Words and Photos: Alex Papke

Anyone that lives on the upper half of the East Coast can vouch for me that this winter has been one of the worst that we have had for a while. With temperatures in Pittsburgh dipping below 0 degrees on a weekly basis it’s difficult to get everyday tasks done, let alone motivate yourself to go skateboard. With the less than bearable conditions, Giorgio Villone and I decided it was time to plan a trip.

One of my good homies John Pankus has a huge house 20 minutes outside of Charlotte. With plenty of space and February temperatures averaging around 60 degrees, it was an ideal destination. So for the first week of March, Cooper Winterson, Tommy Pittenger, Giorgio Villone and I ventured down the coast to the Tar Heel State in hopes of warmer weather.

With a solid four days of tee shirt weather, North Carolina was definitely a good destination to skate. While some of us had doubts that the locals would only take us to banger rails, they showed us around to awesome spots that everybody liked and were extremely friendly.

Alongside the interesting spots, we were able to pile out at the local indoor park, on the one rainy day that came our way. All in all, the Charlotte area was a blast to skate and I recommend it if you need a quick fix of some warmer weather during the winter.