Red Bull Linecatcher Cancelled

The safety and organizing committees of the Red Bull Linecatcher got together today after the violent winds that swept through the East of France on January 6th. The decision to cancel the Red Bull Linecatcher, which was initially due to take place between the 11th and 18th of January, was a difficult one. It was jointly made by the safety and organizing committees, who estimated that the safety conditions for the 20 athletes running in the competition were not optimal.


The factors that encouraged this cancellation included a lack of snow on the face of Eyssina (where competition was to be held) following the violent winds of Friday, January 6th, which swept away the snow and made it too versatile. Another factor was the weather forecast for January 11th - 18th, which did not show any signs of snowfall that would be sufficiently abundant to cover the Eyssina face. Freestyle backcountry skiing is a demanding discipline which involves hitting jumps that require a safe landing and a specific snow quality. The conditions of recent snowfalls – windblown and hard in the couloirs of Eyssina face – made the snowpack unreliable and inadequate for high level freestyle backcountry skiing.


We are extremely saddened by this decision but confident that you will understand and respect our choice.