Last weekend Downdays Magazine’s photo editor Klaus Polzer won the prestigious title “King of Dolomites” at the photo contest of the same name in beautiful San Martino di Castrozza.

Winning photo of the overall category King of Dolomites 2016, which was themed “Lines”.
Rider: Neil Williman — Photo: Klaus Polzer
In the words of Neil Williman: “Lines have many forms and recipes. For this one take The Dolomites and sprinkle on some powder, a puff of wind, a fruitful search and smiles.”

For general information on what was happening last weekend at the Arc’teryx King of Dolomites event in San Martino di Castrozza, Italy, please read the following press release and enjoy all the winning photos. A more personal take on last weekend with words of Neil Williman and photos of Klaus Polzer will follow shortly.

San Martino di Castrozza – Sunday, Feb 21 2016
One Italian town, two days of shooting, eight professional and 40 hobby photographers and endless possibilities to shoot and play. This Sunday San Martino di Castrozza crowned the King of Dolomites in seven categories. Sverre Hjørnevik who came all the way from Norway won the Pro Action and Landscape category. Christoph Oberschneider took the best photo in the Pro Alpinism. The Wannabe winner Action and Landscape is Stephan Kothner, the best Wannabe Alpinism was shot by Andrea Costa. The crown for the overall category KOD 2016 Line in which amateurs and pros were competing together went to Klaus Polzer.

The fifth edition bolstered the Arc´teryx King of Dolomites once again as one of the premier photography freeride events of the winter. 150 talented photographers and riders from ten countries travelled to San Martino di Castrozza to get the best shot during two days. As in previous years everyone was inspired by the diversity and beauty of the landscape around and the hospitality and charm of San Martino, making the little Italian town the perfect base for creativity. The result was an impressive number of stunning pictures.

This did not make for an easy job for the jury who sat together for six hours to pick the seven winners. The intensive discussion was shaped by the distinct backgrounds of the judges merging high level sports, photography, artistic and cinematographic expertise. Freerider Stian Hagen (NOR), mountain and outdoor photographer Piotr Drożdż (POL) and director of photography Maxime Alexandre (ITA) adjudicated the photos based on athletic performance, riders’ style, emotions, scenic beauty of the Dolomitic context, composition and lighting. The awards ceremony took place in the town center of San Martino on Sunday afternoon awarding the winners with cash prizes and technical freeride gear.

Winning photo of the pro category “Action”
Rider: Bård Oymar – Photo: Sverre Hjørnevik

Winning photo of the amateur category “Action”
Rider: Raphael Öttl – Photo: Stefan Kothner

Winning photo of the pro category “Alpinism”
Riders: Matthias Aigner & Lukas Oberschneider – Photo: Christoph Oberschneider

Winning photo of the amateur category “Alpinism”
Riders: Tommaso Cardelli & Cristian Dallapozza – Photo: Andrea Costa

Winning photo of the pro category “Landscape”
Riders: Seb Mayer & Bård Oymar – Photo: Sverre Hjørnevik

Winning photo of the amateur category “Landscape”
Rider: Raphael Öttl – Photo: Stefan Kothner