“We’re here to give these people a show!”
he announces, then adds, “Where the single ladies at?”
Matt Margetts putting on a show for the crowd.
The unofficial measurement of the pile was 100,000 cubic meters.
Or if you imagine the snow as a cube, that cube would be 15 stories high.
Michi gets ready to cut out the arch.
This is how to shape a 26-foot quarterpipe by hand…
…the whole 60-foot width of it.
Slowly but surely, the walls grow deeper.
Nah…
That’s more like it!
After two weeks of work, “Il Castello” was finally ready for the riders.
Catching a tow up.
“Where the hell should we drop?
There’s too many options!”
Matt Margetts gets down with a cork 360 blunt.
Austrian am Dennis Ranalter unwinds the first double cork 10 on the jump.
Marg flexes on the hip.
After an afternoon break to enjoy some fine Italian food, the week’s first sunset shoot got underway.
Fabio Studer and his classy cork 3.
Nicky Keefer floats a switch 5 blunt.
Joffrey Pollet-Villard boosts the quarterpipe.
Kevin Rolland, not to be outdone even by JPV.
Keefer guineas again - this time the Mottolino pipe gap rail.
Pressing it out like a G.
More pressing from Keefbox.
Austrian OG Luggi Brucic grabs seatbelt on the spine.
Germany’s Roy Kittler was boosting huge 900s on the spine.
Margetts getting rowdy in the pipe.
During the second sunset shoot, many a blunt was grabbed.
Lots of tandem hits went down.
More blunts were grabbed.
Lolo Favre displayed the world’s flattest 360.
Luggi with a nice seatbelt 360.
Did I mention that blunts were grabbed?
David Wise’s majestic double misty 10.
“Ski boss” Tanner Hall held it down with cork 9s, cork 3s and smooth flatspin 3s.
Looking good after the reshape.
The riders ready for more.
Henrik’s comment on seeing this photo angle: “Looks like Wu-Tang!”
One of the morning’s highlights: tandem backflip and switch backflip from Thomas Hlawitschka and David Wise.
The afternoon shoot on Wednesday was one of my personal favorites from the whole week.
Oh yeah, and David Wise superman front-flipped the kicker with a huge broadsword in his hand.
Lolo gets pissed when he misses his grab.
“Dude, I’m a judge!”
“I take away points for shit like that!”
Undiscovered tranny over and out of the pipe.
“Wow, that looks way better than I thought it was going to look!”
says Margetts, scoping the photo.
“I’ll go bigger next time!”
Jakob playing in the pipe, shortly before tweaking his knee.
Hope it’s nothing serious Jakob.
Dennis working the stairsets.
David Wise is a medieval superman.
Nico Zacek looking pretty stoked about the session that’s going down.
Meanwhile I got a chance to inspect the daily party at Camanel di Planon.
Italians are so into apres-ski, they start it at 10am.
Camanel di Planon, site of our Nine Knights chill area as well as a daily onslope party.
Believe it ski boss.
This guy was the life of the party.
The castle ready to rock.
Hope it was worth it Rene.
E-Dollo throws an epic slash across the top of the quarterpipe.
The night shoot drags on and on.
Legs of Steel, indeed…
The weather is shit all day on Friday, pissing rain in town and snowing on the mountain.
In other words, perfect conditions for the annual Nine Knights soccer tournament!
Elias Ambuhl squares off against Matt Margetts.
This Germanic superman propels Weis Eam through the finals with ease.
Next year it’s on punks, I’m training already.
And when we roll up the hill, this is the sight that awaits us.
It’s somewhere around here….
…Ahhh, found it!
Perfect conditions for a big air!
Cleaning off the stairs.
The decision is made to scrap the big air and hold a jib session instead.
Great weather for a contest, eh boys?
E-Dollo gets right to work on the rails…
…and an undiscovered hip tranny.
Despite the weather, a large Italian crowd turns out to watch the action.
T-Hall doing his thing on the spine.
The weather slowly breaks in the afternoon, and Margetts single-handedly rallies the crew for a jump session.
The ruler of the week blunts into the sunset.
