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It had snowed maybe 10-20 cm during the night. Not that much, but as the night was apparently pretty cold, the old snow up on the mountain had dried a fair bit. Now, instead of having bit of moisture in it, it was pure Utah pow. Actually I never been to Utah, but anyways the snow on the slopes of Krasnaya Poliana was very light and dry. And it was, just like yesterday, bottomless.

Unfortunately I only manage to do two runs before I had to start working. No complaints, though, as I am here to work. Knowing my friends were having a really good time put a smile on my face, too. Second hand stoke is stoke, too.

Number bib drawing for the Freeride World Tour Russian Adventure event

In-between my two runs there was a bib draw event at the slopes. All the riders gather together to have a personal encounter with lady luck, meaning they had to stick their hand into a Helly Hansen bag and draw out their bib, with a starting number on it. Obviously Mitch Tölderer was the luckiest as he picked up number one. Good on him, he gets to lay the first tracks on the contest slope, once it happens.

Legendary freerider Steve Klassen is also participating in the competition in Krasnaya Poliana

The grand master of freeriding, Steve Klassen, also showed up. I don’t remember what number Steve picked up, but no matter, he is the real number one. He is, at least in my opinion, the best freeride snowboarder to ever walk on earth, or rather, ride on snow. He has been riding for more than 30 years, and still, at age of 43, he is still on top of his game. Steve, who comes from Mammoth, California, has won more all kinds of freeride titles than anybody else, including all the skiers. He won the infamous King of the Hill, which was held in Valdez, Alaska in the mid 90s a few times, and he is also the king of Bec des Rosses, the mountain on which the Verbier Xtreme, the baddest freeride comp on earth, is held, as he’s won it like five times or something. Competing is one thing, and Steve has his results, but the thing is that he loves snowboarding as much as anybody, and he totally rips. So, it’s good to have him here, just his presence makes this whole event that much better. Anni and Kaisa were lucky enough to hook up with Steve for a run, and the word is that the spot they went to had absolutely fantastic snow. Wish I was there, I have not ridden with mr Klassen in years. Cool, though, that the girls got to go with him. Steve rocks!

The competition still delayed by the decision of the mountain guides

During the afternoon we did some preparation work, put up some tents and so forth. Basically we are getting ready to do an event. It is not happening tomorrow, though. After the day up on the slopes we went to Hotel Vertikal, where most of the riders are staying, and had first a meeting of the Professional Freerider´s Board aka PFB, then guide’s security meeting and then riders meeting.

PFB is composed of some of the best athletes in the sport. There is actually eight of them:

Snowboard:

Ruth Leisibach (SUI), Cyril Neri (SUI), Mitch Toelderer (AUT), Xavier de le Rue (FRA)

Ski:

Aurélien Ducroz (FRA), Cody Townsend (USA), Henrik Windtsedt (SWE), Marja Persson (SWE)

Pretty impressive list I must say. Their job is to ensure the best possible conditions for the growth and development of the sport of freeriding, and in the FWT events they are the voice of the riders. The organizers talk to them basically daily, and discuss matters like snow conditions, security and things like that. I think it is a pretty good system and makes these events a lot better from rider’s point of view.

After the PFB meeting the organizers consulted the four Chamonix mountain guides who are here to make sure everything runs smoothly safety wise. The meeting was not long, as it is pretty obvious for everybody present that the conditions are not safe, and the resolution of the day’s meetings was that there will be no comp tomorrow, and it was announced to the riders in rider’s meeting. I don’t know how the riders felt about the decision, everybody is anxious to compete, but then again there are other things to do here besides riding with a number bib on…

Basically, the reason not to do the comp tomorrow is naturally that it wouldn’t be too safe, as the competition slope is loaded with tons and tons of fresh snow, and it takes time for fresh snow to stabilize. So, avalanches are definitely an issue. As the snow will not stabilize on it’s own quickly enough, it has to be secured by using explosives and other means, before it is possible to let the riders drop into it safely enough. And security work takes time, some hours, and it can only be done in daylight. Because of that there simply would not be enough time to run a comp, even if it was possible to secure the slope in the morning, the day is not long enough. It takes quite a while for 60 competitors to do their thing. So, tomorrow there is more riding for fun. Which suits everybody. After all, most everybody who takes part to comps like this do not ride because they are into competing each other but because they love it. So, events like this are about the best thing ever, as there is a whole lotta love in the air – or, in and on the snow.

For more about the contest please check Nissan Russian Adventure and Freeride World Tour websites.

- Jarkko Henttonen, World Freeride Tour in Krasnaya Poliana, Russia