Spring Classics 2007 at Kaunertal

Words and photos: Tomek Gola

Spring. Spring is coming! Let's have a Classic ending to the season! With outdoor barbecues, birds singing in the air...



"Hey, we're almost there!" shouts Sean, armed with food, drinks and a camera while standing in front of the richly arranged snowpark on the Kaunertal Glacier in Austria. The sun is giving its best.




All of a sudden one of the first birds is up in the air! Marek Doniec with a switch 7 is getting ready for the jam session at Spring Classics: a traditional event at Kaunertal, ending the season in the Austrian Alps.




Soon after him there is another one flying with outstanding style - that's Tobi Reindl!

We've got birds flying, sun shining...



"The Banana Bar is now open!" calls Sean after having rearranged a little space in the chill-out zone into the increasingly popular bar (established at the European Open in Laax), where he serves frosty beer and crispy hot-cheese-dogs to...



...the many that came to celebrate with us and watch riders like Rainer Laa corking through the air.

"Hey Sean, do you have any meat at your bar?"
"No, mate. I had a pig, but, damn, it ran away!"



"...are you sure it ran away? The last time I saw it flying!"



The Flying Pig, vel Ondra Benes, is for sure the quickest and styliest pig you can see on a freeskiing kicker! He and the whole Czech crew - among which are Romek Dalecki and Jiri Volak - are here with us at the Spring Classics as well!

Meanwhile the chill-out zone gets crowded...


...the moment-eternizers find their best spots...



...and the jam session takes off!




with Christina Huber - who at the end of the day turned out to be the best freeskiing girl on the Classics, and the girls did show some high skills!




with Tobias Tritscher going big in front of the mixed - classical and freestyle - crowd,

and other 53 riders from all over the Europe who took part in the comps:




Paddy Graham




Xavier Gering




or the young and promising Tobi Gratz, who won among the juniors.




"What a show, man!"




Here is the true showman of the day - Patrick Hollaus! His tricks prove that his skills have reached the top world riders' level.




Marek Doniec—who's on his way to that level, but he is surely one of the highest and furthest flying riders in most of the comps already.




And Tobi Tritscher, who, after stomping some fat tricks, wins the Overall Impression Award and a season ticket for Kaunertal.



The Best Trick Award goes to Marlon Holzmann.




All in all, just like with any other freeskiing competition, the true prize goes to all the riders. But for the Spring Classics, the true Classics Award should go to Sean—for his overall style! It really might be difficult to run a bar, drink most of what you've got to sell (well, he got a little help in this one) and still record the whole event for his future production! Big up Aussie!!! ;)




After all day in the sun, watching the birds fly and drinking at the banana barbecue, the Spring was formally called open! And so we went down to the valley for the last but inevitable...

Some actually claim that there was an after-party, but I have problems with remembering already what was going on on the glacier... I did help Sean a little in the business... ;)






Till the next time, guys!