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This year the X Games has swapped out their Real Ski Backcountry competition for an urban-focused Real Ski contest instead, and the results look, well… you can see for yourself.
Tom Wallisch, JF Houle, Cam Riley, Clayton Vila, Will Wesson and Ahmet Dadali are the challengers in Real Ski 2016, which is the X Games’ first foray into an urban skiing video contest; they’ve run Real Snow Street and Backcountry in snowboarding for several years already, but until now only Backcountry contests for the skiers (Sammy Carlson’s won all three).
The new format has certainly spiced up Real Ski for 2016, as it looks like all of the six competing skiers have stepped up to the challenge in a big way. This teaser clip is intended to get you hyped up for tomorrow’s video drop—and for our part, we’ll say it’s done its job.
Skiers Cup 2016: The Backcountry Slopestyle
“I’m ready! Let’s do this!” says Parker White, a bit impatiently.
We’re milling around at the bottom of the Backcountry Slopestyle course at the 2016 Mona Banc Skiers Cup, and the skiers besides Parker don’t seem all that hyped on the goings-on. High clouds and rising winds have put a momentary damper on things after the morning’s excitement of getting helicoptered up to to the event venue high in the Val de Ransol, across the road from the biggest ski resort in Andorra, Grandvalira.
No doubt, the springlike, low-snow conditions currently holding here in Andorra aren’t the best for the Skiers Cup riders, who’ve been spoiled by excellent snow conditions the past several years in Zermatt. But despite some negativity among some of the riders, who’ve described the conditions with adjectives ranging from “sub-optimal” to “catastrophic”, the sun has been doing a relatively good job of warming up the firm snow and providing adequate corn conditions for the two-day competition to take place. All in all, it hasn’t been half bad—and Parker is tired of waiting around.
“The conditions aren’t great, but they’re the same for everyone,” he says, chomping at the bit. “I’m ready to go right now.”
The weather had been fine earlier this morning as the skiers arrived to scope out the setup created by OG French freeskier Arnaud Kugener and a team of shapers from the Grandvalira snowparks. Kugener, who’s busy putting the final touches on the course’s biggest kicker, says he’s been up here for the last few days with his crew.
“I started working alone, finding the face and the right place for all the features,” says Kugener. “Then we had a few nice days of big blocks, shoveling all day in the sun.”
But now after all the sunny weather of the past few days, conditions have turned on us for the moment, and we’re in a holding pattern, waiting for that sun to come back out and soften the snow again. The atmosphere at base camp remains lively—a high-level barbecue session is underway with all manner of tasty delicacies on the grill. The BBQ bosses, an off-duty Freeride World tour technical director and a ski patroller, hold up spears of spiced meat and grilled peppers for all takers. The skiers build a snow shelter at the bottom of the venue and congregate to discuss the course, scowling at the clouds overhead.
“At least it’s not raining,” says Nick McNutt.
“Dude, don’t say that,” answers Parker.
“Atreyu!” Team Americas captain Sage Cattabriga-Alosa, cloudspotting.
“Just hold it up in the air, and somebody will grab it.”
After waiting long enough for the weather to improve, we slowly start moving towards a start—and right on schedule, the weather starts to come around: the clouds blow out, the winds die down, and a warm, spring-like Andorran sun begins its work softening the landings of this spring-like jump course.
The skiers take a couple warm-up laps, figuring out their lines and the speed between the jumps, and all of a sudden it’s on—sixteen of the world’s top skiers going head-to-head in two different runs.
Markus Eder gets inverted.
Parker White’s cork 900s are on lock.
Always smooth: Tanner Rainville
The Cineflex helicopter blazes by overhead scarily close as the skiers drop in one by one. Some stomp their lines, some don’t. Parker bags a clean opening cork 9 blunt in both his runs, but can’t land a follow-up switch 540. Seth Morrison laces a massive Seth backflip into a lincoln loop and a 360 to beat first-round challenger Sam Anthamatten. Europe’s secret weapon turns out to be Mathieu Bijasson, who stomps both his runs to cash valuable points for his team, alongside not-so-secret weapon, Team Europe captain Loïc Collomb-Patton, who also wins both his runs.
Team America, coming into the Backcountry Slopestyle trailing in points 7-9 against Team Europe after the Big Mountain portion of the competition, needs to make up points any way they can. But after breaking even with Europe in Round 1, the North Americans drop several key matches in Round 2, sealing the deal on a Team Europe victory.
“After the first round, we saw the score and thought maybe it would be difficult to win today,” said Collomb-Patton. “But then the second round was a big victory for the European team, six to two.”
“In the end, the contest worked out great,” said French skier Arnaud Rougier, who judged the event alongside Sam Smoothy and Philou Poirer. “ The landings were a big firm, which was perfect for landing switch. Some really good stuff went down, everybody was pushing it hard.”
“They teams were almost equal at one point, but the Europeans were more consistent throughout both the freeride and freestyle segments,” said Rougier. “I think that’s the toughest thing about this event—you have to land four runs clean. And that made a difference.”
Skiers Cup founders Sverre Lillequist and Kaj Zackrisson
“Coming into today, I thought Team Americas was going to put down some good runs,” said Skiers Cup co-founder Kaj Zackrisson. “But in the end, Team Europe was killing it. They skied really well and stomped all their landings, and all the tricks we saw were amazing.”
And who was the most impressive skier of the week?
“Sam Anthamatten was incredible both in freeride and freestyle,” said Rougier. “He hit a feature that no one else took. That guy is so impressive. And Mathieu Bijasson, he also won both his runs. He was up against Seth Morrison both in freeride and freestyle, which I know was a big challenge for him, and he won both times.”
Bijasson: Europe’s secret weapon.
You may already know some of the things that Sam Anthamatten can do, like ice climbing, guiding, first ascents in the Himalayas, and flashing big-mountain lines like nobody’s business. Well, you can add another few things to that list now: Anthamatten can also do rightside cork 720s, toss flips off natural terrain, and generally handle a backcountry slopestyle as well as any of the jib kids.
Before the start of the backcountry slopestyle, I was joking “Whats Anthamatten going to do today? Ice climb up the back of the kicker?” Then he dropped this rightside cork 7, and shut me right up.
Among all of the highly talented Skiers Cup participants, Anthamatten is quite unanimously proclaimed the event’s MVP in 2016. He held his own in the BC slopestyle, losing only one point in his match-up against Seth Morrison, and only because he sent a massive backflip too big and missed the next feature. Especially during the Big Mountain day, Anthamatten left us all stunned with his mastery of the mountain, with two brilliant runs that blended extreme technical capability with previously-unseen levels of creativity and line interpretation—surfing a cornice line, straightlining a grass chute and Super-Marioing off a rollover cliff drop to a near-perfect micro-transition landing.
“I had two good days of riding,” said Anthamatten. “Today I surprised myself— a cork 7 is normally not my specialty, but I had a good feeling and a good end to the run. Just having fun with the boys, you ski much better than when you put pressure on yourself.”
That’s a wrap on the 2016 Skiers Cup, but rest assured—Team Americas won’t be forgetting this defeat anytime soon. With their hemisphere now behind two to four in overall Skiers Cup matchups, 2017 team captain Tanner Rainville and right-hand-man Parker White are reportedly already plotting a comeback.
“Richard Permin is going to have to pick a good team,” said Zackrisson with his characteristic laugh. “Because I think Team Americas is going to train hard this summer.”
King of Innsbruck – Qualifying Round HighlightsInnsbruck, Austria’s homegrown “S.K.A.T.E. on snow”-style contest is officially underway—the King of Innsbruck competition is back for 2016!
The action kicked off last weekend in the Nordkette park with qualifying rounds: Niclas Prachensky beat Philipp Geiger, Christian Jenny knocked out Thomas Pichler, Armin Baumann was victorious against Vinz Woerle, Flo Geyer triumphed over Julius Schneider, and Johannes Rohrmoser defeated Luca Pichler.
Keep up with all the action from “King of Innsbruck” on their Facebook page.
SFR Tour Vars – Qualifications
All the motivated riders should mark the 20th February in their appointment calendars. A total of about 1100€ in prize money, the chance to collect loads of points and a relaxed atmosphere – with these ingredients, the Nock’n’Rock Slopestyle contest promises freeski action at its finest. The registration period for riders has started already!
With various new obstacles added, the Snowpark Turracher Höhe offers even more possibilities to bust out smooth runs. You certainly shouldn’t miss the third annual edition of the Nock’n’Rock contest this year. Apart from a fair share of about 1000€ in cash, prizes include various goodies from Anon, Neff, QParks and Amplifi. There’s also a reward for the hardest move of the day – whoever manages to convince the judges with their style gets 100€ extra cash for the “best trick”. Since the Nock’n’Rock will take place not too long before the tour finals, it also offers riders a chance to secure themselves a top position in the ranking of the QParks Tour. By the way, contest-fans, spectators, friends and family are invited to hang out and have snacks and drinks at the chill area while watching the contest from there.
COLLECTING POINTS
The participants not only have the opportunity to set themselves apart in the ranking of the QParks Tour, additionally, the best freeski runs will be rewarded with points for the NASA Cup Tour Austria. As you can see, the participation definitely pays off!
THE SETUP
Nock’n’Rock stands for Slopestyle at its best and offers the riders a tasty mix of jib and kicker elements on which they can lay down their most stylish runs in order to win over the judges. All the details on the contest setup will be available soon. For further information on the Snowpark Turracher Höhe please click here.
TIMETABLE
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). Here is the link for the registration. Once again the participation 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 HOTTEST SHOT
At each tour stop the riders and the spectators can upload their snapshots onto Facebook and Instagram using the hashtags #anonhottestshot and #qparkstour. Amongst all of the uploads a winner will be chosen and is looking forward to cool Anon gear. Moreover, at the tour final an overall winner is elected from the winners of each tour stop. The prize – a professional photo session with Burton and Anon!
ANON ROOKIE SCOUTING
Doesn’t everybody dream of getting sponsored? At the Nock’n’Rock this dream might come true for a couple of lucky girls and boys. During the entire QParks Tour Anon scouts will be checking out your runs. So lay down your best moves and with a bit of luck you might bag one of two Anon material sponsorings for the season 2016/17!
Don’t hesitate and sign up right now. The Nock’n’Rock is an absolute must-attend-event for all freeskiers! You can find more information about the park at www.snowpark-turracherhoehe.com and Facebook
The Grandvalira Total Fight is within the Gold category, at the same level like European Freeski Open in Switzerland or US Freeskiing Open.
The rising of Grandvalira Total Fight confirms the arrival of the best Slopestyle riders in Andorra.
The organization will design a very technical and fluid Slopestyle circuit that allows the riders to perform their best tricks.
In the last edition, the Norwegian Oystein Braaten took the victory ahead of American Noah Wallace and Swedish Jesper Tjader.
Oystein got the highest score in his second attempt. Realizing a Switch Left 2 to 2, Left Soap 3 Pretzel 2, Switch Left 12 Mute, Right Dub 10 Safety and Left 3 to Left 5 at the Slopestyle circuit. Oystein is the former winner of the Red Bull Playstreets and holds the record of being the first Flip-to-Flip Rail.
#1 QParks Girls Shred Session 2015/16 at quattro Snow Park ObergurglA park that is exclusively shaped by girls! Cat and Sarah, the shape queens of the quattro Snow Park, held a workshop in shaping, too, so there might be even more shaper girls joining the QParks crew soon!
A Snowpark from Girls for Girls
Arriving at night is always something very special. You wake up in the morning, open the window shades and boom! You get blown away by the most thrilling mountain view of Obergurgl. That’s exactly how many shred girls started this beautiful day in the Tyrol. At 10 o’clock, the ladies gathered at quattro Snow Park Obergurgl to meet park designer Sarah Abelin and multimedia shaperess Cat Nicol. The two were more than happy to tell the girls all about their shred and shape careers. To get to know the daily work of Sarah and Cat a little better, a workshop was integrated where the 15 participating shred queens could give their shape skills a try.
Shred’N’Shine’N’Sun’N’Fun
The get-to-know-each-other warm-up session over the boxes of the park was followed by a yummy lunch break at the Hohe Mut Alm lodge in Obergurgl. Surrounded by the stunning view at the panorama lounge, the girls were talking about the progression session which followed in the afternoon. With the sun hitting the park, the shred queens unpacked their sickest tricks and the rookies were happy to get tips from the more advanced riders taking part in the first Girls Shred Session of the season. Inspiring each other, the afternoon session was a huge success for each and every one. Tanks, rails, wallrides and the lollipop jib were the objects of desire. Thanks to the park’s chair lift, it only took them 3 minutes and 20 seconds to be in the line-up for the next run, although hiking was also popular amongst the sporty ladies.
At the end of the day, a happy and satisfied crowd was saying “goodbye and see you soon” to the park, to Sarah and Cat and to new friends. If you wanna see more of the action at quattro Snow Park Obergurgl, check out the freeski edit of the Girls Shred Session. If you wanna take part in one of the next sessions, visit Girls Shred Sessions on Facebook and follow the #shredqueens on Instagram. You want to become a shaperess as well? Join the Shape Academy!
Text by FWT
There was a mystical atmosphere today in Flégère ski area as the clouds parted an unveiled the snow-capped peaks of one of Europe’s most legendary freeride venues. Riders in each of the four divisions, male and female, ski and snowboard, raised the bar for their respective sports and shook up the the overall rankings for the 2016 Swatch Freeride World Tour.
After a rocky start, this winter has been kind to Chamonix as heavy snows have blanked the magnificent peaks of the Aiguilles Rouge range in recent days. More snow fell than expected last night and riders were unexpectedly treated to between 50-100cm of fresh snow over the at the 2500m elevation level. Despite the heavy snowfall, some parts of the Alaska-like Aiguille Pourrie face still had some hard snow exposed due to wind, causing trouble for some riders.
FULL REPLAY
SKI MEN
Overall ski men rankings were shook up today as top riders such as Jérémie Heitz (SUI) and George Rodney (USA) put all their eggs in one basket and lost their bets after crashing on big airs. Loïc Collomb-Patton (FRA) took home his third victory in Chamonix with a powerful line featuring an impressive backflip. Young gun Logan Pehota (CAN) also fired some tricks after stomping an impressive line resulting in a second place finish. Fabio Studer (AUT) brought his new school style to the competition venue and impressed spectators with stylish spins, bringing him into third place.
SKI WOMEN
Eva Walkner (AUT) demonstrated her trademark powerful and technical skiing to once again bring home a victory at Chamonix for the former world champ. The talented Silvia Moser (ITA) set the bar high with two massive airs that she took larger and more stylishly than any riders – male or female. The desire to win was evident in Matilda Rappaport (SWE) as she skied with incredible authority and very smooth style which earned her a third place finish.
Besides the numerous fun areas which are the perfect training grounds, you will most probably stumble upon Christoph “Giggo” Wolf, a particularly dedicated freeski coach who has been encouraging talented youngsters for several years now. Some of them were taking part in the film and photo session on January 30, 2016, and showed off some of their best moves at the Freestyle Circus.
When you are talking about youth development in the field of freestyle skiing, you’re bound to hear the name Christoph “Giggo” Wolf. The 29-year-old freeski coach has been supporting the young generation of the scene for the last 10 years. The local from Zams has trained his skills with his buddies during wild do-it-yourself sessions and, after several years of being an active rider on the contest scene, he decided to share his experience with up-and-coming riders in order to lead them into a professional future.
He is very excited about the development over the last couple of years; “We’re definitely heading towards the right direction. The structures are getting more and more professional and I’m particularly happy that 25 young talents joined the SFL Freestyle Team. It’s a very promising project and, since there’s plenty of support from the ski resort, it will certainly continue to convince people in the long run.” One of the dedicated coach’s and passionate farmer’s main concerns is to pass on a healthy relationship with nature; “Get away from the gaming consoles and go out into the nature – that’s our motto!” Giggo points out.
Last weekend he came to the outdoor training facility at the Freestyle Circus with several of his protégés from Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis. Accompanied by the cameras of the media crew, the young talents were showing off their tricks, which they had been practicing in the indoor facility before three times a week. “We started out at the chill area with some stretching exercises, afterwards we went to the boxes and did a couple of hikes to warm up.” Giggo explains. Thanks to the relaxed atmosphere the initial nervousness went away quickly and the cinematographer and photographer were able to capture loads of great shots of the young freeskiers.
“We’re still working on the freestyle basics but I sense huge potential. If we meet again for a session here at the Jib Circus in two years time, I guarantee we’re going to witness a couple of corks and doubles!” Giggo smiles. The proud coach is also enthusiastic about the range of fun features within the ski resort; “The concept of the facility in Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis is exemplary. You’ve got lines for beginners, amateurs and even pros as well. Moreover, there’s also the possibility to practice your jumps on the landing bag and the BigAirBag.
These are perfect training conditions!”
With Giggo, the future of the freestyle sport is in highly qualified hands and we’re already eagerly waiting to see which successful careers will take their start from his talent factory in the future. You can find the best shots of the session on this freeski edit and in the pic gallery. Visit the Feel Free website for current news on the fun areas and check out Facebook and Instagram for live pics!
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, France – Monday, February 1, 2016 – After an action-packed first stop in the lofty peaks of the Andorran Pyrenees, riders and fans alike are making the pilgrimage to one of the Alps’ most important freeride destinations: Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, France.
To ensure the best possible riding conditions, the weather window for the competition has been extended from Friday the 5th to Saturday the 13th of February. Despite the snow arriving late this season, significant snowfall accompanied by cooler temperatures are expected to freshen up the potential venues on Wednesday the 3rd and Sunday the 7th of February.
As a result of the variability of the weather, guides and event organizers have not yet confirmed the competition face or date, but a final decision will be made on Wednesday, February 3 in the afternoon.
As the anticipation and excitement builds during the coming days, join in on the stoke in the FWT event village in the Chamonix town center where you can meet FWT fans and riders in Place Balmat for a raffle, photo exhibits, and a DJ set.
Stay tuned to www.freerideworldtour.com during the coming days to receive the most up-to-date information about the event date and competition face. In the mean time, check out the FWT Event Village in Chamonix or some of the amazing riding that went down last week in Vallnord Arcalís, Andorra on our website!
And your 2016 Skiers Cup Champions are: Team Europe!
It was no easy victory, but Team Europe prevailed in today’s Backcountry Slopestyle contest in the Andorran backcountry to defend the Skiers Cup title against a stacked Team Americas squad.
Already leading 9-7 after Saturday’s Big Mountain portion of the competition, the eight skiers of Team Europe prevailed again today on the backcountry slopestyle course sculpted by Arnaud Rougener and his team of shapers—seven jumps scattered across a playful backcountry zone across the valley from the Andorran ski resort of Granvalira.
We’ll have a full event report from today’s event coming soon — until then, here are the results from today’s head-to-head matchups.
Round 1
Sage Cattabriga Alosa 0 – 1 Loïc Collomb-Patton
Parker White 0 – 1 Sam Favret
Nick McNutt 1 – 0 Bene Mayr
Seth Morrison 1 – 0 Sam Anthamatten
Logan Pehota 1 – 0 Nico Vuignier
Tim Durtschi 1 – 0 Fabio Studer
Grant Howard 0 – 1 Markus Eder
Tanner Rainville 0 – 1 Mathieu Bijasson
Round 2
Nick McNutt 0 – 1 Fabio Studer
Sage Cattabriga-Alosa 0 – 1 Sam Anthamatten
Tim Durtschi 1 – 0 Markus Eder
Seth Morrison 0 – 1 Mathieu Bijasson
Logan Pehota 0 – 1 Loïc Collomb-Patton
Parker White 0 – 1 Nico Vuignier
Grant Howard 0 – 1 Bene Mayr
Tanner Rainville 1 – 0 Sam Favret
Big Mountain – Team Europe 9, Team Americas 7
BC Slopestyle – Team Europe 10, Team Americas 6
Overall: Team Europe 19, Team Americas 13
Team Europe now leads in Skiers Cup titles, 4-2 against Team Americas!
Another sunny day in Andorra
Parker White and Nick McNutt of Team Americas scope the course
Warming up
Mathieu Bijasson – Team Europe’s secret weapon
The unofficial, official Skiers Cup MVP: Sam Anthamatten!
The Be @ B&E Video Contest winners announcedPress Release
We are pleased to announce that the 6 following riders will be joining Henrik Harlaut (SWE), Phil Casabon (CAN), Tom Wallisch (USA), Tanner Hall (USA), Jossiah Wells (NZD), Clayton Villa (USA), Jon Olsson (SWE), Adam Delorme (USA), Jules Bonnaire (FRA), Sami Ortlieb (SUI), Yoshiya “BULL” Urata (JAP), and Lucas Stal Madisson (SWE), replacing injured B&E Invitational 2015 Winner Noah Albaladejo (SPA).
Max Hill (CAN)
Kye Petersen (CAN)
Torin Yater-Wallace (USA)
Ahmet Dadali (USA)
And the winners of theBe @ B&E Video Contest:
Joona Kangas (FIN)
Alex Beaulieu-Marchand (CAN)
Be @ B&E Invitational Winners
The Be @ B&E Invitational 2016 online video contest gives anyone the unique opportunity to win one of two Wildcards to ride at the B&E Invitational with 22 of the best skiers on the planet. Over 35 videos were submitted from all over the world and posted on Downdays for the European entries, and Freeskier for the Rest of the World entries. After a global audience vote brought the entries down to the final five, Henrik awarded the Rest of the World wildcard to Alex Beaulieu-Marchand (CAN) while Phil awarded the European wild card to Joona Kangas (FIN).
Henrik stated: “Alex is super stylish and really technical. He showed us just how hungry he was for the wildcard so we’re stoked to have him at this year’s B&E.”
Phil commented: “I had never really heard of Joona before, and actually discovered him through his edit for the video contest. He has a really different, unusual style so it’ll be really cool to see him ski our crazy set-up.”
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.