The first ever Saas-Fee Ride took place on Saturday and went off as a great success! Considering it was one of the hottest and driest June's in over 150 years the resorts incredible summer skiing glacier held up well and was in great condition. The summer freeski event was a competitive showcase for both professional riders and up and coming young rippers.

Skier Cross (Quicktime video clip - Men's Final)
This adrenaline fuelled, full contact race was packed with slalom turns, raised 1/4 pipe banked turns, rollers, moguls and tabletops.It is the ultimate head-to-head alpine competition. The early start seemed to bring the best out of the riders as they threw themselves into the battle to cross the finish line first at any cost.

After time trials and two tense semi-finals the Men's Event was won by FIS Europa Cup champion Mathieu Feraud (Volkl, Scott) of France with Thomas Duerr of Liechtenstein in second place. A double fall on the first bend left third place up for grabs, Mark Meeson of England recovered the quickest to take the final place on the podium.

The women's race was won by Shula Wolfenden (UK) with Lorna Carmichael (UK) taking second - a fantastic result for them both especially considering it was their first ever skier cross!

The Skier Cross provided thrills and spills, skill and excitement from start to finish and showed just why this new evolution of skiing means business and is here to stay.


Big Air (Quicktime video clips - Glenn Parsons | Tom Last)
Off a big air specially built for the competition, the riders pushedeach other hard to land the biggest and wildest jumps. Visually, this was an awe-inspiring event, showcasing the skill, courage and creativity of modern skiers. The crowd were treated to 900° twists, multiple back flips, front flips, off-axis rotations, spectacular somersaults and grabs, otherwise known to the core audience as Rodeos, Corks, Mistys, Lincolns and flat spins.

The standard was incredibly high with leading British and European riders taking part. Such was the quality of the riding first place was tied, Tom Last's (Line Skis, Nike, Siver Cartel, Optic Nerve) Rodeo 720 Grab was matched all the way by Markus Kaiser and his Rodeo 540 Tail Grab. Verbier based Glen Parsons (K2, Siemens, Whitestuff, Smith, Level) took second place on the podium with two awesome corked jumps.

Glen threw a Cork 720 Safety Grab for his first jump but up'd the stakes with his second as he stomped a Cork 900 with Safety Grab. Andy Bennett (Line Skis, The North Face, Siver Cartel) came in third with a super smooth 720 Safety Grab.

The Girls showed they were not to be outdone by the boys as they took huge air off the kicker. The competition was won by up and coming Swiss Rider Virgine Faivre landing a near perfect Straight Air Safety. British rider Sarah Muson took second place.

A Great Success
Freeskiing may not be all about competition, but competition is an integral part of freeskiing. Such a progressive sport needs events, not only for the media coverage they generate, but also because the fusion of riding talents in the theatre of competition generates an intensity and inspiration capable of pushing the sport to the next level. Riders fed off the energy of this events for sure and hopefully took the vibe back to their home playgrounds.

All in all, the Saas-Fee Ride 2003 was a great success. Freeskiers from around Europe gathered to showcase the sport and judging from the noise of the crowds, their efforts were much appreciated. With Warren Smith and Guido Perrini chronicling the event both for TV broadcast and their forthcoming movie, 'Snows in the House 2', there will be ample opportunity for people to catch up with any action they missed over the next few months.

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