From 12th to 14th march 54 Riders met at the Oberalppass in Switzerland for “Kick the Vik”, a freeride competition with an eco concept organised by Skireal5 from Laax, Switzerland. The riders competed in the categories of freeride ski, snowboard and telemark, with the final ranking for the men finishing as: 1. Michael Jurt (CH), 2. Alexander Kristensen (NOR), 3. Armin Beeli, (CH), and for the women: 1. Linda Camathias (CH), 2. Alba Wunderlin (CH), 3. Theresa Brenner (AT).

Also present at the competition were Armon Rauber and Elodie Chan from the main sponsor Millet, and here was also the German Plain Energy Expedition Team with their own Filmcrew “Wildruf” from Austria.
The whole competition is based on a unique ecological concept, where all the equipment of the camera, photo team and all other personal goods have to be carried to the mountain hut and to the peaks on their own without use of helicopter, Snowmobiles or cable cars.

This year there were two new mountains in the competition. Piz Purtschera and Rossbodenstock. Each rider checked out his individual chosen line from the bottom and had to hike to the starting position. The mountain Guides from GoVertical in Pontresina (CH) placed some ropes at the rocky passages for a safe hike, and after the starting signal the riders started one after the other in the fresh and untouched powder snow.

All the lines were filmed by two video cameras and photographed by Stefan Schlumpf. No Jury or headjudge did the voting but the riders judged eachother. After the event the public can view all the lines on the website of kickthevik.com and judge the lines with different criteria.

The atmosphere during the three days was amazing. Riders were happy, and the weather, snow and avalanche conditions couldn’t have been better. The respect to nature and the friendly atmosphere were really a special feature of this event. A documentary film showing how it is for a rider to take place in this competition. will be produced and shown in a cinema in Laax this summer.

Kick the Vik
All photots: Stefan Schlumpf