Red Bull Jib Ski Kings

Words by Federica Ippolito

Following last year's successful first edition, the Red Bull Jib Ski Kings has conquered Alto Adige once again. During the highly creative contest, pro and amateurs competed on Spitzbhul slope in Alpe di Siusi, Italy on March 9th and 10th, where in the end, the victory went to 19-year-old Lukas Schäfer. “I’m very happy for what I did at the event," said Schäfer. "The last run was perfect and I hoped I could get a victory. In the end I got it!”


Taking second place was Valentino Mori, while rounding out the podium in third was Markus Fohr from Finland. In fourth was Christoph Schenk, who also took home the Best Trick prize with a perfect switch misty 9 while competing alongside his brother Stefan in the event.


The concept of the event is new to the freeski scene, aiming to enlarge the jibbing boundaries of the sport. Unlike the usual slopestyle and rail jam-format contests, the Red Bull Jib Ski Kings didn’t take place inside a park, but on a normal ski slope, showing the more natural dimension of the sport and without the artificial park installations.


There were no big structures in place, but the natural obstacles stimulated the athletes' creativity, using the irregularities of the ground, natural features and rails.The competition was open to both pros and amateurs, and at the end of the qualification day for amateurs, the top 10 skiers moved on to the following day's main event, where they had the chance to challenge some of their idols in the sport. One of the participants, 25-year-old Silvia Bertagna, was a female who competed against the men with absolutely no fear.


The victory and prize money was assigned by an esteemed judging panel, including Iast year's winner Markus Eder (who was unable to compete this year due to injury), who judged according to four different categories: number of hits, variety, execution/style, and use of the route.