Portfolio – The B-Side of the 2015/16 Freeski Events

In this case, “B” stands for Behind the Scene: These photos portray the fun side of the events and offer some angles you don’t usually get to see.

#tbt: Mike Clarke double cork – Nippon open

The Big Finals: Blue Tomato Roof Battle at Superpark Dachstein

For the last 3 months, the QParks Freeski Tour has been crossing the Alps on its contest mission. Now the final showdown is approaching: On the 16th of April, the last battle of the season will sweep the legendary Superpark Dachstein.

All in all, 45 of the best freeskiers who took part in the biggest freestyle tour of the Alps have made the cut for the Blue Tomato Roof Battle – they will have the chance to win a whopping cash prize of about 5.000€. Additionally, it’s an opportunity to bag various other prizes and, due to the top-notch supporting program, it’s the perfect way to celebrate the finals of the incredible QParks Freeski Tour in style!

“Ready for take–off?“ This was the question to all of the up-and-coming freeskiers were asked during the course of the QParks Freeski Tour 2015/16 – and yeah, the riders were definitely more than ready! At each tour stop they unleashed their sickest moves and impressed the judges at 8 contests throughout snowparks all over Austria, Germany, Italy and Switzerland. As usual, the participants’ best performances were rewarded with cash prizes, plenty of cool goodies and QParks Tour points. The riders who managed to collect the most points are invited to show off their skills once more at the
Blue Tomato Roof Battle at the Superpark Dachstein.
The Finalists are Confirmed!

The freeski champs of the QParks Tour have made it to the finals and will battle each other for the triple amount of points. In the freeski category the number of participants will be as follows:
The 20 best Men
The 5 best Ladies
The 15 best Groms Men
The 5 best Groms Ladies

Here you can find the complete list of the Finalists. Nothing’s been decided yet, so prepare for an exciting battle!

Fame, Glory and Cash
There’ll be loads of cash flowing at the Showdown of the QParks Freeski Tour as well! On the 16th of April the winner of the day will receive 1.500€ and various cool goodies by Blue Tomato, Anon, Neff, Amplifi & QParks. Just as important is the award of the overall winners of the QParks Tour. The winners of the overall rating are looking forward to a sturdy 3.350€ cash prize and pretty neat goodies. Additionally, the winners of the ÖSV freeski ranking will be invited to an exclusive freeski coaching by the ÖSV.

Anon’s Looking for Rookies and Your Best Shots
At each of the QParks Tour Stops special emphasis was put on the boys and girls who competed in the groms categories. The Anon Optics scouts were on the lookout for promising young talents and will once again give out two Anon material sponsorings for the season 2016/17 at the finals.
Besides, we were also searching for the “Anon Hottest Shot“ – at the finals of the QParks Freeski Tour, a lucky overall winner will be chosen from the winners of each stop and is looking forward to a professional photo session by Anon.

BBQ and Party Time after the Contest!
The prize giving will take place during a relaxed chill and grill session at the Dachstein valley station – the perfect setting to chill out, while listening to some cool sounds and having a chilled-out BBQ by Blue Tomato. Afterwards, it’s time for some heavy partying at some of the best locations Schladming has to offer! All of the participants of the contest are invited to celebrate the grand finals with a free drink at the Friends Bar!

The Superpark Dachstein is Open
The setup at Dachstein will be ready for your individual shredding pleasures from the 9th of April onwards and you can also ride the beginner and the medium areas, as well as the rail line on the day of the contest – only the contest line will be closed for the finals on the 16th of April.
We’re looking forward to an exciting Blue Tomato Roof Battle – see you there!

Sick Feature, Sick Session at SpringZession MariaAlm 2016

Here’s the highlight video from the SpringZession in Maria Alm, Austria. The feature design is on point!

Riders:
Eric Schwabel
Fabian Mühringer
Jakob Wimberger
Lukas Müllauer
Matthias Lechner
Marco Möschel
Rene Schwabel
Sebastian Goller
Simon Grissemann

Film/Edit:
Armin Grissemann

Special thanks to:
Adi Mayer
Erwin Herzog
Josef Herzog
Daniel Chytra
Region Hochkönig

The most ridiculous pictures from the Suzuki Nine Knights Perfect Hip

Joffrey Pollet-Villard was up there all week long with massive alley-oop airs.

 

JPV being metal.

 

Italian wildcard Christof Schenk is always down for some massive airtime.

 

Hang in there Christof!

 

Not to be out-aired: David Wise on a quest for the record.

 

Christof Schenk goes meter for meter with David Wise as the clouds clear out.

 

French rider Jules Bonnaire gets in on the action.

 

 

 

 

 

 

JPV and Alex Beaulieu-Marchand double-team the beast.

 

ABM was going massive with double flatspins on both sides of the hip.

 

German rider Bene Mayr gets a taste of the heights.

 

ABM enjoys the views from ten meters above the deck.

Changes are coming to the iF3 Festival

Tuesday, April 5th 2016

Turning the page on the iF3 Festival
It has been an amazing trip these past nine years since we first put the International Freeski Film Festival in 2007. We set out to create a true and unique independent film festival dedicated to seeking, recognizing and celebrating the best talent in freeskiing …along with throwing the biggest ski party of the year.

I’m proud of what iF3 and the Movie Awards have brought to the ski community over the years. We’ve spread the hype to the four corners of the globe, showcased the best ski films, recognized up-and-coming talent and partied more times than we can remember. However, the landscape for producing large-scale ski lifestyle events is evolving. It is unfortunately no longer a viable project for us, and a company restructuration was necessary.

Since all good things must come to an end, my time as president of iF3 and leading partner is now officially over. After a lot of dedication, passion and many personal sacrifices to this project, I’m returning full-time to my original vocation: photography. In similar spirit, my associate LP Sansfaçon will be focusing on his video production company LP Productions. He’ll be available on a case by case basis, depending on production needs of future projects.

As a result, I’m passing the torch to David Zorko, who has been my right hand man for the past two years. I’ll stick around strictly as a shareholder, but making space for David and Josh Wisenthal to run the company.

The iF3 will not be producing events this year, but will be focusing on licensing other promoters to do their own shows, as we have been doing in London, Amsterdam and Japan for the past couple of years. A licensed event in Montreal is in the works, though very different from others held in the past. A few more dates and cities are also to be confirmed in the coming months. We’ll be offering licensees branding, communications and sales services, as well as a film catalog to build their programming.

iF3 Movie Awards
I’m sure that many filmmakers and athletes will be disappointed to hear that there will be no awards ceremony this year. It is clearly unfortunate, and probably what makes me the saddest about leaving iF3. Just like our other licensed events, we are looking for potential candidates interested in taking on the task of producing, or hosting, the industry’s only and original independent ski film award ceremony. In any case, iF3 will still be curating the best ski films to offer them to our international iF3 Ski Movies & Party events.

I want to thank everyone who has been involved in iF3 and who has contributed to helping me make it successful. It’s been a pleasure to work and hang out with you along this journey. Hopefully we’ll cross paths again in the future.

Sincerely yours,
Félix Rioux
felix@felixrioux.com

For new business opportunities or further development, please contact David.
david@if3festival.com

Suzuki Nine Knights – The winners of the week

This year’s edition didn’t include the customary photo competition but the event’s three photographers were able to make a show of their incredible images. As usual, the mood was super festive and excited, especially to award the skiers and snowboarders for the following categories: ‘Ruler of the Day’, ‘Best Style’, ‘Highest Air’, ‘Best GoPro Photo’, and ‘Ruler of the Week’.

Christof Schenk – Ruler of the Hip

Joffrey Pollet-Villard – Best Style

David Wise – Highest Air

Horns, Highlines and Wine: An Xtreme Verbier photo gallery

Weren’t in Verbier last weekend? Well, here’s a photo gallery that will make you feel like you were. Despite sub-optimal (a nice way of saying “shitty”) conditions that prevented the men’s ski contest from being run, the Xtreme Verbier still showed why it’s among the Continent’s most revered happenings on the freeride circuit. So follow us through the village to Medran, up the gondola to La Chaux, and all the way to Col de Gentianes at the base of Mont-Fort, where the party is popping off.

{Click here for reports on the men’s and women’s events last weekend in Verbier.}

Don’t underestimate the ability of the Freeride World Tour to brand any given object.

3330-meter Mont-Fort, the ceiling of Verbier.

The view of the contest venue, 3223-meter Bec des Rosses, from Col de Gentianes. Looks like fun, right?

Not your mom’s freeride contest venue.

Bring binoculars if you don’t want to miss any of the action.

A helicopter buzzes past on its way up to the start gate.

The spectators fill up every available space. Yes, bright colors are definitely still “in” with the freeride crowd.

Can’t think of a clever caption.

Style.

The women’s ski contest gets underway.

The women’s start off the shoulder of Bec des Rosses is nothing to shake a stick at. Nadine Wallner drops in.

The La Clusaz crowd keeps the stoke level high.

This guy.

Fan Club La Clusaz.

La Clusaz cheers on Loic Collomb-Patton.

After waiting for hours for good light, the ski men huddle for a pow-wow to decide whether to ride or not.

FWT founder Nicolas Hale-Woods in the middle of the action.

The French don’t fuck around when it comes to lunch on the hill.

Bon appetit.

Gotta stay hydrated.

Keep the wine flowing.

The free raclette stand is a major hit. This guy was dishing out cheese by the kilo all day long.

More cheese, please.

Remember what I said about FWT branding?

You’re absolutely right. Next question: how long does it take this sign to decompose when it gets blown off the mountain?

Lots of technical gear on display.

Hey, your airbag is showing.

FWT photographers don’t mess around.

We couldn’t agree more.

Adieu.

As the men’s contest is postponed, the Loic Collomb-Patton fan club starts to celebrate his prospective overall tour victory.

Yes, Verbier is in Switzerland. But the La Clusaz fan club sure made it feel like France.

Your 2016 FWT champion, and he didn’t have to ski a turn in Verbier.

Jackie Paaso and Eva Walkner.

Women’s Xtreme Verbier podium: Jackie Paaso, Eva Walkner, Nadine Wallner.

Down in Verbier, the highliners are out walking above the event village.

Nice hammock.

Nicolas Hale-Woods.

Men’s overall podium: Loic, Logan Pehota and Fabio Studer.

Pop yer bottlez.

Due to the snow conditions, these were the only face shots to be had in Verbier this time around.

Loic skied to second place in Haines and Kitzbühel and won in Chamonix on his way to his second overall FWT championship. “How does it feel to win a second time?” Loic is asked. “It’s just the one between the first and the third,” he replies.

Watch the unbelievable world record hip airs from Suzuki Nine Knights

David Wise – World Record Hip Air (Ski) – 14.2 meters

 

Christian Haller – World Record Hip Air (Snowboard) – 11.3 meters

 

Once you’ve absorbed the insanity of these videos, check out the most ridiculous photos from the world-record hip session.

Freeride World Tour: Men’s Verbier event cancelled

The Freeride World Tour finals in Verbier, Switzerland at the Xtreme Verbier was supposed to be a showdown between the two top-ranked skiers on the tour: Loic Collomb-Patton, 2014 tour champion and the current leader in the 2016 rankings, and Logan Pehota, the tour rookie with a famous father (skiing legend Eric Pehota) who’s been absolutely tearing up the FWT scene this year.

3223m Bec des Rosses – as gnarly a freeride competition venue as you’ll find anywhere.

But alas, the weather simply wasn’t having it. After a lingering cloud over the Bec des Rosses venue and rising winds forced the postponement of the men’s ski event yesterday (the snowboarders and women skiers were able to complete their contests as planned), today, Sunday April 3, was the guys’ last chance to get in their final FWT run of the season.

But the forecasted improving conditions never appeared: persistent clouds and wind, coupled with the venue’s already suboptimal hardpack snow, created a toxic mix of conditions that made skiing the extremely technical, 600-meter face too risky for the competitors. At 12:00pm the decision was made to cancel the contest for good, since the weather for the coming week isn’t looking any better.

On Saturday the competitors clustered around FWT head honcho Nicolas Hale-Woods as they debated whether or not to run the contest.

The cancellation of the Verbier event means that the men’s overall standings will remain as they were before: Loic Collomb-Patton will take home his second overall Freeride World Tour title, followed by Pehota in second place and Fabio Studer in third.

We’ll have a full recap of the Verbier stop and an overview of the 2016 FWT contest season coming later this week; until then, congratulations to the 2016 overall tour champions: Collomb-Patton and Eva Walkner! (You can find a quick recap of yesterday’s women’s event here.)

Chainsaw in one hand, cup of red wine in the other – is there any better way to celebrate victory?

Jackie Paaso wins FWT Verbier; Eva Walkner is 2016 Overall Champion

Taking advantage of a sliver of sunlight during yesterday’s blustery, overcast conditions in Verbier, American  veteran Jackie Paaso skied to victory on the formidable Bec des Rosses face ahead of Eva Walkner and Nadine Wallner of Austria during the final 2016 Freeride World Tour stop: the Xtreme Verbier.

Jackie Paaso on her way to her first Xtreme Verbier win. Photo: Jeremy Bernard/Freeride World Tour

Xtreme Verbier women’s ski Podium: (1) Jaclyn Paaso (2) Eva Walkner (3) Nadine Wallner. Photo: Thomas Bekker/Freeride World Tour

In the overall FWT rankings, Walker’s second-place finish in Verbier was enough to cement her as the 2016 Overall FWT Champion in the women’s ski category, with Jackie Paaso taking second and Italian rookie Arianna Tricomi slipped into third, narrowly edging Wallner off the overall podium.

Eva Walkner skied to a second-place finish in Verbier while clinching the overall 2016 FWT title. Photo: Jeremy Bernard/Freeride World Tour

The 2016 Freeride World Tour women’s overall podium: (1) Eva Walkner (2) Jaclyn Paaso (3) Arianna Tricomi. Photo: Thomas Bekker/Freeride World Tour

After the snowboard and ski women and the snowboard men had their turn on the Bec des Rosses, a long delay set in as the ski men waited for visibility to improve. After a delay of several hours, the decision was made to postpone the men’s final until today, when better conditions are anticipated. The men’s final is currently scheduled to start at 9:15AM CET – check out the livestream over at freerideworldtour.com.

Andri Ragettli Conquers the Grandvalira Total Fight

The powerful Swiss team was at a high level and the youngest of them all, Andri Ragettli (17 years old) took the victory ahead of Sweden’s Jesper Tjäder and Swiss Fabian Bösch.

Press release

After the qualifying session on Friday, Jesper Tjader (group 1) and James Woods (group 2) was postulated as favourites for overall victory with Fabian Bosch, who recently won the X-Games in Aspen in Big Air. On the other hand, the Norwegian Oystein Braaten (winner Grandvalira Total Fight 2015) was injured in the knee in Friday’s free practice and commented: “It was a shame as I like a lot this competition. I confirm that I will come in the next edition.”

In the Final, each of the 12 riders had two opportunities to try to reach the Super Final, reserved for the 4 best freeskiers. After scoring judges, they were elected Swiss Fabian Bosch and Andri Ragettli, English James Woods and Swede Jesper Tjader.

It came the moment of truth and each of the 4 riders of the Super Final have three attempts to win in the twelfth edition of the Grandvalira Total Fight in freeski. In the first round, Andri Ragettli and Jesper Tjader mark the rhythm and would get their best score: Swiss, with a round consists of a nose butter 4, sw F6 cork, sw 2 rodeo 4, sw left D12 mute, right D10 tail, left D10 safety and Swedish with a round with a transfer BS soap 2F, rodeo 4, sw2 pretzel 6, sw left D9 D japan, right D12 mute, sw backflip hand.

In the second round of the Super Final, the Swiss Fabian Bosch would make his best performance after completing a 2/2, sw underflip 4 japan, wall rodeo 6 boro, right D12 tail, sw left D9 japan, left D10 safety. Meanwhile, the English James Woods get personal best score in the third and final round, after realize a sw2 pretzel 2, sw pretzel 4, sw 2/4, sw left D9 safety, right D12 tail, sw 7 tail tap.

After this, Andri Ragettli sentenced the Super Final. The podium would complete this order, Jesper Tjader and Fabian Bosch.

After victory, Ragettli commented: “I’m super happy and exultant with my round today, also delighted that my team mate Fabian accompany me on the podium. I want to stand out that the course was perfect and I had so much fun.”

Second classified of the day, Sweden Jesper Tjader, notes that “I feel good after getting the second place, last year I took the third step of the podium so I have improved my final classification. I am very satisfied with how it has turned out the second round and that allowed me to achieve this result.”

The third step of the podium was completed by Fabian Bosch, the Swiss add: “I loved this competition in Grandvalira. Obviously, the third position is not desired but I’m glad to get the podium. I would’ve had a good time.”