Skating the Desert

American skate legend Ryan Sheckler led an all-star skateboarding crew to the Utah desert wilderness to try out a ‘slickrock’ formation created in the Jurassic period millions of years ago.

Inspired by world-renowned skate/adventure photographer Jonathan Mehring, who discovered an ancient slickrock formation in the Moab area a decade ago, an all-star crew joined up with side master lensman Russell Houghton to find another wild ride.

After Bureau of Land Management research and a week scouring hundreds of miles for new terrain, a place was found for Sheckler, Zion Wright, Barney Page, Ryan Decenzo and Alex Midler to shred for five days.

It had already been home to other vehicles, so permission was granted for the skaters to try out the rough surfaces that differ from their usual smooth rides.

Canadian Decenzo, who lit up the 2011 X Games with a gold medal in the Game of SK8, revealed: “My first impression was like, ‘Whoa, we can really skate here!'”

Skate sensation Wright, 20, explained: “It’s not an everyday thing we would skate on, so we had to adapt with bigger wheels. I thought it was really sick.”

Once they started to get the hang of it, they hiked to find other areas where they could shred to their hearts’ content.

American Midler added: “Some (spots) have bigger bumps, some are smoother, but just as you get used to one section, you hike to another and have to get used to it all over again. Each try was a whole new trick.”

Sheckler, the three-time Summer X Games gold medallist gave his verdict:

“Gloves are a life saver – bring gloves!”