The last FWQ tour stop of the 2013 FWQ season in Switzerland stops for the 2nd time in the 4 Vallées - the ski resort that is also known as the Mecca of freeriders. And it's no coincidence...!
Niko was at the start of many FWQ tour stops across the Alps during the past season, and he gives us another detailed account of his impressions from Nendaz! Thanks for your motivation and commitment Niko! (T.H.)
On the weekend of March 23-25, 2013, the 7th edition of the legendary Nendaz Freeride Contest was held in the 4 Vallées ski resort. The pretty ski resort, located on a high plateau at around 1400 meters, is now very well known among freeriders, probably due to its close proximity to Verbier. In addition to the requirements of ski tourism in the 21st century, efforts are still being made here to preserve the original Valais tradition. Over 400 kilometers of pistes, several fun parks and countless deep snow runs attract snow enthusiasts and powder junkies to the region. In addition, the mountains Mont Fort and Mont Gelé, which are over 3000 meters high, magically attract the clouds, so that winter precipitation of over 10 meters per season can be expected... Sounds good - is soo good!
Starting point:
After 4 weeks without fresh snow in some parts of Valais, new snowfall arrived at just the right time: In the week before the contest, around 20-30 cm of fresh snow accumulated at altitudes above 2000 meters, so that the contest slopes of Dent de Nendaz and Mont Gond were once again covered with a nice layer of powder. The north-east orientation of the slopes also helped to preserve the snow quality, which was still excellent. And the base of 200-300 cm on the mountain was also powerful and made some routes skiable that would otherwise have been difficult to ski... All in all, the snow depth was a whopping 140% of the long-term average! (Source: Slf.ch).
The action:
On Friday, the 2 qualification runs on the local mountain "Dent de Nendaz", which counted as a 2* FWQ competition, were all about riding a nice line and not crashing in order to qualify for the big 3* final on the super beautiful "Mont Gond" massif. There was a lot going on at the contest again this year: a total of over 100 riders of international origin took part in the qualifying races. Of these, 42 were skiers, 39 snowboarders, 19 female skiers and 8 female snowboarders. The program was organized as follows: After picking up your lift ticket at the bottom of the "Tracouet" lift station between 7 and 8 a.m. on Friday morning, you headed straight up the mountain, where you were given a small breakfast and your race number etc. at the summit restaurant of the same name. There was also some information about the snow conditions on the mountain, safety regulations and the procedure. As with several other contests this year, the rule in Nendaz was: First runs first! and it was important to complete both runs on the north-east face of the Dent de Nendaz before 3 p.m. to have a chance of making it to the final. We then went straight to the face check. The right-hand side of the face was run 1 and the left-hand side was run 2, although the order in which you decided to do it didn't matter, but see for yourself:
I completed my runs by midday, so there was still enough time in the afternoon to watch the other riders on their runs, talk or just chill out in the already intense spring sunshine.
At 8 pm, the results were announced in the cozy, Mexican-themed Cactus Bar. In addition to the winners of the day, all the finalists in the so-called Bib-Draw were also chosen. From a German perspective, it was quite pleasing this time: 5 finalists and 3 great results: In addition to skiers Tim Fritz (2nd) and Felix Wiemers (3rd), Tobias Wohlmannstetter (PowderGuide reporter from the OpenFaces Axamer Lizum, ed.) also managed to secure a place in the final in 17th place. Johannes Schnitzer took first place in the snowboarder category (congratulations!), and I also qualified in 17th place. We were all really looking forward to Mont Gond! The next morning we set off from Siviez at 8am, from where we headed straight for the summit restaurant on the Plan du Fou. On the way there we already had time to study our line again. After a second breakfast and riders' briefing, the girls with the early start numbers were soon to set off for the summit, although as the later starters they had enough time to rethink their choice of route. The Mont Gond is a large massif with quite a lot of blatant and/or interesting lines, which is why the choice can sometimes be a little more difficult... Looking at it, you can probably understand that quite well!
On the ascent, or at the latest when you reach the summit, you notice another challenge: the top right-hand side of the mountain is extremely convex, so it can be very difficult to find your bearings there. You simply can't see very far in! Since I chose this side, this is exactly what I found on my descent. My previously selected kickers in the upper part were simply no longer to be found... But it was still very nice to ride! After my run, I then made my way to the spectator stand, from where you have a brilliant view of the mountain and can relax and watch the other riders on their runs.
Here are the results and a few action photos from the final:
As on the previous day, it was an impressive show: In the snowboarding category, the Austrian Brit Sascha Hamm impressed with a run that was characterized by very high speed and three massive jumps. The Swiss snowboarder Estelle Ballet from Vercorin has also arrived very well in the powder business at the age of 18 and rides better lines than many boys! (Which she was also able to show at the FWT final at the Bec des Rosses!) Otherwise, of course, all the tricks were unpacked again and from back and front flips to 360s, stylish grabs and big cliff drops, everything was included! Until the results were announced at 3 pm, there was still time to pull a few turns in the powder in the adjacent terrain...
Conclusion
A really successful 7th edition of the Nendaz Freeride Contest took place in great snow conditions and bright sunshine. The faces were once again excellent to ride and I think all the participants really enjoyed it. We are already looking forward to next year! It was with great sadness and dismay that I learned in the week after the contest that Albin Oskarsson, a snowboarder friend of mine who took part in several Freeride World Qualifier contests this season, had passed away. I last met the very likeable and funny Swede at the Nendaz Freeride and we had already made plans for next year. Albin's open and friendly manner and his enthusiasm for freeriding made him very popular. We will miss you! Unfortunately, for some, time runs out far too quickly - so go out and enjoy every day! Albin, my friend. Rest in peace. See you on the other side! - Niko
Finally, the highlight video from the event:
