BEO Day 2 Event Recap

The announcement said it all "This is only the 2nd time in 20 years of snowboarding competitions in Laax when the contest had to be canceled. All the organizers did their best, the slopestyle course was in perfect shape, and riders were excited to shred it. But the weather gods are not with us. What a shame!" 

But first - a recap. The world's best riders hit the first cable car in Laax, Switzerland at 7.45am today, ready to take the Burton European Open Slopestyle by storm. Unfortunately, that metaphor seemed a little too close for comfort, as the weather worsened with each ascending metre, and with the competition course on Laax's highest slope, it was obvious that today's riding would be - at best - in whiteout conditions, at worst with the wind too. By the time the throng of people arrived at the top, it was clear that some good luck would have to blow through for the contest to go ahead. 

 

But as they say - a cloudy day is no match for a sunny disposition - and the riders were certainly keen enough to get the practice session on the go. Standouts from the early runs included Britain's James Thorne, who was hitting some super popped switch 7's, and the US duo of Scotty Lago and Mason Aguirre, who put some fine lines down. Shaun White was clearly up for braving the conditions, throwing at least one 10 in his two practice runs. 

I say at least because by 10.30 am it was hard to see past one kicker, with winds whipping up the new snow from the ground, blurring vision and obviously making it harder for the riders to judge their speed and angle of attack. It was hard enough to watch, never mind to ride. When the word filtered through that there was an emergency meeting at the restaurant at the bottom of the course, it took the BEO slopestyle about thirty seconds to move en masse. Myself included. 

Event organiser Flo Weidel had a captured audience at the condensation-filled restaurant. With cakes, teas and coffees in full effect, the decision was made to wait and see what the weather was going to do in the next half an hour. By 11 am it was clear that things had gone from bad to worse. "I'm sorry to tell everyone here," said Flo from the top of a table. "But it doesn't look like this is going to happen today. The contest is now off. We thank everyone for coming but the Slopestyle is now over." 

To be fair, most of the riders took the news in their stride. As the great Bob Dylan sang, you don't need a weatherman to tell which way the wind blows, and it had been pretty clear from early that morning that there was a high chance the Slopestyle would get canned. Flo's declaration was only confirmation of the obvious. And what the hell - the restaurant's home-made cake was spectacular. 

But it didn't mean the day was a washout. Two lifts down from the glacial Slopestyle course, the weather was several shades fairer, with virtually no wind and the odd flurry of snow hardly troubling the perfect Superpipe. While several riders were now free to head straight down and ready themselves for the journey out to the X Games, it showed great spirit that Shaun White, Antti Autti and Travis Rice all stayed at the pipe for a couple of hours, riding in full view of the No Name Cafe where virtually all the spectators were congregated. With the junior pipe session open, the kids got to ride with their heroes and were more than stoked to see such a trio shredding the same hits. "I was hanging out with Shaun in the lift queue," said 13 year-old Sparrow Knox. "He came up to me and started talking about my riding." See what I mean about sunny dispositions? 

Back at the organisers office, a close eye on the weather charts confirmed the worst. While it's great news that Europe is looking likely to get it's first serious storm of the winter, the chances of holding the junior slopestyle event for Tuesday were seriously in doubt. But with the Superpipe remaining the mountain focus, the decision to move the  junior Superpipe qualifications to Tuesday was an obvious one.
 

We'll be back on Friday for the start of the Men's Superpipe qualifications. Until then, pray for snow, but let us also have a break in the clouds!