UNM Spot #5: E&S Computer Pod Out-Sign

Andrew Lutheran, frontside feeble. Ph: Ben Karpinski

First of all, I honestly have no clue if this spot already has a name or if anything else noteworthy has been done on it. That being said, I'm sure some locals have gotten tricks here before; I've certainly been looking to man up and boardslide the thing soon. But this photo of one of Albuquerque's hometown heroes, Andrew Lutheran, certainly solidifies this spot for skateboarding documentation. Perfect front feeble execution at a not-so-perfect spot.

Now the run-up, pictured below, is definitely rideable but also a potential challenge. I'd highly recommend to use bigger wheels here. You can kind of see the roughness in the picture. It's the kind of surface that will rattle the board nicely, and possibly even your feet. Again, definitely manageable if you get off to a strong couple of pushes, but nowhere near ideal.

The landing is pretty similar, even slightly worse than the run-up. The same rough ground is present at the bottom of the sign, but the cracks between the tiles aren't filled like above. Again, definitely manageable but be prepared to power through the rollaway and take some time to get used to the surfaces.

The sign itself is roughly 2 feet high, which is a very solid height for any ledge or rail. It begins far back enough that you don't have to worry about the edge of the stairs at all, assuming you begin your grind/slide at the start of the sign. And it extends right to the edge of the last stair, so sliding/grinding off the end of a relatively casual drop isn't too bad either. Though personally, getting to commit to a drop even like this will be the hard part. Oh, and the last time I checked it out, there may have been some very slight sticking potential on the sign itself, but nothing a smidge of wax can't help. And I say that loosely because the smooth metal is really quite alright to work with as is.

The photo of Andrew Lutheran captures pretty much all of the spots glory, so I'm not bothering to include any redundant pictures. But for the sake of the spot-searchers in the area, feel free to checkout the spot pinned below. It's right in the engineering building area of the SouthWest part of the UNM campus, near Central and University.  For an out-rail as clean as this one at such a solid drop-off height for almost any skater, working through the run-up and landing is definitely worth it for a trick on this gem.