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> News > A whole week of the finest snowboarding: LAAX OPEN 2020, January 13 - 18

snowboarding News

A whole week of the finest snowboarding: LAAX OPEN 2020, January 13 - 18

Iouri Podladtchikov (SUI) during Laax Open 2019. Image credit: / Ruggli/Laax Open

16 November 2019

The LAAX OPEN 2020, Europe’s most prestigious snowboarding event, takes place on 13-18 January 2020. Over the course of a week, snowboarding and freestyle will take centre stage on the mountain around Crap Sogn Gion and GALAAXY mountain station. World and Olympic champions, newcomers and fans will mingle amongst one another on the journey to the valley, where freestyle will also be celebrated off-piste at rocksresort with a festival atmosphere. The closing highlights are the open-air concert from MIA. and the top-class DJ line-up at Riders Club.

The FIS Snowboard World Cup and world snowboarding event has a prize fund of CHF 200,000 in the slopestyle and halfpipe disciplines. Victory at an OPEN event in LAAX means much more than simply scooping a large slice of the prize money. It is a great honour and it is the goal of every rider to enter into the hall of Fame. The names of the winners are historical proof of the instrumental role they play in progressive freestyle snowboarding.

Kelly Clark, Chloe Kim, Natasza Zurek, Jamie Anderson, Arielle Gold, Enni Rukajärvi are some of the ladies who have been on the podium many times, with Peetu Piiroinen, Iouri Podladtchikov, Ayumu Hirano, Kevin Pearce among the men who have reached the podium multiple times. Then there are the riders who have scaled the OPEN peak on Crap Sogn Gion once, such as Isabel Derungs, Doriane Vidal, Silje Norendal, Liu Jiayu, Danny Davis, Andy Finch, Shaun White, Chris Sörman, Roope Tonteri, Stale Sandbech, Mark McMorris, Max Parrot, Scotty James and many more.

It’s not just since 2005, when the first OPEN events were held by Burton in LAAX, that victory in LAAX has been so prestigious. This has always been the case: for example José Fernandes, Europe’s first professional snowboarder, in the 1980s, Reto Lamm in the early 90s, Gian Simmen and Nicola Thost, the very first snowboarding halfpipe Olympic champions, in the late 90s, Xavier Delerue in the Boardercross times around 2000 and Nicolas Müller in the early 2000s, who is now an idol for many snowboarders.

Snowboarding events in LAAX have always had culture at their heart. This includes sport, language, design, music, media, film – expressing an open awareness of life and a way of life.

The LAAX OPEN main attraction is, and remains, freestyle snowboarding. Performing the sport itself. Tricks and flights, airs and corks, performed by pros who seem like they’re from another planet, cheered on by the rapturous crowd and assessed by the judges. There has to be at least one powder-filled day for all the riders taking part, that’s the tradition. Like the descent to the valley via the P60, a freestyle slope with over 50 elements for jibbing and performing tricks.

Down in the valley, the excitement continues. At Piazza Cafedeli, in the Freestyle Academy, in the steam bath at the rocksresort apartment, in the gym and during yoga at Riders Hotel. At the rocksresort village with food stalls, talking shop in a relaxed atmosphere, watching films on the video wall, chilling on deck chairs, enjoying hot DJ beats, all finally culminating in the openair live performance from MIA., the famous electropop band from Berlin, on the closing Saturday, 18/1/2020, at 9 p.m. This is a fitting way to follow the halfpipe night finale, the galactic sporting highlight which takes place under spotlights on Crap Sogn Gion at 6 p.m.

Event website: www.laax.com/open

Lift ticket booking: tickets.laax.com

Destination website: laax.com

Hotel booking: shop.laax.com

About the LAAX OPEN

For three decades, LAAX has been playing host to world-class freestyle events and has demonstrated a treasure trove of experience, competence and passion for the sport and its snowboarders. The 5th edition of the LAAX OPEN will take place from January 13 to 18, 2020. It is the snowboarding event highlight in Europe’s mountains and guarantees snowboarding at its finest. It includes high-quality contests in slopestyle and halfpipe for women and men, sanctioned by FIS and WS, and offers CHF 200,000 in prize money. Music, parties, culture and culinary at the rocksresort, RIDERS and GALAAXY round out the allround lifestyle experience of LAAX.