"The triumph of the snowboard began 30 years ago. It brought back the fun of winter sports and, fortunately, this later spread to skiing. It is precisely this light-heartedness, the meeting of like-minded people and legends who enjoy riding with friends from all over the world, that we have been celebrating at the LBC for 14 years now. The Woodstock of Snowboarding a family reunion of a global community". Says Paul Gruber, LBC organizer and snowsurfer since 1980.
There is 15 cm of fresh snow on April 13, 2013, the morning of the LBC. The sun is fighting its way through the clouds and driving away the last snowflakes. The event site is already a hive of activity. Test stands from the companies goodboards, Nitro, Pogo, Radair, Arbor, Dupraz and Libtech are set up. Registration for the race starts and the first riders come out of their buses and hotel rooms.
There are around 440 starters entered in the classes of the ambitious LBC Masters Men / Women, No School Men / Women and the colorful birds of the Old School Men / Women. It's a real joy to be dazzled by the sunlight and the neon-colored Elho jackets, ski suits and bunny costumes! The boards are also amazing. Here you can discover boards that are just as old (often older) than their riders... From the Checker Pig from the 80s to the old Burton, you can see all kinds of old boards that most kids today would hardly recognize as snowboards.
The race starts right on time at 12 noon
Unfortunately, not all riders expected to start on time and were therefore late for the start of the LBC Masters. But that's not a bad thing - because there's nothing to gain except new friends, at least that's what Paul Gruber says. And so the atmosphere at the start is very exuberant and cheerful. It's an impressive sight when around 400 colorfully dressed snowboarders gather and then take off down the slope together according to their classes!
Dani Kiwi Meyer gives the start signal and off they go in a huge cloud of colorful dust! At the bottom of the finish area, each rider is greeted personally by chief organizer Paul Gruber.
Everyone waits together for the award ceremony and passes the time with a few runs or chilling in the sun. The wait is accompanied by a performance by Paul Gruber's band A NUDE A and the rock band Muha. The snowboard museum displayed all the snowboards Craig Kelly had ever ridden and the kids were able to test who could go the furthest without bindings in the "fun shred". There was plenty to barbecue and a giant cake at the goodboards stand. All in all, a relaxed and cozy, colorful atmosphere. People strolled from stand to stand, chatting, saying hello and getting to know each other.
The LBC is not just work for the snowboard companies present, but also a great pleasure. Martin Sammet, founder of Pogo Snowboards, snowboarder since 1983, has been attending the LBC with a test stand for several years. For him, it's always something special to experience the old retro style and have fun with it. Josef Holub from goodboards has also been there since 2003. He has been able to convince more and more boarders of the fun of riding long boards and looks forward to the annual meeting at the LBC to exchange ideas and ride together. There was also a lot going on at the Arbor, Nitro, Libtech, Radair and Dupraz stands. Only when the sun went down did the community slowly disperse, only to soon come together again in the tent. Bob Klein created a video obituary in memory of Tom Sims and Craig Kelly. There were also a few videos from the early days of Paul Gruber and Bob Klein. The final party went on until the early hours of the morning and the atmosphere was unbeatable. The whole tent danced, partied and had a lot of fun. Lots of photos worth seeing in the gallery
As I said, there's nothing to win but new friends: the results
Dani Kiwi Meyer presents the award ceremony in a cheeky, authentic manner. "s'bärtige Bärli hot's händli ghebt im Ziel..." So speaker Dani Kiwi Meyer about the winners of the Masters Men. 1. Franz Lebsanft and Matthias Jorda
2. Marco Seitner
The winner Stefanie Hamann "hät's ghoimnis ihrer Schnelligkeit in die beine"Masters Women 1. Stefanie Hamann
2nd Christine Innerhofer
3rd Lisa Poliaka No School Women 1st Tanja Spirig
2nd Bea Pocher
3rd Ina Renetzer No School Men - first and second place: "ride the same board, drink the same beer and have the same coach, but are koi bärli" 1. Chris Garside
2nd Alex Rufibach
2nd Pascal Imhof In the Old School they ride "old underpants, old beanies, old boards..." Old School Women 1st Marlies Mandl
2nd Ursula Wohlschlager
3. Fabiana Schmied Old School Men 1. Joe Waibel
2. Eric Themel
3. Stefan Wiechenthaler The presentation of the Special Awards is an important part of the LBC, as some people are honored here for their commitment to snowboarding. Thöma Lechner from Scoul comes "with a truck full of lüt üs'm Engadin to Stuben". He has done a lot for the snowboard industry and a lot for snowboarders in general. Tina Mazur has been at the LBC every year for 20 years with the whole family! Markus Herterich from Mortal Kombat Sound. Paul Gruber describes the flair of the LBC very aptly in his opening statement. It's about transferring an idea, an attitude to life from the early days of snowboarding to a modern, new, fast-moving era. The message that is conveyed can only be grasped by experiencing, feeling and being there. It is difficult to capture this in words in a report and it is purely subjective. Every participant experiences it a little differently. Because it really is a bit more than just a race with crazy people dressed up in neon colors... Simon Toplak (photographer): "It's quite simply authentic. You just have to take the day with you, it's the caramel topping at the end of the season. It also overwhelms me every year when hundreds of people take the slope together."
Editor's note:
The motto of the LBC 2013 "Ride for Tom" honors the co-founder and legend of snowboarding Tom Sims, who passed away in 2012 at the age of 62.
