The Hotzone.tv Park Opening went down from 5 to 7 October on the Hintertux Glacier in Austria. Once more Europe’s earliest park opening boasted good weather, world class snowboarding and a unique party schedule. The excellent park conditions and the many international snowboarders make the annual event one of the most important dates in the snowboard season.

Already on Friday a number of pros like Peetu Piiroinen, Spencer O’Brien and local hero Werni Stock rode the pro line in the Betterpark – arguably the best training option for the upcoming contest season. The park – which also includes the small and medium lines as well as the jib area – was in perfect condition and stayed open for everyone all weekend. A lot of spontaneous jam and photo sessions took place with a visible hunger for the upcoming winter. In the test area visitors tried out the newest gear from 30 brands all weekend, and in the valley the premiere of the new Pirates production UNIQUE8 as well as the Shred Warm Up and the Pirate Party made for the ideal beginning for the Opening weekend. And the pro line-up from Sage Kotsenburg and Janne Lipsanen to Elias Elhardt and Marco Feichtner enjoyed the party schedule, too.

On Saturday blue skies, no wind and pleasant temperatures awarded those who made the ascent on the mountain early. Up there, the traditional www.hotzone.tv Session of the Dudes offered a fascinating mix of technical trickery and unique style. While Gigi Rüf tried the kickers with some straight airs, stylists Werni Stock, Marko Grilc, and Chas Guldemond battled the more technical approach of Roope Tonteri and others. In the end Werni scored the Style Award with tweaked backside airs, switch back 1s and other slow spins. And the double cork fest was dominated by Roope and his Finnish perfection. Not only did he show the ‘standard’ 1080s in the front- and backside versions, he also laid down cab and back 12s onto the soft kicker landings. He was hence declared the Best Overall Rider. And while last year’s best rookie Roland Tschoder impressed the judges with one-foot jumps and double backflips, it was 15-year-old Tim-Kevin Ravnjak from Slovenia who scored the award with his repertoire of backside 9 and perfect 7s. In the afternoon the shred circus moved on to the Hintertux parking lot. Visitors enjoyed a beer and even more sun and had fun taking part in activities like bag jumping, tarp surfing and hitting a piñata. The Analog Opening Night hardly needs introducing anymore: Thousands of visitors flocked to the Hohenhaus Tenne and partied with the Wax Wreckaz DJ collective, DJ NLP, local act SMoK1NG FING3RZ and London-based DJ IRK on several dance floors until the early hours of the morning.

On Sunday the Billabong Kids Shoots took place with Pleasure photographer Fischi and Billabong pro Wolle Nyvelt coaching 18 motivated kids in the onset of winter. The planned Cash for Trix Session had to be cancelled due to the weather. Most Opening visitors, however, did not care: They had enjoyed another perfect mix of park riding, parties and product testing and looked forward to the fresh snow; it means loads more Betterpark sessions in the coming weeks!

Park Hill freestyle snowboard camp, brought to you by Transform Gloves, is the autumn version of summer shred and best possible way to get ready for winter. The October snow of the Hintertux glacier and the outstanding Betterpark provides perfect for riding. Park Hill brings riders of all ages and pro riders together to have an unforgettable snowboard experience.

Transform Gloves, Lobster, K2, Holden, Sabre and Quiksilver are bringing their teamriders for you to hangout and snowboard with. The camp is all about progressing your snowboarding though daily freestyle clinics. Besides riding you get to explore the mountain village of Mayrhofen, home to Gasthof Zillertal, numerous outdoor activities and a brand new skate bowl, it is the perfect camp location.

Who comes to ride at Park Hill? Riders of all ages are welcome. Kids ages 10 to 16 can book the all-inclusive Rookie package with 24/7 guidance by the best possible chaperones. Riders 16 years and older can pick their preferred accommodation and extra’s as they please, no strings attached and free to do what they want.

Dates:
– 13th till 20th of October
– 20th till 27th of October

Sun. No wind. Perfect kickers. Shaped pipe. New obstacles. Crazy vibe. These are some of the things that made our day. It was just awesome. The best riders of the overall ranking battled for the Quiksilver Wir Schanzen Crown. A lot of action was seen on both kickers of the Pro Line with two tables (17m and 15m), 15m big Hip and not to forget about Red Bull Best Trick Session on the Canon Box.

Wir Schanzen Riders collected points for the overall ranking threw the whole winter. Only the best eight riders of each category were invited. And also four Wildcards have been given away in the Men’s category.

The Betterpark Hintertux was waiting with a perfectly shaped set-up where all the invited riders have done their best. That was the best event of the Quiksilver Wir Schanzen tour. Beside sick performance from riders, Jonathan Weaver as speaker and the DJ took care for a great vibe.

First Snowboard Kids showed their skills on Medium Kickers and a Jib line. Geiger Christian was just killing it and no one  was able to steal the Crown from him. After the kids, Snowboard Ladies Jam Sessions was on. Battle between Diana Sadlowski and Christina Gruber was on fire. But Christina managed to take the Crown in her hands.

Around one o’clock in the afternoon the Snowboard Men Jam Session was on. Two big kickers in line and after this 15 meters big Hip followed. Dudes ripped the Finals. The Betterpark Hintertux saw some really sick tricks. From double back flips to double front flips, double corks, some really japan grabs and all possible turns. Matthias Vogt had his day and he left Hintertux with the Crown and 1000 € in his pockect. Pretty cool, ha?

After all this awesomeness the Red Bull Best Trick Session was on. The riders once again showed up and for the last time went into the battle for the Red Bull Ipod Touch. And Matthias Vogt threw some sick moves on Canon Box. Switch front flip of the Canon and he walked away with brand new Ipod Touch.

But enough about the event. Betterpark Hintertux was in perfect shape. I have never seen such a perfectly shaped pipe there. That was a surprise. All the kickers were like always in good shape. And they have placed new obstacles. Now park set-up can really satisfy all the needs that snowboarder has.

Pro Line:

• 2x Kicker 15m and 17m
• 15m Hip
• 120m Super Pipe

Medium Line:

• 2x Kicker 10m
• Flat Down box 12m
• Rainbow box 9m
• C-Box 9m
• Down Rail 9m

Easy Line:

• 2x Kicker 6m
• Butter Box 4m