Always get
first tracks
first tracks
Sign up to our newsletter to stay up-to-date on the latest news, videos and happenings in freeskiing.
A brand-new Big Air event for the Southern Hemisphere, the Jossi Wells Invitational welcomed 20 top Kiwi and international skiers and snowboarders to Cardrona, New Zealand with an immaculate 85-foot (26 meter) jump.
With a $20,000 cash purse on the line, a “perfect” jump and great weather on the contest day, the stage was set for an epic throwdown. The UK’s James Woods bested the field in the five-jump, best-two-count format, followed by Jossi’s brother Jackson Wells and American Noah Morrison.
So proud of @jossiwells for running an amazing event for #Freeskiing !! The first ever #JWBigAir was a huge success & genuinely pushed our sport to new heights! Very proud of myself too for topping the podium, it was an honour shredding with everyone as it always is. I couldn’t dream of a more radical way to be spending my time!! – James Woods
We’re excited to see more video from this brand-new event, which reportedly will become an annual fixture of the freeski scene. But until the edit drops, let’s throw some props to Jossi and his team for bringing a great new event to life.
Check Cardrona’s event recap for more pictures and and full results.
Sosh Big Air: Europe’s newest City Big Air is coming this fallJWI tease. ?: @dannywarley @monsterenergy @dragonalliance @cardronanz #JWbigair
A video posted by @jossiwells on
For years now, big-air skiers have kicked off their competitive seasons with what’s informally known as the “European city big-air circuit.” From Zurich’s freestyle.ch to the London’s Freeze Big Air to Budapest’s Fridge Festival, European metropolises have historically offered a string of fall big-air events to ramp up the hype for the winter season to come.
In-city scaffolding big airs have become a staple of the European freeski scene. Earlier this year, Oslo hosted its first X Games Big Air on a downtown scaffolding jump. In a few months, the action will come to Annecy for the Sosh Big Air. Photo: David Malacrida
Unfortunately many of these events have dropped off the scene in the past few years — so it’s great news that a brand-new event has arrived to keep this tradition alive. On September and October 1 of this year, the city of Annecy, France will host the first Soch Big Air, a two-day event with a qualifying round for “30 handpicked athletes” who will duke it out for the chance to compete against 17 world-class skiers in the finals.
Which way to the jump? Photo: David Malacrida
The details on the format are still to be released, but organizers promise that “each skier will have the chance to showcase their creative style in this one-of-a-kind big air format.” And the invite list looks to be an interesting mix of not just classic big-air skiers, but also halfpipe riders and street talents as well.
Here’s a glimpse at the first eight invited skiers — keep a lookout for more invitations and info about the Sosh Big Air here on Downdays and at soshbigair.com.
When Julien from the GFS Camp suggested that we do a Downdays week, it didn’t take long for us to say yes to a week of fun on skis with friends in Tignes. We feel really lucky to have this great team of skiers out with us, and we want you to know more about them. And don’t forget to join us from July 23-30 for the Downdays Week at GFS Camp in Tignes!
The ski squad for Downdays week: a group of talented and unique individuals
JOONA KANGAS
Age (date of birth): 19 (28 April 1997)
Hometown: Sirkka, Finland
Home ski resort: Levi
Favorite tricks: Butters
Least favorite tricks: Screamin’ seamen (I’ve done it once)
Favorite food: Sautéed reindeer
Favorite drink at the bar: Génépi
5 adjectives to describe your skiing: Buttery, pressy, tappy, tweaky, hand draggy
Best trick on the trampoline: Double flip tricks
Best trick on the slackline: Jump tricks
Best trick on the miniramp (skateboard): Fs tailslide to revert kind of trick
What do you expect at the GFS Camp?: Good times!!!
Why you could be a good coach for the kids: Because I love coaching kids! They are always so stoked about everything!
Why you could be a bad coach for the kids: I don’t have enough life experience.
First trick a kid should learn: 180
Three pieces of advice you will give to the kids: Learn the basics, learn to spin both ways and be happy!
joona kangas
DAVID BONNEVILLE
Age (date of birth) : 23 (5 November 1992)
Hometown: Annecy
Home ski resort: La Clusaz
Favorite tricks: Cork 9 blunt
Least favorite tricks: Rightside tricks haha
Favorite food: Burgers or Pizza
Favorite drink at the bar: Beer, Genepi and whiskey
5 adjectives to describe your skiing: Fun, chill, go big or go home, fast, tweaked
Best trick on the trampoline: Flat 5 or cork 3
Best trick on the slackline: If I can stand up on it it’s great! haha
Best trick on the miniramp (skateboard): Rock’n’roll
What do you expect at the GFS Camp?: Spending some good times with friends, the kids and the GFS crew, with the sun and a good park… yeah some good times for sure!
Why you could be a good coach for the kids: Teach them some good spirit and teach them to never forget to have fun!
Why you could be a bad coach for the kids: I don’t know, maybe because I spend too much time at the bar!
First trick a kid should learn: Pushing on his legs on a takeoff before learning some tricks and when it’s on, backflip and 360, and maybe the most important, the BREBIS grab is very important !!!! haha
Three pieces of advice you will give to the kids: Take your time, enjoy your tricks and you will put a lot of style into it, and do what you want; and log out of all your social media and go ski !!!!!!
David Bonneville
QUENTIN LADAME
Age (date of birth) : 22 years (25 May 1993)
Hometown : Crots
Home ski resort : Les orres
Favorite tricks : Flat 9 high safety
Least favorite tricks : Switch front flip (very bad at it)
Favorite food : Mummy’s food
Favorite drink at the bar : Picon biere
5 adjectives to describe your skiing:
Engaged (I like sensations)
Clean (I try to be at least)
Angulation (I learn this word from ENSA)
Diversified (I’m trying to get every trick, i’m almost obsessed with it)
Best trick on the trampoline : Dub underflip reverse high safety
Best trick on the slackline : Cork 9 out?
Best trick on the miniramp (skateboard) : Rock (bangger)
What do you expect at the GFS Camp? Mostly good times, meeting people, enjoying the glacier, having fun and skiing a lot
Why you could be a good coach for the kids: I like to share my passion with people who like it too, so I hope that i can bring something to them.
Why you could be a bad coach for the kids? I may talk too much about it sometimes:
First trick a kid should learn: 360 for sure (basics first)
Three pieces of advice you will give to the kids?
-Take your time (don’t try to get doubles the first year that you’re trying freestyle please)
-Be with your friends (skiing may be an “individual sport” but without friends this sport means nothing)
-Express yourself. Try to be good with what you already have. If you’ve got some abilities with some tricks, just try to get it more easily and get more steeze on it.
LUCAS STÅL-MADISON
Age (date of birth): 23 (23 June 1992)
Hometown: Stockholm
Home ski resort: Riksgränsen
Favorite tricks: hand drags and handplants
Least favorite tricks: Pretzels
Favorite food: Organic veggies
Favorite drink at the bar: White Russian
5 adjectives to describe your skiing: Fun, impulsive, random, quick
Best trick on the trampoline: Spread eagle
Best trick on the slackline: spinaround
Best trick on the miniramp (skateboard): nose stall
What do you expect at the GFS Camp? Full blast all the time
Why you could be a good coach for the kids: Because I’m still a kid 🙂
Why you could be a bad coach for the kids: Because of my limited French vocabulary, haha
First trick a kid should learn: 180 and then 360 but also grabs are key!
Three pieces of advice you will give to the kids: Play around, don’t stress tricks, but try as many as possible!
lsm
Yet another European-focused banger from the WCS10 team video rollout, this one from our South Tyrolean friends Wild Zoo Entertainment. Join Daniel Tschurchenthaler, Lukas Schäfer, Tom Ritsch, Alex Benz, Simone Canal, Christof Schenk and Ralph Welponer on their journey to Oregon.
WCS10: Team Wild Zoo from The West Coast Session on Vimeo.
WCS10: Team Kleinis MatterhornThe latest in the rollout of team edits from West Coast Session 10 is Team Kleinis Matterhorn (did they mean “kleines Matterhorn”?), a style-heavy crew featuring Jake Doan, Lupe Hagearty, Khai Krepela, Keegan Kilbride and Corey Jackson. WCS10 “Worm” award winner Evan Lai-Hipp is behind the camera.
West Coast Session 10: The final offer has been made
Ecclesiastes teaches us that there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. For the past ten years, the first week of May has been the time to head for Mount Hood for the West Coast Session, an unconventional and improbable ski event that has become a cult classic for many of the world’s top young skiers.
Text by West Coast Session
It has been a time of joy for the hundreds of skiers, filmers, photographers and fans who have flocked to the slopes of Hood to enjoy the Session’s offerings: next-level terrain features in the parks at Timberline, unparalleled accommodation and skate facilities at Windell’s Camp, and a week of uninhibited shredding, filming and pleasant evenings in good company.
Alas, this time has now found its end: in 2016, the tenth anniversary of the West Coast Session was also its last iteration. But the final WCS went out in fine fashion, with a bigger crew than ever before (close to a hundred invited skiers and media), a massive 85-foot private jump at Timberline, and a mountain full of other diversions for the freestyle-minded.
They came, they saw, they shredded. From the huge money booter, to the Down-Flat-Down to S challenge rail, to the sidecountry “Guac Bowl” feature, to the skate parks at Windell’s — WCS10 lacked no amenities for fun-having.
After a week full of action, WCS10 concluded on Friday, May 6 with a raucous Closing Ceremonies which honored the best performers of the week. Here are the “winners” of WCS10 — although at this event, everyone is a winner.
#WCS180: Mike King – 180 taipan tweak
View this post on Instagram
#WCSgrab: Maks Gorham – 360 cuban
View this post on Instagram
#WCSgrind: Charlie Lasser – 270 out of the DFD-S
https://www.instagram.com/p/BFemCNRMdpT/?taken-by=westcoastsession
#WCScork: Stainus
#WCS10: Reed Lewis – Double front flip Superman
https://www.instagram.com/p/BFcrohhsdvF/?taken-by=westcoastsession
Rookie Presented by PICTURE: Corey Jackson (Runner-up: Ethan Swadburg)
King Meat: Reed Lewis (Runner-up: Dean Bercovitch)
All Day Syndrome: Max Moffatt
Repeat Offender: Pako Benguerel
The Worm: Evan Lai-Hipp (Runner-up: Blaine)
Best Trick: Colby Stevenson — triple cork 1440 / 270 on, front swap, pretzel 450 on the DFD-S
MVP: Colby Stevenson
View this post on Instagram
WCS10 may be over, but we aren’t quite finished offering yet — team edits and shots from our Photo Contest will still be dropping at westcoastsession.com and on our social channels throughout the summer, so stay tuned.
“It’s been an incredible ten years of Sessions, and now it’s time for us to quit while we’re ahead,” says WCS founder Ethan Stone. “I can’t believe the following we have gathered and all of the support that has grown behind this event. We never could have made it happen without everyone who rallied alongside us to make WCS what is is — so thank you, you know who you are.”
The West Coast Session is very thankful to the hosts and sponsors of WCS10: Timberline, Windell’s Camp, PICTURE Organic Clothing, Hillcrest Sports, Treefort Lifestyles, Pisten Bully, Buff and Wizardz Wax.
