Last week, yours truly Onboard Magazine travelled to the Austrian valley of Montafon for an all-new event concept called Nike Snake & Hammers. Nike and the Montafon had conjured up a banked slalom cum slopestyle course that was open to everyone who felt like a few fast turns, slow spins, and slushy transitions. The aim was to snake down course as fast as possible while dropping their best „hammers“ along the way. The course was a combination of numerous turns and banks, the park included a stairset, side by side kicker setup, big bowl, a gap through a snow tunnel to a straight rail, a creative halfpipe and a small hip. In our humble opinion, it was the laid-back park design that made the event stand out, as punters, media, and pros alike were eager to get their edges dug into the banked turns and snake pipe walls.

Stephan Maurer on course! Photo: Cyril Müller

Despite the challenging weather on the first three days (snowfalls and high fog) the vibe was outstanding, as the course was as inviting and fun to ride as it gets. On the day of the finals the sun came out, many pros and legends alike turned up and made for an unforgettable day on the mountain. Nike pros like Peetu Piiroinen, Jamie Nicholls, Kevin Backström and Spencer O’Brien were joined by an illustre crew of riders like David Bertschinger Karg, Enzo Nilo, Stephan Maurer, Nico Droz, David Benedek and Steve Gruber.

Peetu Piiroinen is attracted to big kickers. Phto: Cyril Müller

When the judging was complete on the day of the finals, Christian Haller (SUI) showed he had the best mix of balance, speed and tricks winning him a share of the $10,000 prize purse. With a race time of 01:25,10, frontside lipslide on the gap downrail, frontside 720 tailgrab off the kicker and many other tricks he claimed a deserved win. Spencer O’Brien won the women’s contest by snaking down the course with her well documented power and style with the best hammer award going to Jamie Nicholls who threw a perfectly stomped backside 1080 off the kicker.

Snake & Hammers winner Christian Haller coming out of the tunnel of doom. Photo: Cyril Müller

MEN
1. Christian Haller / SUI 2. Stephan Maurer / SUI 3. Peetu Piiroinen / FIN

WOMEN
1. Spencer O’Brien / CAN 2. Nicola Thost / GER 3. Aline Bock / GER

BEST HAMMER: Jamie Nicholls / ENG

Further information about the contest and the complete ranking are published on www.snakeandhammers.com.

A bird’s eye view of the park. Photo: Cyril Müller

This third chapter is a real blast! The Swiss recipe is quite simple but dramatically effective: pick seven fresh and motivated riders: Elias Elhardt, Rémi Lamazouère, Martin “zizi” Seiler, Victor Delerue, Darius Heristchian, Emilien Badoux and Mati Radaelli; sprinkle them with sick pow lines, huge backcountry sessions, and pour the final touch to spice it up: a perfect heli trip that will remain in some minds for a while…

“I remember how stoked we were as our heli took off and headed directly to some untracked mountains. We were like small kids in a toy store before Christmas. We had such a blast that day, and I can still see Olivier (our filmer) puking out of the helicopter. Fun day with friends, powder and sun back home, that’s how snowboarding should be. Good times…”, remembers Martin Seiler.

And Elias Elhardt adds: “The Heli Trip was a crazy experience. Doing this for the first time in my life was a dream come true. I will never forget the moment when we took off and flew very close to those big mountains to scope out lines. The snow was perfect and the options endless. It was good to share this great experience with my team buddies Darius and Seili. Being on my snowboard, going down my line, I forgot about everything and only felt the pure joy of riding. In the end, every one of us had two super long and fun lines. Seili was ripping his spot!I guess dedication and passion for something enables us to do things that would normally never be possible…!”