Two Pinzgau freeriders, Sabine Schipflinger and Siobhan Challis, dominated the sunny first edition of the OPEN FACES Freeride Contest in Uttendorf-Weißsee, Salzburg. In the men's ski category, there is currently no way around Tyrolean Stefan Jöchl, while Sabine Schipflinger (AUT) won the women's ski category. First place in the snowboarder category went to Gergo Szkalák from Hungary, while Siobhan Challis (AUT) won the women's competition. Stephanie Posch was on site for PowderGuide and reports on her participation in the competition:
After the very well organized accreditation, including free drinks for all riders, the riders meeting started at 8:15, where, as usual, all the important information about the contest was handed out. This time, the face with marked zoning was particularly interesting, as a face change had taken place the day before for safety reasons. The Tauernkogel was deemed more suitable for the contest by the safety team and the decision was easy to understand after inspecting the originally planned slope - there were a lot of tracks and blown off areas. We were then informed that Sandra Lahnsteiner, professional freeskier and local in the Weißsee Gletscherwelt area, would be starting as a forerunner and would give us the opportunity to assess the snow conditions and the slope in general through her run.
After the face check, the first riders began the 30-minute ascent to the slope, an ascending traverse from the top station of the Medelzkopf chairlift. There wasn't much space at the start itself, which is why a waiting area was planned a little further down and only the 5 to 10 riders who were next in line were allowed to climb up to the start. This time the men were able to start first, with the women following afterwards. The men were made up of 39 snowboarders and 21 skiers, with 6 female skiers and 8 female snowboarders in the women's race, all of whom fought a tough competition to win their respective categories. The overall standard was very high for a one-star qualifier event, which pleased not only the judges but also the large audience in attendance.
The snow conditions on the slope were really good for the situation this season: there was plenty of snow to be found, most of which was also quite soft and easy to ride. There were some snappy spots that surprised some riders and brought them to their knees, but there were also opportunities for fast runs or stylish turns. In some cases, quite high cliff drops were mastered and some participants were even able to incorporate tricks into their jumps, which then counted towards the Style King and Style Queen awards. Snowboarder Jenny Farrah and skier Leonhard Rauch came out on top and impressed with their style, winning 100 euros prize money each for their tricks. Overall, Sabine Schipflinger (AUT), Larissa Van Stipelen (GER) and Stefanie Noppinger (AUT) impressed in the women's ski category, while Siobhan Challis (AUT), Khantutita Ramos Coca (AUT) and Jenny Farrah (USA) finished on the podium in the snowboarder category. Stefan Jöchl, Michael Durstberger and Martin Krautschneider (all AUT) took the top three places in the men's ski category, while Gergo Szkalák (HUN) won the men's snowboard category ahead of Dominik Olavide (AUT) and Gerwin Andreas (AUT).
The atmosphere on the day of the contest was very good, which was certainly helped by some nice goodies such as a shoe bag and a free lunch. Everything went very smoothly, which contributed to the relaxed atmosphere. The Weißsee Gletscherwelt / Uttendorf area offers many opportunities for freeriding and touring and is definitely worth a visit!
