May 21st 2010

The Dolomiti di Brenta in Italy is a fascinating landscape whose rough character is formed by vertical towers and massive rugged rock faces. In this beautiful scenery, the Cima Tosa (3.173m) forms the highest peak and hosts the object we desire to ascend and ride down: the longest ice couloir in the Eastern Alps, the Canalone Neri (850hm vertical drop, 50° ice) on its northern side.

We depart at four in the morning to the couloir at sunrise. Under a bright blue sky, hiking up the couloir and climbing the icewall feels like a gift from nature and the excitement rises about riding down- we have no doubt that it is possible for us to ride down regarding the current- excellen!- snow conditions.

Before we start our ride down we enjoy the impressive view overlooking the Brenta. The snow is firmly packed but not icy, nevertheless two third of the way down are a non-falling-zone regarding the icewall. Today it is possible to ride all the way down going around the icewall without using the ropes.

Happy at the end of the 850m vertical drop in 50°, jippieh!

Liz.

Boards: Tanker 182 2010 | Cam: GoPro | Excitement: highest

After two very warm days and predicted windhold for Friday, the competition was postboned and we went off to explore the vibrant nightlife of Lenzerheide. Friday afternoon the temperatures dropped, we gave the hot outdoor pool at the local Spa a go, watching thick snowflakes decorating the village.

Saturday morning conditions were good at last- sunshine and 20-30cm of fresh snow made it possible to ride the impressive Rothorn face. Trying to manage a fluid run in flat light I chose one of the main couloirs and kept my line simple including three jumps- and won the women´s snowboard category followed by Monica Font and Mikaela Hollsten! The men´s snowboard podium also goes to Austria with Christian Schnabel on 1st place and Roland Hofer finishing 2nd, followed by Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics participant David Bakes from the Czech Republic

Snowboard Women

• #1 Liz Kristoferitsch (AUT)
• #2 Monica Font (AND)
• #3 Mikaela Hollsten (FIN)

Read full Story here >>

Nendaz is part of the well-known 4 vallèes region and includes the valleys and mountain ranges around Nendaz, Verbier, Veysonnaz and Thyon. Late at night after a 7-hours-drive I arrive at Sion at my friend´s house, a great dinner and a bottle of wine are already waiting how lucky am I! Qualification on Saturday summed up the total of two runs on two different faces, and I was happy to make it into the final on Sunday.

In Nendaz I feel like an early bird, at 7:30am I am on the chairlift going up to Plan du Fou for coffee and a donut, before we start to hike up. It is a beautiful day, the sun is out and the snow looks tempting powdery in the face. The starting gate is a 40-minutes-hike up on the ridge, and hiking is what I truely love- it always makes me calm and confident before a run.

My line on lookers´left included some fluid turns with three smaller jumps at he upper part, followed by a narrow couloir which I find still untracked, to shoot through to the bottom of the face. My run felt good and clean, and to finish on the podium on 2nd place made the day perfect!

Liz.

VISIT LIZ’ WEBSITE

READ MORE:  http://www.nendazfreeride.ch/en/

Read full story:
http://www.bigmountain-fieberbrunn.at/

http://www.freerideworldtour.com/en/

Tanker Club Member George McLeod … rides a Tanker 187 up to 61.8 m/h.. and he is thinking of buying a Tanker 200.. how fast will he be with that ??? Ride on George.

…. both Brighton and the Canyons in Salt Lake/Park City rank among my top favorites. I happened to be in Utah last year when they received 48″ of new powder. Talk about the right time to surf my “eye stone” Tanker. It was epic!

This year back at Mammoth, I actually clocked my speed with my GPS at 62 mph and that wasn’t even my fastest run of the day! See attached pic. Your boards really fly!

Ralph will have to go back for a 4th !!! surgery on his elbow in the next days .

Respect and all the best. Ride on.

Harry
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Read the full review in german:

Inferno Tour 2010 Freeride Inferno Hochfügen – Ein
voller Erfolg!!!

Trotz widrigster Wetterbedingungen konnte am vergangenen Samstag die First-Tracks Inferno Tourstart mit dem 1. FREERIDEINFERNO in Hochfügen, einem 2* Event gestartet werden.

Hochfügen zeigte sich aber auch an diesem (vom Wetter her) ungemütlichen
Samstag als Freeridespot der ersten Klasse und präsentierte den Fahrern zwei
anspruchsvolle Runs, welche den Teilnehmern alles abverlangten.

Mehr als 50 Starter aus Österreich, Deutschland, Schweiz Italien und Finnland
stellten sich der Herausforderung des 1,Freeride-Inferno in Hochfügen.

Weder die schlechte Sicht, noch der Schneefall konnten die Rider daran hindern,
die Schnellsten unter ihnen zu ermitteln. Im Massenstart wurden beide Läufe in Angriff genommen, und wer als erster die Ziellinie überquerte war der Sieger.

Bei den Snowboardern war dieser kein Unbekannter – der Schweizer
Snowboardprofi Ralph Castelberg konnte mit zwei gleichmäßig starken Läufen
den Sieg für sich verbuchen. Die Damenwertung Snowboard konnte die Finnin
Mikaela Holsten für sich entscheiden.

Die Kategorie Ski konnte der junge, deutsche Freeskier Sebastian Lentsch für sich
entscheiden und die Siegerin bei den Mädchen Elisabeth Schmölzl hielt sich auch
im Starterfeld der Männer beachtlich.

Und bei einem waren sich alle Fahrer am Ende des Tages einig – 2011 sieht man
sich wieder – denn dann lädt Hochfügen zum zweiten Freeride-Inferno.
Weitere Events und news zur Internationalen First-Tracks Inferno Tour auf
www.first-tracks.org
Text: Roland Gütl

Top Resultate:
SNB Man
1. Ralph Castelberg – 200 Tour Points
2. Matthias Jorda – 150 Tour Points
2. Patrik Birenen – 150 Tour Points

SNB Women
1. Mikaela Holsten – 200 Tour Points
2. Janine Droz – 150 Tour Points

Ski Man
1. Sebastian Lentsch- 200 Tour Points
2. Thomas Harrasser– 150 Tour Points
2. Lukas Ebenbichler – 100 Tour Points

Ski Women
1. Elisabeth Schmölzl – 200 Tour Points
2. Lisa Horst – 150 Tour Points

Read the complete review:
http://www.bomberonline.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=284651%23post284651