (probably 20 on dirt) into the desert to some sections/ downhill
pipes to what came to be known as the "Centennial project". I took some "mind altering substance",
and we went into the pipe factory "commando" style. We skated brand new 25' AMERON cement
pipes 1-2 hrs. before, they saw us... The security guards finally came, kicked us out (not B4 I shot a
whole roll of film :), but l8r.... I think it was the next weekend, we got busted there again by this same
guard, "Jesse" as I recall, he told us "If the Sheriff comes around, tell him UR my cousins from
California". We drank some beer with him in his trailer after the session, great guy, I swear it really
happened.... juSt 2 c0oOl!
Pools, pools, pools..... ahhhhh! We had some fun, didn't we?
Well, Dead Cat was probably the Grandaddy of them all. It was a burned out mansion on Phx's
westside (YEAH, WeST SiDe PoWeR!!), with an incredible olympic size pool in a secluded location,
with a big stone fence all around.
Then came Skate in the Shade, Tempe Arizona's answer to Upland back then. A PERFECT 12'
Keyhole, (built by crazy WALLY!), with sic hips, and a way sweet shallow end. I remember we tried
hard not to drink beer on the way out there, because once you got in the bowl, it was hard to get out,
and it made you head spin! Steve Shelton ruled...
The legendary DEatH RaMp on the West Side must also be mentioned here. Scott A. built the
BEAST, 12' high on each side, barely squeezed into his backyard. Some historic sessions went down
there, also some killer old school house parties/ keggers (non- profit 2 raise $$$ 4 the ramp, of course
:) West side locals ruled there, Scott, Doug, Mark, (Art & Shane R.I.P.), and all the brothers...
I remember once at the DEaTh RaMp, full-on party raging. This guy named Mark, radd local,
drinking heavily, did a HUGE aerial off the back of the the ramp, no deck over there!! ( just a long fall
onto a chain link fence :( We all thought he was DEAD 4 sure, the whole party was quiet, then he
comes running up to the top deck, glasses broken, looking 4 more beer! Thanks 4 the good times
Scott...
Here are some general rulez for a successful "commando" skate mission:
1. If there are "No Trespassing" signs, get rid of them on the way in!! That way, if someone tries to
kick you out, you can say "...but I didn't see any signs!"
2. Park a long ways off, that way, if you need to bail, your car is not out in front.
4. DO NOT run from cops, it just makes them mad (plus it is a felony!). If there is no way out, just
hang and keep skating, be friendly about it. Be nice, joke with them, and hopefully they will let you go
with only a warning.
5. If you get caught "trespassing", DON"T LIE, it usually makes things worse. Unless you have
warrants or something, it's not worth it...
6. DO NOT spray paint, or vandalize thingz. I know most "real skaters" do not do this shit anywayz,
but... Basically, the cooler UR the longer sk8 spots will last...
7. If you have anything illegal in your pockets, leave it in the car! I don't know how many times we have
been hassled, they search us, and someone has some herb on them. The man takes the offender down,
and lets the rest of us go. Don't be stupid!
8. Stay QUIET! No radios, or loud talking in backyard pools. You do not want to get any unwanted
attention from the neighbors, or their dogs.
9. Be respectful of other peoples property! Put duct tape over the light, and on the drain of the pool,
try to leave no damage except maybe some grind marks on the coping =)
10. Hit and run!! Don't stay too long, it usually takes at least 20-30 minutes for the cops to show,
depending on how far the nearest station is, and how lucky you are that day! You can get alot of runs in
in that much time, then just come back later!
KEeP oN SkaTiNG, StaY HardCoRe, doN't FoRGet STyLe and RooTZ R wAy iMpoRtaNt...
ReSPecT!
PiNg! mOn
Lake Pleasant pipez, the very first project, 1978-80 ... Skateboarding was just getting started, we all
rode "primitive" boards (Logan, Sims, G&S, Hobie, if U were lucky!) The SO. CAL posse came out
and showed the AZ. crew how to kickturn, and fakie, the rest is history. Major AZ playerz back then
included, S. Shelton, M. Bergone, Cameron, M. Slater, J.Howard, Mor gan, Doug Edwards, and the
Ping! bros....
The security guards and cops were always scary, but that was part of the rush! We parked about 1 1/2
miles away from the pipes one time, to be sneaky. We hiked thru the desert to the downhill, and started
to skate. Some friends showed up, and we told them to ditch the car and join us. They didn't listen...
The plaster in DeadCat was perfect, for probably the whole 6-8
years we rode it. It was a 10'+ ft. bowl with sq. corners, loveseats, deathboxes, and all kinds of FUN
lines. At first it was really low key, then as it became more well known we eventually had sessions
going of 15-30 skaters in one day. At one point, we had to break everyone into 2 sessionz, one would
party and rest on the shade, while the others skated, then we all switch... Good sessions there :)
The Concrete Jungle was memorable also. They were building a freeway thru Paradise Valley, dozing
these whole neighborhoods of fancy houses (with pools!) For awhile it was open season, (I remember
some "rasta guy" on the Alva team was even camping in some of the condemned houses 4 awhile!),
and we had 5-10 pools within 3 blocks to choose from. I also remember Bill Danforth slowly grinding
the coping off the hip there, he flowed me a board, and hurt his knee, ruler. They were good pools too,
one we had dubbed "perfect pool" the PV Crew ruled there! ( Bob K., Shane, Jason, Jeff H., Paul S.,
peace GuYZ!)
3. If the scene is real sketchy, post lookouts, and rotate while others skate. Hopefully you will see them
before they see you, and you can escape. 
These are only a few stories I have, I didn't even get to mention legendary AZ. spots like the Love
Bowls, the Air Bowl, High Roller Skatepark, the Beeline Pipes, and way more. Of all the hundreds of
pools I skated over the years, I have only been busted hard twice. Was is worth it, HELL YES! I am
now out of the pool scene, but I still sK8 everyday. I am into a new sport I call "Dog Skating" which
keeps me going (hey, wanna race?). I'm sure lots of others do it too, (like Micheal & his dog did :)
Living in the country is alot different than city life, but it has it's benifits too. Snowboarding and mountain
biking help with the old adreniline rush...