Portfolio – In 2015 the B&E Invitational sunset session was epic!

Last year, Jossi Wells, Sammy Carlson, Antti ollila and Leo Taillefer accepted the Downdays magazine editor’s idea : Go on the B&E feature while no one is around and when the sun goes down to enjoy the beautiful light. They were right and the session worked so well that one of the pictures got published as spread page on Downdays Magazine. Enjoy the portfolio

Excelent Soldiers 2016 – Watch the livestream!

Here : http://extreme.com/freeski/1079038/live-excelent-soldiers-2016

The weird kicker of the Excellent Soldiers

You probably see this picture on Facebook, posted by Daniel Hanka and wondering why this kicker? And also if it’s a tribute to the X Games Oslo big air. As we were surprised as well, we contacted a guy from the Excellent Soldiers to know more about it.

D : Why did you do it ?
Jan Prouza : “We where short on snow one 10 days before event, so we had to decide to do it this
way, because of proper landing. The winter in Czech was just wrong this year, cause
we had like two times more snow for our event at the beginning, and then just one month
of raining or wrong temperatures. At the end we would be just good with snow, but it would be so tricky.

D : Did you tried it ?
Jan Prouza : Its already tested and it works beautifully perfect! Also you can work with radius much better, cause you can see which way you are changing it perfectly.

D : Would you do that in other situations ?
Jan Prouza : I think it must be the exact conditions to do it this way, like being short of snow 20%. Otherwise its not possible anyway, or you are just good 🙂

FREESKI WORLD CUP CORVATSCH – Event kicks off one day earlier

The Freeski World Cup Corvatsch is all set. A major challenge, that the event will be facing, is not the demanding course, but the weather. Due to a very bad forecast for Saturday, the entire event schedule is going to kick off one day earlier, hence the finals will go down on Friday, 4th of March. Start is at 12.15 p.m.

The world ́s best freeskiers have taken over the Corvatsch these days. The weather forecast does not look too promising and especially for Saturday, the weatherman predicts heavy snow falls. Therefore, the Qualifications will already take place on Thursday, 3rd of March, while the Finals are set for Friday, 4th of March, 2016. From 12.15 p.m. to 2.15 p.m.

Photo Credit: Javier Procaccini

Trick show at Crap Sogn Gion in LAAX: 9th European Freeski Open from March 9-12, 2016

LAAX, Switzerland, March 2, 2016 – LAAX is hosting the European Freeski Open for the ninth time, and freeskiers from across the globe will be gathering for this open yet elite championship event. Newcomers will take to the slopes alongside Olympics, challengers will meet champions. All of them will rock the innovative slopestyle course as they compete to reach the finals, scheduled for March 12, and take home the biggest part of the CHF 30,000 prize money, AFP Gold points and championship titles.

RIDERS LIST

The open format has proven popular – all the starting places have been taken. A total of 150 riders from 15 countries have registered for the open rounds. A mix of competitors from North America, Scandinavia, Great Britain, France, the Alps and Japan are getting ready for their run out on the slopestyle course. Training begins on March 9, followed by the men’s qualification on March 10, while the women and the invited riders join the contest at the semi-final stage on March 11.

The rider to beat for the women is Estonian Kelly Sildaru, slopestyle gold medal winner at the 2016 X-Games. The 14-year-old is now the firm favourite ahead of a strong field of women who are entering the semi-final, including Giulia Tanno from Switzerland. Also confirmed are 2015 EFO winner Tiril Sjåstad Christiansen and 2014 EFO winner Johanne Killi, both from Norway, and 2011 EFO winner Emma Dahlström from Sweden. The three Scandinavians are used to smile from the podium, but are also well aware that stiff competition can emerge from out of the blue during the preliminary round of the EFO. Anyone can enter the open, but only the best five make it to the final.

But the curse of the collarbone that the established riders seem to be under in the run up to the event has returned this season – 2008 EFO winner Russ Henshaw will not be able to participate this year due to a broken clavicle, the same injury that kept Andri Ragettli on the sidelines in 2015. But Andri is fit again for the 9th edition of this prestigious event and hopes to gain his first podium finish at his home event. The 17-year-old from Flims is certainly in with a good chance after putting in a strong performance at the X-Games in Aspen at the end of January to finish 6th in the slopestyle final. Further favourites for a place among the best 10 men in the final are his Swiss team colleagues Fabian Bösch, who won gold in the Big Air event at the Aspen X-Games and silver in the same event at the Oslo X-Games in 2016, Luca Schuler, Kai Mahler and Jonas Hunziker.

The riders from Switzerland will be up against US skiers Gus Kenworthy – who won silver at the 2014 Olympics and is currently ranked number one in the AFP overall world ranking list – and 2015 EFO runner-up Noah Wallace as well as James Woods from Great Britain. Øystein Bråten will also be there, and always guarantees good vibes and cool tricks. Since the EFO returned to the event calendar in 2014, he has been a regular on the podium – at international events and in LAAX. He embodies what LAAX is all about – freestyle, lifestyle and fun – and will be showing how it’s done in LAAX from March 9-12, 2016. LAAXroots.

Anyone can enter for free the sporting events on the Crap Sogn Gion – and this is also the case for the special music events at the rocksresort and the Indy Bar. Tickets for Urban Friday with DJ Jerez & Friends at the Riders Palace on March 11, 2016 are available on the door, and tickets for the final live main act of this years European Freeski Open “Rakede live & Funkanomics” on March 12, 2016 are also on advance sale at starticket.ch.

The programme and open rider list are attached to this e-mail. Further information about the event can be found online at europeanfreeskiopen.laax.com.

Schilthorn Open – Slopestyle Action at the SKYLINE SNOWPARK

Freeski talents watch out: The Schilthorn Open is the last QParks Tour Stop before the grand finals take place. On March 19, 2016, young talents, as well as freestyle pros, will show off their best tricks and are competing at the SKYLINE SNOWPARK for the ticket of the QParks Tour finals. A considerable cash price of 1800 CHF in total and loads of goodies from Anon, Amplifi and QParks are waiting for the top riders!

Ready for take-off? You better are! Because on March 19, 2016, slopestyle-action at its finest is guaranteed at the Schilthorn Open – stunning skyline inclusive! A nice prize money and various goodies from Anon, Neff, QParks and Amplifi should be enough motivation to focus on their tricks and not the scenery.
Riders will be competing in the categories Ladies, Men and Groms. As a special treat participants can bag an extra 150 CHF for the best trick. Apart from collecting points for the QParks Tour

THE SETUP
A diverse and natural-snow contest setup will be waiting for the riders at the popular SKYLINE SNOWPARK. – riders get the chance to perform their most creative tricks. For further information on the contest line, please visit our website or our Facebook page.

HOW TO REGISTER
It’s really simple – just go to www.qparkstour.com and sign up for either of the categories Ladies, Men or Rookies (born after 2001 or later). Once again the participation for freeskiers is free this season. However, you shouldn’t wait too long before signing up, since the number of participants is limited – first come, first serve!

ANON SPECIALS
With the Anon Hottest Shot not only riders, but also spectators get the chance to win fine prizes in Schilthorn. Just upload your snapshots onto Facebook and Instagram using the hashtags #anonhottestshot and #qparkstour. Amongst all of the winners of each tour stop a participant will be chosen at the final tour stop and is looking forward to a professional photo session with Anon. Moreover, during the entire QParks Tour Anon scouts will be checking out your runs and with a bit of luck you might bag one of two Anon Material Sponsorings.

Don’t hesitate and sign up right now for the QParks Tour 2015/2016 when we’re again “ready for take-off” on March 19, 2016. You can find current updates about the contest on our park website and on Facebook. Stay tuned!

B&E Invitational 2016 – Candide Thovex joins the list

Press release

We are pleased to announce that the following riders will be joining Henrik Harlaut (SWE), Phil Casabon (CAN), Tom Wallisch (USA), Tanner Hall (USA), Jossiah Wells (NZ), Clayton Villa (USA), Jon Olsson (SWE), Adam Delorme (USA), Jules Bonnaire (FRA), Sami Ortlieb (SUI), Yoshiya “BULL” Ura- ta (JAP), Lucas Stal Madisson (SWE), Max Hill (CAN), Torin Yater-Wallace (USA), Ahmet Dadali (USA), and the two Be @ B&E Video Contest winners Joona Kangas (FIN), and Alex Beaulieu-Marchand (CAN).

Candide Thovex (FRA)
JF Houle (CAN)
Jacob Wester (CAN)
Magnus Craner (SWE)
Emile Bergeron (CAN)
Taylor Seaton (USA)
and Will Wesson (USA) replacing Kye Petersen (CAN)

FINAL PROGRAM CONFIRMED
The 3rd edition of the B&E Invitational will be held in the heart of Les Arcs, France on the never-before-seen, skatepark inspired course specifically designed by Henrik & Phil. The contest will take place on Friday March 11th and Saturday March 12th and will be solely judged by the riders themselves. Catch all of the action via live stream on Saturday March 12th between 3:00pm and 6:30pm French time (6:30am-9:30am PCT).
Because music has always been a central component of Henrik & Phil’s skiing, the B&E Invitational is thrilled to welcome two world renowned artists, Walshy Fire (JAM) and Dillon Cooper (USA) who will laying down tracks on Friday and Saturday night. In addition to these guests, the Arcs’ annual Ventilofest will be going off on Friday night, adding a different flavor to the roster of artists.

THE B&E PACKAGE
For the first time ever, the B&E Invitational and Les Arcs have created a short stay package, offering anyone the opportunity to attend the most highly anticipated freeski and music event of the winter. Starting at 69 Euros per person, this package includes housing for two to four days in the center of Arc 1800, and a ski pass for the duration of the stay, thereby guaranteeing access to the B&E Invitational venue and festivities.

Bohny Masters Feldberg powered by MINI – cheerful showdown in the Black Forest

On the 5th birthday of Bohny Masters Feldberg powered by MINI, everyone and everything, including the park, the weather, as well as 30 international freeskiers, showed themselves from their best side. In bright sunshine, the participating riders boasted with versatility in terms of freestyle on rails and kickers in front of the jury and numerous spectators.

The weather conditions for this contest could not have been better last weekend: After several days of snowfall, the snowy obstacles of the MINI Snowpark Feldberg were shining in the golden winter sun already on the day before the contest. Park designer Jure Gradic and PistenBully master Hilton Scott with their shape crew obviously knew how to use the conditions properly and created a cracking contest setup. The riders took up the fight for podium places on a double kinked rail, a flat industry rail, a pole jam and two kickers in front of the audience.

Strong Austrian Freeski power
The young Austrian Freeski talents celebrated the podium in all three categories. By a blindside 630, the Tyrolean Andi Kogler not only won in the category Best Trick Freeski, but also secured himself the first place in the category Freeski Men. He was followed by Peter Tschallener and Hannes Rudigier on the second and third place.

The exciting duel between Elisabeth Gram and the local and last year’s winner Jule Seifert finally went to Elisabeth who bagged the winner’s cheque at the end of the day. In the category Freeski Groms Michael Wechner made it to the first place. His brother Elias Wechner and his German colleague Jakob Flößler were standing next to him on the podium.

FULL FREESKI RESULTS 

QParks Freeski Tour Intermediate Results
The Austrian Sebastian Mall dominates the contest ranking with 320 Tour points in the category Men followed by the brothers Michi and Peter Tschallener who were able to collect important points this weekend. In the category women, Elisabeth Gram is on top of the contest ranking with phenomenal 345 tour points. David Wolf currently occupies the first place in the category Groms, followed by Elias and Michael Wechner.

X Games Oslo – The longest pipe day ever

The X Games are usually all about a busy schedule with many different competitions running at the same time, but this Sunday in Oslo was dedicated exclusively to halfpipe skiing. From 2pm until 8pm, the schedule was booked through—men’s elimination, then women’s and men’s finals.

Watch the runs HERE

The eliminations were a great show by themselves, despite a heavy crash for Noah Bowman and some trouble for Byron Wells, who had one of the best runs on hand, but was kept by mistakes from reaching the finals.

The 160-meter long pipe prevented Joffrey Pollet-Villard and Torin Yater-Wallace from packing more than four hits into their runs—but Torin made the most of those hits, with a strong comeback after health troubles earlier this season and two years off the X Games podium.

The girls started their practice right after the men’s elimination, and the contrast was strong. While the men go high and grab, even in practice, most of the girls didn’t even try, like the best ambassador of this no-style, Maddie Bowman. In second place this time, the multiple X Games winner represents the “spin-to-win” mentality in women’s pipe. Okay, she does three different 900s, but never grabs them. How come a missed grab has a huge effect on a score in Big Air, but seems to have no influence in the pipe?

It seems like the girls aren’t just lagging behind—they’re going in the wrong direction. A notable exception Marie Martinod, grabbed her skis or at least touched them, went high on all hits and had a good flow. Result? She ended up in fourth place, because she had no switch skiing and only one 900. So why shouldn’t the girls pick “spin to win” if that’s what the judges are rewarding? Cassie Sharpe proved it with a massive (at least she got that right) cork 900 iron cross. Something has to change here, and if you think I’m being rude, go take a look at women’s snowboard superpipe, or women’s skiing big air.

Watch the runs again HERE

In contrast, it seemed like flow and emotion played a big role in the scores of Torin Yater-Wallace, who dominated the men’s competition as a cheering crowd including the prince and princess of Norway watched on, undeterred by the night cold setting in.

After watching the runs, you’ll understand why I talk about emotion in Torin’s run. You’ll also see that Alex Ferreira changed his skiing to go higher out of the pipe than he used to, and how relaxed Gus Kenworthy is before his massive closing alley-oop double flatspin 900 japan…

Beside, and respect for that, it seems the flow and the emotion have a real importance in the score of Torin Yater Wallace who totally domines the men competition while the night and cold temperature don’t discourage the public and even the prince and princess or Norway who are on site.

In conclusion—the men killed it, the public was on fire, the podium well judged. A perfect conclusion to X Games Oslo.

That’s a wrap on the first-ever X Games Oslo, and there’s no certainty that it will be back (it was a one-year contract). Congratulations to all the riders who gave their best in an exciting new edition of the X Games!

Torin Yater-Wallace is back on top in X Games Oslo SuperPipe

X Games Oslo wrapped up tonight with the SuperPipe Finals, where Coloradans Torin Yater-Wallace, Alex Ferreira and Gus Kenworthy swept the podium in the men’s ski contest. Cassie Sharpe took the win in the women’s event, ahead of Maddie Bowman and Ayana Onozuka.

We’ll have a full recap for you tomorrow – until then, check out all the winning runs!

Torin Yater-Wallace

Alex Ferreira

Gus Kenworthy

WOMEN

Cassie Sharpe

Maddie Bowman

Ayana Onozuka

X Games Oslo – A Scandinavian night at the Big Air

It’s a given that hosting the X Games is a huge logistical investment for a ski resort, and it might be an even bigger one for a city that’s got ice on the sidewalk instead of hills and snow. In this setting, it makes sense to do a big air rather than a slopestyle—making the huge scaffolding jump a necessity. A lot of work goes on behind the scenes to prepare for just one day of fun for the public, but that one day is most certainly worth all the effort.

Watch all the runs HERE

At 16:00 the women kick off the competition at the center of concentric rings of attention: people watching worldwide on the livestream, random people in the crowd on site, the media, athlete support and event staff. And a huge amount of cameras too, because don’t forget: this is a TV show!

Women’s Skiing, Women’s Snowboarding, Men’s Skiing, Men’s Snowboarding and some shitty music shows in between. Here’s tonight’s program, and what a night it is!

The women’s contest is far from laughable: Johanne Killi kicks things off with a fantastic cork 9 tail; newly 14-year-old Kelly Sildaru opts to spin rightside with a beautiful cork 720 reverse mute, barely managing to clear the landing; and Tiril S. Christiansen puts down a classy switch 10 tail.

Unfortunately not all competitors got to work their way up to their biggest tricks, with the two-jump format replacing the “jam session” format that’s been in place at the X Games in Aspen for some time. But running a jam session is apparently a lot more difficult when you have to elevator the athletes up a 57 meter high scaffolding.

On the last jump of the contest, Tiril stomps her switch 10 with authority, knocking her countrywoman Johanne Killi from the top spot and turning the Oslo X Games Women’s Big Air into a 1-2 sweep for Norway. Doesn’t get much better than that for a host country!

After the snowboard women take their turn, the ski men start their warmup with everything from switch 5s to doubles, and then the final is on. The first trick from Klaus Finne is a double cork 1440 tail that’s scored 88 points — okay, it’s REALLY on, and the scores keep going up from there. A few runs later Henrik Harlaut lands an absolutely insane nose butter double cork 1260 blunt, undoubtedly the most stylish trick of the day, while Fabian Bösch goes big on his triple cork 1620 safety to move into the lead. After that, well—you’ve got the videos and the scores to tell you what happened.

If these finals were awesome and the public somewhat responsive, we can still see how much the made-for-TV setting destroys the feeling of freeskiing with its time restrictions, advertising and the limited importance of the MCs who normally warm up the crowd.

This is the limit of a show that’s mainly focused on the TV production, a show that’s not connected to its public, a show that doesn’t allow for any kind of fantasy like a rapid-fire drop or tandem jumps.

Besides all of that, which we already know because we’re talking about X Games, this Big Air competition was a real success, with a great kicker and mostly due to the talents of the skiers we now have on the scene.

See you tomorrow for the pipe finals!

Henrik Harlaut, Tiril S. Christiansen win X Games Oslo Big Air – Watch the Runs

Ski Big Air Finals just wrapped up at X Games Oslo, as six women and eight men dropped in to the Tøyen Big Air venue. When the dust cleared, Tiril S. Christiansen was on top of the women’s podium, while Henrik Harlaut switch tripled his way to his third X Games Big Air gold.

MEN

WOMEN