Guide
Tantalising tips for your pre-ski holiday checklist
by Martin Rupf
How does a "Method Air" actually work?
30.1.2019
Translation: machine translated
Video: Manuel Wenk
The finals of the Laax Open 2019 are a spectacle. The riders give their all in this huge halfpipe. If they have to, they are even slightly injured at the start of the second run. And show off a stylish "method air", for example. A what?
English is spoken in this Galaaxy. So the speakers speak English on the Crap Sogn Gion. They also give their all. Total commitment. The finals of the Laax Open 2019 will take place this year on 19 January: for the first time in the event's history in the evening under floodlights. It is the brilliant conclusion to a week full of halfpipe and slopestyle action. In the end, Australian Scotty James and American Chloe Kim won the massive superpipe.
15,000 on the mountain
The Laax Open has become the most important snowboard event in Europe and is probably only surpassed in importance by the X-Games and the Olympic Games. As early as the afternoon, around 15,000 people are already flocking to the slopes between Crap Sogn Gion and the Vorab Glacier. How many at the pipe in the evening? No idea, still thousands.
Method what?
I mingle with the snowboard crowd. Sorry - I mingle. Hip-hop, Wu-Tang Clan is blaring from the speakers. I like Method Man. What is a "Method Air"? I have no idea. I'll ask at the edge of the pipe. The answers in the video are, shall we say, imaginative. Riding a trick and explaining it are two pairs of snowboard boots. No matter. The Mecca of this sport once again lives up to its reputation. The riders are going full throttle in the pipe, and the big party is going on next door.
Hype in the pipe
After around two hours, the show is over, including the award ceremonies. The various after-parties begin. Should I or shouldn't I? Okay, there's a beer in it. Then it's over and I carve down the floodlit piste into the valley on my skis(!). Good night.
Want more stories from the Grisons mountains? Then join me on the ski lift here and follow my author profile. <p
Patrick Bardelli
Senior Editor
Patrick.Bardelli@digitecgalaxus.chFrom radio journalist to product tester and storyteller, jogger to gravel bike novice and fitness enthusiast with barbells and dumbbells. I'm excited to see where the journey'll take me next.
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