Icer Air

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Icer Air, stylized ICER AIR, was an urban big-air ski and snowboard event first held in 2005 on Fillmore Street in San Francisco and later at AT&T Park from 2006 through 2008. It was started by Glen Griffin with Olympic gold medalist Jonny Moseley to promote ICER, a company that made a new aerosol spray-on wax for skis and snowboards. The first event was delayed by neighborhood opposition, but after a permit was granted, more than 15,000 people turned out on September 29, 2005, as several tons of snow were dumped onto the steep blocks of Fillmore Street between Broadway and Green.

In 2006 the event moved to AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, creating the United States’ first stadium big-air ski and snowboard contest. With Esurance backing, ICER Air continued annually through 2008, when the sponsor pulled out and the event ended.

A 110-foot-tall, 60-foot-wide, 350-foot-long scaffold jump took five days to build and was covered with 200 tons of snow. The show also included BMX, skate, and wakeboard competitions, and performances by bands such as Jurassic 5, Ladytron, Mos Def, and Talib Kweli. ICER Air drew more than 25,000 spectators and generated over 450 million media impressions each year. Athletes included Tony Hawk, Pierre-Luc Gagnon, Travis Rice, Danny Kass, Jon Olsson, and Simon Dumont.

In 2008 a scandal arose when athletes and others did not receive promised fees and reimbursements. The event was downsized and then shut down after losing its main sponsorship during the financial crisis. Winners included: C.R. Johnson (ski) and J.J. Thomas (snowboard); T.J. Schiller (ski) and Travis Rice (snowboard); Jon Olsson (ski) and Travis Rice (snowboard).