It seems almost impossible to keep style as the main judging criteria, but the skiers and judges together made it possible at this unusual Big Air “competi-show.”

Let me paint the scene for you. A mountain standing over the valley, a perfect jump and a sunset final in front of a huge crowd. The VIP and media are inside the fences, the families and tourists behind, and the alcoholics are hiding in the trees. The riders are the center of attention, launching the jump into the sunset, fighting for the victory ring as the photographers’ flashes pop.

The competition concept here is different than anywhere else. First off, the riders are organized like this:

Conférence FRANCE : Julien Eustache – Jules Bonnaire – David Bonneville – Nathan Gaidet – Hugo Laugier – Quentin Ladame – Cesar Fabre – Ben Buratti

Conférence WORLD : – Fabian Bosch – Till Matti – Kai Malher – James Woods – Matt Walker – John Brown – Aleksi Patja – Noah Wallace

After two runs to make the rankings in each conference, the riders battle against each other until the best of each conference is named. In the end, the best from both sides fight for the title—but whatever the format is, the most important thing here is the judging.

During this competition the two international judges, Charly Royer and Lao Chazelas have the pleasure of judging only style, giving the victory to Aleksi Patja with a switch wobble 900 safety. Judging style is easier said than done—so props to the judges and the riders, who played the finals as well as they played in the riders’ hockey game the day before.

Again this event was a real success, blowing away expectations—at least ours. Enjoy the photo portfolio.