Longboard Classic Stuben 2026

The event

However, there is a small setback at the beginning: the race cannot start from the Albona ridge as it rained all afternoon on Friday up to 2500 m. Even the diligent blasting until the early evening was not enough to guarantee a safe race. But if you look at the snow conditions and the temperatures on Saturday, it's more than understandable!

For us, however, the day starts at check-in, just like for everyone else. We are early enough and get one of the coveted LBC shirts, JUHU! We walk around the event area and marvel at the boards, some of which are over 2 meters long, with which people want to ride down the mountain. Many manufacturers have arrived with extra long test material, but Alex and I decide on boards in our usual sizes from Nidecker. But there are not only boards to test. At the LBC, the Powder Collective Penguin x PowderGuide is complete, as the girls and boys from Penguin are enthusiastic snowboarders and have their season finale here!

The race

But enough about the event area for now - let's hit the slopes! A little warm-up before the big race seems sensible to us. We set off for the start of the race at around 11am. In the morning, Paul gave us directions to the starting point, which is about 300 m below the Albona ridge. However, in view of the crowd that has already gathered there and can also be seen from the lift, there was no need for directions. Gradually, more and more people gather and I get a little scared of the mass start... After an exciting interlude of live music and Kiwi's speech, the LBC Masters category (the people with the boards over body height that we had already marveled at in the morning) gets underway. All the boards are put into the snow and the group gathers about 50 meters away. At the signal, we sprint to the boards, hopefully find our own quickly, buckle up and off we go. The first one down wins.

I arrive at the finish cheering, not because of my position, which isn't important anyway, but in an adrenaline rush and happy to have come through unscathed. For all those who are now thinking about whether they want to take part next year: my description makes it sound as if the injury potential is high ... However, if you take a bit of time at the start and ride down with the second half, the whole thing is much more civilized.

Alex starts after me and I'm waiting for her at the finish line, cheering!

Then it's time for lunch and the first Aperol. The weather is perfect and we drift around the event site, marvel at the boards on display in the "Snowboard Museum" and chat with various exhibitors. I even get so far as to test hardboots at Splitpin.ch ... I'm positively surprised, let's see what happens next winter.

A race also includes the award ceremony. You can read the results here, they are not that important. All the nicer are the special prizes that are awarded. There were even crazier people than the 2-meter board riders! Snurfer and Aesmo are definitely a different number in the snow conditions. The youngest participants, well under the age of 10, also received awards. All in all, it feels super familiar: everyone gets something and is happy to be there!

Then it's time for lunch and the first Aperol. In the best weather, we drift around the event area, marvel at the boards on display in the "Snowboard Museum" and chat with various exhibitors. I even get so far as to test hardboots at Splitpin.ch ... I am positively surprised, let's see what happens next winter.

A race also includes the award ceremony. You can read the results here, they are not that important. All the nicer are the special prizes that are awarded. There were even crazier people than the 2-meter board riders! Snurfer and Aesmo are definitely a different number in the snow conditions. The youngest participants, well under the age of 10, also received awards. All in all, it feels super informal: everyone gets something and is happy to be there!

Then it's time to take a break and relax before we gather again in the evening for the special edition of the Freeride Film Festival. After some inspiring and emotional films, the party continues late into the night.

And that's it already. One day and still everything I expected from a snowboard festival! Many thanks to the venue Stuben and to Paul and Muck for the organization and Kiwi for the great moderation!!!

We're looking forward to next year, because it's back on April 3rd, 2027!