Cable’s Rail
Four trips, 300 + tries and a fucking cover
It was the morning of the first snow. I was supposed to go out with Benny and Dylan to help Dylan get a clip, but I slept in. They left without me. They were already in American Fork so I scrambled to get ready and went to Starbucks. I got a quad shot, a 3D printed sandwich and pulled into a spot to figure things out. They were getting kicked out and didn’t know where to go next so I checked my spot folder and realized I had some screenshots I never looked at. I figured it was a good time to scope. I drove twenty minutes south and ended up in one of those neighborhoods where every house looks the same. But there was a rail. I looked at it for a while but never decided if I was down. It went into a fence and had a bleacher a few feet away. Dylan and Benny pulled up and were hyped. They didn’t know the rail existed and were sure no one had done it. I told them I thought it was really sick and I’d be down if the bleachers weren’t so close. Dylan started examining and realized you can just move them out of the way. I woke up with no plan that day but it was like the stars aligned. We started shoveling (scraping) and called for more help. Dakota and Jakob pulled up immediately, then Justin and shortly after Bob came to shoot a photo. I started trying and made it a few hours before it was too dark to keep going. During the session, we were planning a trip to South Dakota. We were supposed to leave two days later. We knew we had to come back and get it before the trip. Fast forward to the next day, we had Jon on fish but no photographer. I thought it was gonna be easy. I was rested and knew what I was getting into. I was wrong and tried for maybe five hours before it was too dark again. I started going psycho towards the end. Dylan has a clip of me letting out an ungodly scream. It looks cheesy and I feel silly watching it, but it was real. I actually was that torn up and can’t remember any other time I’ve been like that. The next morning we got up at five to drive to South Dakota but i80 closed and we had to call off the trip. Dylan immediately asked if I wanted to go back but I couldn’t. I needed time to recover. We waited a day, then went back once again.
Caleb Kinnear shot by Bob Plumb… we remembered the b this time <3
The last few short kinks were what was making the rail so difficult. I could make it there fairly consistently, but would just bounce off whenever I tried to go through the end kinks. On day three I started getting closer but just couldn’t handle the last section. I had one where I made it a foot from the end and another where I slipped into boardslide and landed sideways. At the end of the day though I was just over it and told myself I needed a more attainable clip first. I spent the next few days at home catching up on school, feeling sorry for myself and trying to find a safety clip. I had three days until I left SLC for Christmas break. I was desperate to at least put one clip on the timeline. With two days left I surprisingly woke up to a fresh foot of snow on the ground. I started trying to make this roof spot happen. I remember going crazy that morning, seeing who can help out, figuring out logistics (how to get on the roof, if there’s enough snow etc.) and feeling like I’d kill myself if I fell off the roof because I was so desperate. Luckily, that didn’t happen. It all came together and I got the clip in under 5 tries. I felt like a new man, I didn’t care about that stupid kink rail. I could’ve gone back to Alaska happy. I celebrated by getting Taco Bell with Dylan and Justin then had a girl over. Let’s just say things went well and we’ll fast forward to a nice breakfast. I made coffee and bacon egg sandwiches. She was in the middle of telling me how it was the best breakfast sandwich she’d ever had (which was definitely a lie) when Justin burst out of his room in snowpants. I asked “where are you going?” expecting him to say woodies and he hits me with “I think you know.” I was speechless. I’d forgotten all about that stupid rail. “Dylan and Benny are meeting us here,” he said. “And Dom’s getting ready.” I didn’t even have time to say anything, I just started running to get ready. We all packed into Justin’s car and he played X Games Mode. Then he played X Games Mode again. And then again. It was like they were trying to tell me something. The first three days at the rail I drove alone, just sitting in a cage of fear, listening to Dystopia. How could I possibly be nervous in this new environment? The energy stayed the same as we set up the spot and I was thinking about past attempts. I felt like I was trying to force myself to the end of the rail which was why I’d get bucked off at the last kinky section. In reality it would just take some finesse. First drop felt weird because I was used to going faster. I somehow locked in perfectly though, but washed out because I wasn’t ready for the final kinks. I felt like I just figured it out. Maybe five or six more tries of the same thing happened. But the energy was different. I was just about strapped in, standing on the table when Dom looked at me and said, “just lock in.” Bruh, that had to be the silliest thing I’d ever heard. No shit I wanna lock in. You think I’ve just been throwing myself at this thing for three days with no intention of locking in? I didn’t say that though. I didn’t even finish thinking it before I realized it didn’t matter. I gave him a nod and took a deep breath before I dropped. Then I just locked in. Thanks Dom.
- Caleb Kinnear