Contemplating the Bec De Rosses

The final competition of the Freeride World Tour, the Verbier Extreme. The season has gone by so fast and now it is the last chance to prove that you have what it takes to be on the Freeride World Tour and it will take place on the biggest venue in competition history.

All of the competitors spent the day contemplating the venue. The Bec de Rosses is an intimidating face. The top 2/3’s of the venue are a no fall zone. (a no fall zone: if you were to fall, you would seriously hurt) It is riddle with dead end chutes, sharky rocks, and rolls over to 50+ degrees. In good conditions, it is intimidating and difficult to ski. The winds have come from the north and have scoured much of the face. For the first time in the history of the Bec De Rosses, the competitors were allowed to hike to the top of the venue and take a look at the snow. We were not allowed to ski the venue, but it was an opportunity to see what the lines looked like from the top.

The snow conditions are inconsistent at best. As I hiked to the top, I found bullet proof ice, breakable crust, 3cm of powder, and sugar. It is hard to know where to ski. The women are starting on the shoulder of the Bec. The men will start from the top. I do not envy the men. The question of the day is, “Is it worth it?” There are lines that have won year after year, but can they be done in these conditions and are they worth attempting?

The competition has been postponed to Sunday due to high winds. So we have one more day to choose our destiny.

Nissan Verbier Extreme

The Verbier Nissan Extreme is the last stop on Freeride World Tour. The competition will take place on the Bec De Rosses. The Bec De Rosses is one of the largest and most challenging faces of the Freeride World Tour.

I have been in Verbier for the last two days. The face of the Bec looks pretty good. It has been incredibly warm in verbier for the last week. The Bec is north facing and still holding snow. The snow looks pretty good, but there are pockets of wind hammered snow through out the face. It will be important to try to choose a line that has good snow.

The competition is scheduled for Saturday and the weather forecast looks good for the comp. The competition schedule is as follows:
Friday, March 20th
1pm – 10pm STREET FAIR Rue de Médran
4pm – 8pm SWATCH GET HOT DANCERS Street fair – main stage
5pm – 6pm RIDERS AUTOGRAPH SESSION Da Kine stand
6:15pm OPENING & BIB DRAW Street fair – main stage
Nissan Riders Award – 2 best lines of whole season Street fair – main stage

Saturday, March 21st
09.45am FORERUNNERS
10.00am WOMEN’S COMPETITION – snowboard/ski Bec des Rosses
10:45am MEN’S COMPETITION – snowboard/ski Bec des Rosses
1:30pm AIR SHOW : RED BULL AIR RACE SHOW Col des Gentianes
2:00pm AWARDS CEREMONY Col des Gentianes
2:30pm AWARDS CEREMONY 4 WORLD CHAMPIONS Col des Gentianes
2:45pm Press Conference Nissan dome at Gentianes
4:00pm – 6:00pm SWATCH GET HOT DANCERS Main stage
5:30pm AIR SHOW Street Fair
5:00pm RIDERS AUTOGRAPH SESSION Da Kine stand
5:30pm – 6:00pm DRINK 7th SKY-RED BULL Nissan stand
7:00pm AWARDS CEREMONY NISSAN RIDERS AWARD Nissan stand
8:00pm – 10:00pm Xtreme Dinner – Buffet Pub Mt Fort
10:00pm – 11:00pm Party Pub Mt Fort