I meant to make this update while I was on the road but a hectic schedule and some astronomical web access prices in Switzerland kept me away from the safety of the virtual world until my arrival back home in Montreal.

Since the results are already posted in the news I won't bother recapping what was a pretty cool innagural event, but the off-hill events do deserve some mention.  Laax and the Riders Palace in town teamed up to make sure there were parties planned for each and every night of the event.  Wednesday and Thursday ended up fairly mellow as did Friday for some, with competitions scheduled for the following days.  But Saturday night is another story altogether.
My nice little Swiss hotel.After heading down from the hill following the Superpipe awards ceremony at the Crap (rock) Bar I went back to my hotel to drop my gear off and head up to the media office to file my report.  I arrived to see a pack of people furiously typing away and already hogging all the net connections so I began editing my photos.  Most of the shots turned out pretty well but there were a few that were oh-so-close to epic - as a couple of the comments in the story pointed out, I miss-framed a few shots of Candide and Iisko as they were just going higher than I expected.  Definitely my bad.  With my story done it was already getting dangerously close to party time so I headed back to my hotel and had some dinner.  I had never tried Ostrich meat before but let me tell you, it was tasty!  My belly full of swiss goodness I made it out to the Riders Palace by half passed 9:00 and it was already hopping with a mix of European Open people and young (attractive) tourists up for the weekend from who-knows-where.
Culcha Candela on stage.  Check these guys out if you have a chance.I got my first chance to check out the Riders Palace club, which is in the basement of the hotel and was really impressed.  Never before have I seen a concert venue like it - especially in a ski town.  With it's huge stage, dancefloor, and overhanging balcony it's no wonder acts like Busta Rhymes have been on the bill in years passed.    
Famara getting the crowd crazy.The Swiss seem to have a real affinity for Reggae and the herb - which is awesome - so Saturday's show featured Culcha Candela & Famara who were able to capitalise on the vibe from the stoked out crowd.  I'm still not sure what time the party ended or what time I got home but I did sleep until 3:30 on Sunday afternoon, so it must have been good.
A not-so-fresh air break outside the Riders Palace.