From 5th to 7th of April K2 Snowboarding hosted their inaugural Kranked Slalom in Kleinwalsertal/Austria. Friends, riders, families, and select media all showed up to celebrate K2′s 25th anniversary of their foray into snowboarding. The weather conditions couldn’t have been much worse (fog, icy course, rain on Sunday). However, 38 teams (of three riders each) showed up to battle it out on a course full of banks, bonks, jibs and jumps. And while banked slaloms seem to be all the rage these days, this one had its very own twist on fun and creativity. The teams of three had to ride it at the same time, making it a good mix of slopestyle, slalom, and boardercross madness. Rumor has it that some teams even used their creativity to find some shortcuts in the opaque fog…

Team “Original Zillertal”, consisting of Alex Walch, Georg Huber and Tom Trammitz, could cope best with these conditions, scored first place and are now happy winners of a Japan Powder Adventure with elooa Camps. Second became the local team “Handsome” with Clemens Paul, Florian Geiger and Roland Matt, followed by the “Gnarlberg Steinbocks” around Chris Schnabel, Simon Holzknecht and Irian van Helfteren.

Ofcourse everyone knows the World Rookie Tour! Last August 4 of the Youngguns (who did well on the rookie fest tour) had the chance to go to chile, to ride the first south American Rookie Fest plus  to experience some freeriding!

Big up to the organizer of the World Rookie Tour to great something like that! Giving this kid the chance to go to chile!

Featured Younggungs (Future Rider):  Marco Grigis from Italy, Sven Thorgren from Sweden, Hakon Hernes from Norway and Georg Huber from Austria!

When you’ve got the expansive natural playground of the Zillertal on your doorstep, we’re guessing it’s hard to motivate yourselves to leave but the Ästhetiker crew got juiced with wanderlust and had CK and Simon Schweiger jet to Japan, while Wolle Nyvelt and Anne-Flore Marxer went north to AK and Mone Monsberger and young gun Georg Huber headed west to Chile. Check out the Travel Show. Ëëëöööh!

Here’s how Mone Monsberger breaks it down:

“Last year we filmed a lot in Zillertal again, in the ‘Ästhetiker Playground’ the whole crew made it to some sessions. Check out: Herby Thaler, Simon Schweiger, Rudi Kröll, Ck, Beckna, Wolle, Steve Gruber, Walter Fanninger, Friedl Kolar, Jocki Köffler, Anne Flore Marxer, Georg Huber, Michi Stanschitz… in action! enjoy!”

Click play to enjoy some pow pow funtimes this Friday arvo.

Guess what: The new HOTZONE.TV team movie „THE DUDE V“ is out – and you can get your own movie absolutely free of charge! And here’s how to get hold of this Austrian gem:

Out now, the current HOTZONE.TV team movie is ready for download. Get yourself the new „THE DUDE V“ movie and follow our HOTZONE.TV teamriders to the best spots and locations around the globe. Up from amazing locations like Chile and New Zealand our journey goes on to Italy and of course to the topspots of Austria! The best HOTZONE.TV Snowboard team movie of all times only waits for you! Look forward for the spacy sound track and the great shots of the HOTZONE.TV team riders like Werni Stock, Georg Huber, Friedl Kolar, Tom „Beckna“ Eberharter, Rudi Kröll, Lars Oesterle, Andreas Monsberger, Seppe Smits, Alex Walch, Reini Rieser, Daniel Mösl and friends Johan Olofsson and David Larsson!

You want it now? It is that simple and absolutely free of charge: go to http://www.thedude5.com and you´ll find the download links for IPhone, IPod, HDV movie or  smaller resolutions for Quicktime and Windows Media Player. Click on the one you´re about to download and you´ll get it sent via e-mail.

Thomas Tramnitz with a Back 9. All photos: Daniel Zangerl.

We always ramble about end of season and summer has arrived and whatnot, but judging from the current weather, snow conditions and press releases we are in for an endless winter. You don’t believe me? Well, you either just look out your window or read on about what’s going on up on the Kaunertal Glacier…

Powder. I told you.

On the weekend of May 8 and 9 HOTZONE.TV team manager Lars Oesterle and the up-and-coming riders Georg Huber, Tini Gruber and Thomas Tramnitz set out for the Kaunertal Glacier to check out the snowpark, which was all set for the Spring Classics.

One would expect sunshine and summer camp feeling on a May weekend up on the Kaunertal Glacier. But instead, the riders awaited snowfall and changing weather conditions. Lars Oesterle and the rookie team riders were even more amazed when the Kaunertal Glacier welcomed them with fresh powder on Saturday morning. In the afternoon, some motivated snowboarders fought flat light, snowfall, and the urge to get some more powder sprays in and had a lot of fun in the park, taking advantage of the free coaching sessions with the HOTZONE.TV snowboard pro team riders on the easy-line kickers and jib-line.

Thomas Tramnitz tail-bonking it awy.

The next morning, the sight of a freshly shaped snowpark made everyone look forward to a great riding day. Not only the pipe was shining majestically in the sunlight. Together with some snowboarders who had travelled to the glacier from all directions, the HOTZONE.TV snowboard pro team riders had a great session on the kickers and showed their best 3´s, 7´s and 9´s.  The afternoon was all about shredding the rails. Motivated coaching students made their first boardslides and backside lipslides on the rails and boxes, while the snowfall was getting heavier. At the Kaunertal Glacier, the winter is not over, yet! At least this is what the HOTZONE.TV team riders agreed on when they went back home on Sunday night!

Tini Grubert with a front board over the c-box.

More information on www.springclassics.at

Tini again with a back 5 over the big booter.

Check the Ästhetiker cut from the recent WRF.

The Ästhetiker’s Mone Monsberger was drafted in to coach the Austrian groms at the recent World Rookie Fest Finals in Ischgl, and has fired in his cut of the event. Old dogs riding powder and young guns killing pipe? Sounds about right…

Some young buck sliding boxes. Photos: Armin Popp.

The World Rookie Fest rocked the Balkans with Tim Kevin Ravnjac judged the best rider.
The World Rookie Tour stop in Serbia has wrapped up, with Slovenian Tim Kevin Ravnjac taking the best rider award and Aljosa Krivev winning the rookie catagory. For the girls Andrea Ugrinoska from Macedonia stood out.  Inscriptions are now open for the upcoming Protest East Rookie Fest in Splinderuv Mlyn, Czech Republic, from 5 to 8 March.

Best Rider Tim Kevin Ravnjak

Balkan traditions surrounded the event, hosted in Iver Mokra Gora, where riders from 7 nations – from 7 to 17 years-old – enjoy the second edition of the Protest Balkan Rookie Fest, a Swatch TTR 2 Star Slopstyle. Slovenians dominated the event ranks, while Austrian shredder Georg Huber got second in the rookie category and David Sutlovic from Croatia was the second-placed grom.

Georg Huber



Protest Balkan Rookie Fest – Results

Grom Girls
1 GASPERLIN TJASA SLO 1996
2 GEORGIEVA ANGELINA MKD 1995

Rookie Women
1 UGRINOSKA ANDREA MKD 1992
2 ZORKO MARUSA SLO 1992
3 JACHOVSKA REBEKA MKD 1993

Grom Boy
1 RAVNJAK TIM KEVIN SLO 1996 – Got a ticket to World Rookie Finals 2010
2 SUTLOVIC DAVID CRO 1995
3 ROJEN TIT ŠTANTE SLO 1998
4 KRALJ MAX SLO 1997
5 MALINKOVSKI DAVID MKD 1996
6 TOPCIC GAŠPER SLO 2000
7 SOLAK NJEGOS SRB
8 KRALJ BONO SLO 2002

Rookie Boy
1 KRIVEC ALJOSA SLO 1992 – Got a ticket to World Rookie Finals 2010
2 HUBER GEORG AUT 1994 – Got a ticket to World Rookie Finals 2010
3 PUCKO NEJC SLO 1993
4 GRIGIS MARCO ITA 1994
5 GLATZL MAX AUT 1993
6 GEIGER CHRISTIAN AUT 1994
7 REVERSADE CESAR FRA 1994
8 JOVANOVIC PETAR SRB 1993
9 MILOJEVIC MARIO SRB 1993
10 IVANOVIC NENAD SRB 1992



Boys' Rookie podium

Don’t miss the upcoming Protest East Rookie Fest, in Splinderuv Mlyn, Czech Republic, from 7 to 8 march 2010. It will be a 2star Slopestyle with a special set up: 100m halfpipe, rails and big air. The event will award nother 3 tickets for the Protest World Rookie Finals 2010.

Protest East Rookie Fest 2010 Info.
Date of Event : 5th – 7th March
Star level: 2Star
Location : Spindleruv Mlyn, Svaty Petr
Format : SUPER SLOPE STYLE
Info and inscriptions: info@snowboarding.cz or +420 724 921 236
Age Groups: Rookie (born from 1st January 91 and 31st December 93) and Grom (born after 1st January 94)
Prizes: 2 free ticket to the 4 star “Protest World Rookie Final” in Ischgl.

Provisional Program
Friday 5 March: Arrival day and registration
Saturday 6 March: slopestyle training
Sunday 7 March: slopestyle competition
Monday 8 March: departure or reserve day.

Sponsor: Protest Boardwear, Ride Snowboards, Red Bull, Skateshop.cz, Amazon Power Acai, O2, CEZ group, Impromat

Check the latest webisode from the Zillertal crew documenting the old dogs and the young guns of the Ästhetiker clan mixing it up.

For 2010 the Ästhetikers have planned a new format for their well-known boardsport-shows. In the new productions the ‘old dogs’ and the ‘young guns’ come together to create a new era in the Ästhetiker Tell Ä Vision history.

The crew. Photo: Tom Eberharter.

The ‘old dogs’, Steve Gruber, Chris and Rudi Kröll, Tom “Beckna” Eberharter, Friedl Kolar, Jocki Köffler, Gogo Gossner and many more shred together with the ‘young guns’ like 15 year old Georg Huber, Alex Walch, Werni Stock, Marc Swoboda, Herby Thaler, Phips Gruber, Flo Heim and Simon Schweiger. Also new in the project will be the first girl on Tell Ä Vision ever, namely Anne-Flore Marxer!

By snowboarding together they will support each other. The ‘young guns’ profit from the experience oft the ‘old dogs’ and the ‘old dogs’ can pick up the ‘young guns’ motivation.

Young gun Georg Huber. Photo: Christian Eberl.

The Ästhetikers are not only going to present a huge variety of snowboarding shots, they are going to show the emotions of all the riders, the discussions about powderlines, how to build a kicker or how to improve their riding! What the Ästhetikers want to show as well is an impression of how snowboard shots get produced!

Old dog Rudi Kröll. Photo: Toom Eberharter.

Every two weeks during this season the Ä-Crew will produce a newsblog webisode to introduce the new riders and advertise some of the footage, which will be broadcasted in their shows in Fall 2010!

In Fall 2010 the Ästhetikers will present eight podcasts with the best footage of the season!

You better not miss it!