Making the most of winter: Brothers build backyard ski slope

When you're a skier stuck in a town not known for its hills, there aren't many options other than to build your own ski slope.

That's what brothers Richie and Dustin Chafe did in theirbackyard last week, as the two built a 10-foot tall ski ramp at the top of their Parkwood Beach property. The ramp slopes about 75 feet down their backyard with a few small jumps thrown in along the route.

Richie, 19, said his family moved to Wareham from Wilmington, Vermont last year. He said in Vermont they lived "down the road" from Mt. Snow, a popular ski resort. They also lived on a property with hills where they could build ramps and ski.

While the brothers had plenty of experience building ramps in Vermont, this was their first in Wareham and it was built with the express purpose to go fast.

"I thought if I need speed I'm going to have to build a big ramp," Richie said. "So it's good we got a lot of snow."

Richie said it took him and his brother two weeks to build the ramp, with most of the work done on weekends.

"I was the test dummy," admitted Dustin, 17.

The boys used gallon jugs of water to make ice bricks to make the ski ramp taller. Richie said they also used the water to ice down the runway to make them go faster.

Both brothers admitted the first run was a bit scary, but thought they would get some more speed.

"There's not much room on top but it's fun," Richie said.

The brothers might get some more speed this weekend as Richie said they plan on going to Blue Hills ski area in Canton.

Dustin said neighbors had been stopping by all week to gawk and ask what they were doing while the two were building the ramp.

"They've been doing it all their lives," said the boys' mother, Cheryl. "I can't watch though."