A special obstacle is always unusual but our shapers conjured up something that won’t be toped in near future. A phat kicker called Moby Dick causes a sensation. But not only the size is similar to that of a whale but the amazing similarity is the reason where it got its name from.  We talked to park designer and new Captain Ahab, Rene “Renilla” Margreiter about Moby Dick and the great season finale in the Snowpark Alta Badia.

Hi Rene! It’s surprising what we discover in Alta Badia again and again. Recently, Moby Dick has run aground there!

Yes, we are proud that Moby Dick has chosen our park for a short break on his long journey. On closer examination, you can see  that the purportedly whale is a phat kicker on which high-altitude flights are guaranteed.

Can you describe this kicker for us?

Moby Dick has a 23m sweetspot and with a 5m dropping height a rush of adrenalin is inevitable. The landing area is laid out steeply, 25m wide and 50m long. Between jump and landing is a 18m gap.

This sounds like pure action and nothing for an unpracticed rider.

Exactly! We have built Moby Dick for media teams and pros that they can organize a sensational special obstacle shooting in Alta Badia. Last year, we already had numerous pros here in the park for special obstacle shootings and I’m sure that they produce great clips this year, too.

We’ll give you a foretaste on the awesome clips with our teaser. The riders Daniel Tschurtschenthaler, Patrick Pitter, Max Weickl and Sebi Geiger come together and showed some massive moves on Moby Dick. Besides our stout fish, there will be another highlight before the season ends, Renilla: “Yes, unfortunately the finale is close but we still sweeten this time for our riders with a sensational event. On March 31^st  the QParks Tour stops in the Snowpark Alta Badia with the event “La Freestyla”. This is one of the highlights of the season and it is more than okay, if the shred finale is opened like this.

Rene has just mentioned it: the QParks Tour stop “La Freestyla”. The QParks Tour will stop in the Snowpark Alta Badia again this year and give the go-ahead for the season finale. Over the whole day snowboarders and freeskiers will battle for, a total of, EUR 3.000.- prize money and cool goodies. After this action packed day, a phat party is going on! A nice DJ set will get you pumped up for celebrating together. We offer special Sleep&Ride packages to facilitate the stay in Alta Badia for you.

You’re interested in one of the Sleep&Ride Packages? Please send us an E-Mail with your inquiry to info@qparkstour.com.

Now it’s time to get excited because we’ve about to reveal the contest line to you, so that you’ll be optimally prepared for your runs:

1)      8m Flat/Down Rail or 8m Down Rail

2)      Kicker with medium + pro jump

3)      Kicker with medium + pro jump

4)      Kicker with medium + pro jump

5)      Multi-Obstacle: Wallride/Corner/Box

6)      Pyramide XL

Enjoy the nice tricks on Moby Dick in our snowboard teaser and mark the 31^st of March for the QParks Tourstop “La Freestyla” bold in your calendar. No matter which information you need, on the QParks Tour website, the Snowpark Alta Badia homepage and the Facebook fanpage you will definitely find what you’re looking for.

One highlight is following the other in the Snowpark Alta Badia! Thanks to its perfectly shaped obstacles and a varied set-up the Snowpark Alta Badia presents itself at its most brilliant and invites more and more motivated freestylers to experience the ultimate shredding fun in the park! The snowboard pros Christian Geiger and Lea Baumschlager tested the park last week – and they were more than impressed!

The parkcrew have been working very hard during the last few months and managed to create a magical set-up that caters for every freestyle expectation. The five different park lines are a guarantee for shredding fun on all skill levels, so both beginners and advanced riders can express themselves and their style!

All photos: Sebi Madlener

Under a perfectly blue sky the snowboarders gave their best during the park-checkout last week and they examined the set-up carefully. And it was absolutely worth it! Despite the snow conditions, Sebi Madlener, the photographer responsible for the snowboard shoot, was impressed by the skills of the snowboarders, who above all were convincing on the rails and kickers. Sebi on the shooting: „Chris and Lea really gave it their all and the most important thing for them was clearly to have fun!“

The pros let off quite some steam, erspecially on the Industry Flat, the Elbow Rail, the Downrail and the triple kickerline, as well as on the special obstacle, the 6 m Fullpipe XL and the Corner in the end section of the park. And they were also enthusiastic about the park’s excellent connection to the lifts which allows for lots of runs in a short time. With so much shredding fun, sunshine and massive tricks it‘s no surprise that more and more freestylers find their way into the park – and that also pros are enthusiastic. One thing’s for sure: a visit to the park is always a highlight! See for yourself in our brand-new video edit or take a look at the pictures of the session!

For all the latest news about the Snowpark Alta Badia, go to our website or visit us on Facebook!

All photos: Moritz Orgler

The Siberian cold didn’t spare the Snowpark Alta Badia, but the finished setup was waiting to be shred all the same. Numerous riders accepted this challenge and accelerated on the Jibline. We joined this session with a film crew and caught the phat tricks on tape for you.

Normally, the Snowpark Alta Badia is spoiled by the sun. On the 1st of February, 2012, the weather gods played a trick on the riders, such as snowboarder Marc Grossgasteiger. Wind, freezing temperatures and poor visibility dominated the park. That way, it was much harder to perform a Jibline checkout. Still, the shapers did a great job and the riders were highly motivated. We had a chat with park designer Rene “Renilla” Margreiter to find out a bit more about the shooting and the park.

Alta Badia: Park Overview

Alta Badia and the sunshine belong together and so do Renilla and his sick moves ☺! What was going on on the 1st of February, 2012?
That’s true, we are really a fair-weather park, but the Siberiandepression had no mercy. The weather wasn’t fine, but we did our best to offer optimal conditions to the riders. In Espacially, we did a really good job with the Jibline. We were able to take all the jibs in one run and we didn’t realize how cold it was. We enjoyed the session to the fullest and had a really fine day.

How would you describe the local rider scene and what are the highlights in the Snowpark Alta Badia?
The locals are mostly freeskiers, the snowboarders have to catch up a bit. All in all we have 10 jumps and 20 jibs including quarter hips and multiobstacles, which allows a lot of creativity in the park. Every rider gets the opportunity to ride many different lines and combos.

Check out the current setup on the Alta Badia Website, you’ll als stay up to date on whether the park is open and which obstacles are waiting for you to shred. The current Snowboard video edit and photo gallery shows you how much fun a session without sunshine can be. The brilliant weather forecast for the next few days will let you enjoy the Snowpark Alta Badia in picture-perfect weather.

Nevermind the weather: play up to the Snowpark Alta Badia an rip the jib! For the lates news and updates, go to the Facebook fanpage!