The first ContestHappening of the 2020 season is dedicated to this event in the Paznaun Valley, followed by information on the final field of riders for the FWT 2020, which will hopefully be competing in Japan.
FWQ/FJT Kappl
Like every season, the Open Faces stop in Kappl in the Paznaun Valley in Tyrol is the start of the season for the Freeride World Qualifier (FWQ) and Freeride Junior Tour (FJT) in German-speaking countries. Anyone familiar with the area and the contest slope will know that it faces south-east. The slope at the Quellspitze can therefore be covered in powder snow at this time of year, as the sun is not yet so strong. Or, if it hasn't snowed for a while, it can be covered in old snow. Depending on the weather and temperatures, this old snow can either turn to snow, which is almost certain to happen in the second half of winter when the sun is shining. But it can also only partially and very slowly firn up, as is the case with the current weather conditions and time of year. This year, the riders were more likely to encounter the latter situation. The organizers tried to run the contest as quickly as possible in order to offer similar conditions to all participants. Many snowboarders had problems traversing over frozen avalanche deposits, many good lines were affected by "snowing" in the cover or unexpected snow conditions.
The winning line of Spaniard Edur Gorospe in the men's ski category gives a good impression of the conditions and the level of the contest. All result lists can be found here and here for the juniors, the re-livestream of the event can also be found there.
FWT 2020
FWT will now kick off the season in the land of deep powder, Japan, for the third time in a row. Once before, the contest had to be held at one of the other venues due to a lack of a good weather window. Things are not looking good for this year at the moment. Locals are reporting the worst winter in Japan "ever". The problem with the extremely low snow conditions is the bushes, which are not sufficiently covered in snow. This is extremely limiting in terms of face selection. There are currently three potential faces to choose from. The participants are currently traveling, the contest is scheduled for next weekend, with an additional time window of one week. The snow conditions in Japan can change significantly from one day to the next due to the very intense snowfall there. We are therefore hoping for snow to fall soon before the contest. Or again, for example, a double tour stop at the other destinations.
