With awesome early season snow in Saas Fee and clear skies forecast, everything was set up for the first big date of the European New School season. Ripcurl had invited 30 of the world's top riders over to compete, among them Candide Thovex, Jon Olson, Steele Spence, JF Cusson, Julien Laforgue-Regnier. The ethos behind the freeski format is to find the best overall rider in the three major freestyle disciplines, Half-pipe, Slopestyle and Big Air. Prize money is awarded to the individual winners, but the overall event winner receives the big 5,000€ pot.

Spence and Candide stole the show
Candide is on fire. He is possibly the most graceful freeskier on the planet, but this season he is going big, big, big. His half-pipe runs were fluid, styley, but above all enormous. His slopestyle was flawless, linking all the hits perfectly. In the Big Air, only an incredible final jump from Steele Spence kept him off the top spot. No matter, Candide walked away with the Overall title and the big purse. If this event is anything to judge by (and it is), then Candide is looking set for a massive season.

New Armada skis out on show
Okay, keep this to yourself, but we actually saw some Armada skis ripping it up around Saas Fee. The most anticipated product in freeski history, the Armada skis were attached to Armada team riders, JF Cusson and Julien Laforgue-Regnier. JF may have been taking it fairly easy in the comp's, but he was still as styley as ever. Julien was testing the Armada backcountry twintip. Looking funky as hell with Julien's signature graphic, everybody wanted to know how they rode and their spec. The Armada guys just gave a knowing smile and kept quiet.

Despite it being so early in the season, the riders threw down big-style. Luckily everybody made it through almost unscathed. Only Arnaud Rougier was injured, though hopefully he should not be out for long. There were some fairly major stacks, though. Julien Lopez went for a huge 1080 in the pipe and smacked heavily into the coping. The crowd winced, but he bounced up. In the Big Air, British rider, Glenn Parsons got slightly backseat on a corked 9 and ripped the rear binding out of one K2 Enemy. Ski hurt, rider fine.

No age limits
Freeskiers just keep getting younger. Laurent Favre won the half-pipe, came 3rd in the slope-style and was right up there in the running for the overall title (and a 5,000€ pay-out). Wednesday morning come the Big Air though, Favre was nowhere to be seen. Was it a huge hangover? A gorgeous Saas Fee local? No, his mum had called and he had to be back in school on Wednesday morning. Still, 2,000€ pocket money from the half-pipe should keep him in video games for a while.

Red Bull and hangovers
With the final night event party consisting of continual consumption from an inexhaustible jug of Vodka Red Bull, the Ripcurl Freeski was rounded off in glorious, if very messy style. With Guido Perrini's coverage of the event already edited into a first cut, we were able to watch his awesome footage and relive the highlights of the 3 days all over again.

All in all, top event, top fun and very, very top freeskiing. The organisers deserve much credit for this - the atmosphere here is no holds barred Freeski Fun; the philosophy - Get out there and have a good time doing it! The Ripcurl Freeski looks like its here to stay.

Summary of the three events:

Half-Pipe:
Results - 1st, Laurent Favre; 2nd, Candide Thovex; 3rd, Mattias Wecsteen

The pipe was huge, definitely super-pipe territory. The walls were 12+ feet in height and the transition very fast. There was a kicker on either side of the entrance to the pipe, enabling the riders to take air into the pipe. Laurent Favre took this to an extreme - he pulled a 1080 into the pipe for his winning run.

It came down to a straight shoot-out between Candide Thovex and Laurent Favre. Candide is an international legend. His 120 foot D-spin over a gap jump in North America (ever since known as Candide's Gap) was a seminal moment in New School Freeski history. But in La Clusaz, his home town, he has inspired a generation of young pretenders and Favre is one of the best. He is currently threatening Candide's position as France's top Freestyle skier. 3rd place went to Mattias Wecsteen rounding off a clean sweep for the French.

Favre's winning run included a 1080 into the pipe, a Rodeo 540 and huge corked switch nine - awesome stuff. Candide threw his signature inverted corked 720, but just missed with a McTwist 900, that probably would have taken the title. French ripper and new school sensation, Marie Martinod rode away with the women's section, showing amplitude out the pipe that matched many of the guys. She is one to watch this season.

Slopestyle:
Results - 1st, Candide Thovex; 2nd,Jon Olson; 3rd, Laurent Favre

The course started with three rails: one straight & flat, one rainbow and one riser-onto-flat. Beside the bottom rail, the alternative option was a medium size kicker. This lead onto the main jump: a big kicker with a 15m flat before the landing zone. It was the one obvious hit to make and all 25 competitors did just that in each of their runs. The final hit was a jump that the skiers could hit from one of 4 different kickers, all leading onto the same landing.

Again it was a very close contest with only four points separating the top three places. Half-pipe winner, France's Laurent Favre, finished 3rd: but his fellow competitors awarded him the most technical trick of the day - a switch 900 reverse mute of the big kicker. He followed this with an unnatural 540 off the final hit just indicative of the level of talent and style amongst this new generation of freeskiers.

Two points ahead of Favre, Jon Olson, one of the current superstars of international freeskiing, rode into second with a 900 reverse mute in each round, the last of which he linked straight into a full 900 off the final kicker.

Two points further in front, that left Candide. Fresh from his second in the half-pipe on Monday, he threw down big-time in the Slopestyle to finish atop the podium. Both his runs were marked by sick air and technical mastery as he linked together styled up Switch Corked 720 Reverse Tailgrab's with Corked 540 Reverse Mute´s to secure the highest marks for the day.

Big Air:
Results - 1st, Steele Spence; 2nd, Candide Thovex; 3rd, Henrik Winstedt

It was a bit warmer on the hill on Wednesday for the Ripcurl Freeski Big Air. Skies were still clear and the snow in perfect condition. Hangovers were blown away by the fresh air and the prospect of watching an aerial showdown between some of the world's top riders.

Qualification may have taken place under the shadow of Saas Fee's glacier-riddled peaks, but it was clear nothing could keep Jon Olson and Candide Thovex out of the limelight. With the judges evaluating the skiers according to their amplitude, difficulty of tricks, landing and then a mark for the all-important Style, Candide Thovex stormed into first with a big Switch Cork 9 Reverse Tail. The Head-sponsored Olson rode him very close with a Switch Butter Cork 9 Safety. Swiss skier Misra Noto followed them in third.
The final was held back 45 minutes so the sun could make its way round to the Big Air. Cheers came from the camera crews and photographers as it lit up proceedings.

Candide kept up his momentum to lead after the first round of the final, but Aspen Freeski Team rider, Steele Spence was now only one point adrift. Rossignol skier Henrik Winstedt, nailed a huge Rodeo 7, Swedish style to move into third. Jon Olson, last to go, seemed to hesitate as he came into the jump riding switch and, in the transition, spun round straight again before pulling off a Corked 900 - not bad, but not up to his usually peerless standards. The question is what was he originally going to throw - we never got to find out.

As Brit freeskier, Glenn Parsons, put it "having all the other riders around really motivates you - we all push each other!" This was clear in the second and last round of the final. Candide went very big with a sick Switch Cork 1080, but was just beaten into second by RipCurl skier Steele Spence. Spence pulled off the trick of the day - a super-smooth and styley Switch Misty 1080 (just about the hardest jump around at the moment!). After that there was only Olson left. Totally pysched on the run in, he exploded into biggest spin of the whole event: an enormous Switch Cork 1260! Had he stomped it, no doubt he would have won. Unfortunately he didn't stick it and a deserving Spence walked off with the title.

[Report by Phil Martin]

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