EURO OPENMy journey away from the Colorado/ Utah parks began with a quick, yet amazing trip to Tahoe with the Sessions team! After skiing two days of powder that Northstar received, I hopped on a long, but eventful plane headed to Zurich, Switzerland! With Matt Margetts and Matt Walker along for the ride, we barely made it to the far off land!Staying at the Rider's Palace was a constant party... you cannot go to this even and skip a night at the 24hr bar located in the lobby of hotel. With so many friends in one place, everyday was an adventure.Skiing was far form perfect, as most days were windy, cloudy and and genuinely terrible. The view of the Swiss Alps, however, was absolutely stunning.Smiles and incredible scenery go very well together

Both slopestyle and halfpipe events were canceled, leaving the slope riders with a rail jam of eighty competitors, and the pipe riders walking away with $200 each! I assume most competitors spent their earnings that very evening at the party ; ) All together, the Euro Open consisted of way too much partying and far too little skiing.At the event, everyone called me Banks! How could that happen?
EURO X GAMESAfter spraining ligaments in my foot while dancing in Laax, I spent eight hours in a cramped car from Switzerland to Tignes, France for the Euro X Games. The venue was incredible and home to some of the most breathtaking scenery I have ever seen.What a baller venue! Tignes knows how to throw an event!
Everyone ready to throw down, the weather was great, and for those of us that attended Euro Open, we were hungry to ski well and have a good competition. The slope course took a bit of work, and the pipe practices were frequently canceled and moved to night sessions because the walls were constantly falling apart. Thankfully, everything held up perfectly and the next five days were unreal. Perfect pipe, good jumps, and best of all, the most incredible terrain to explore.The view from Tignes
One day, we took a train through the mountain and skied the backside of Tignes all day...aggressive winds made the temperature very cold, but it was so beautiful we kept skiing. With so much terrain, it would take weeks to ski everything Tignes has to offer, and I could not think of a better way to spend our down days.On competition day, the weather was phenomenal and nearly everyone landed their run! Tommy placed first with a nasty run, Bobby placed second, and Jossi landed in third. For the ladies, watching Kaya win, Keri place 2nd, and Ashley winning bronze was great! With pipe being held under the lights, my day was just getting started!Euro X Pipe. Groomed to perfection!
Pipe went really, really well! I landed the run I practiced all week, and they played all the songs I requested during the contest! Hearing your favorite song before you drop is huge, kept me landing tricks, and helped me break into some patented dance moves in the finish area. Jen won her second X Games of the season, I placed 5th, and I cannot wait to compete in Euro X next season! We had so much fun, partied much too hard after the event, and kept it going to the next day!Thank you Tignes!
CHICKS DO IT TOOLa Clusaz, France.
Anais Caradeux, born and raised in La Clusaz, France, put on a wonderful ladies only event after the X games. We were put up in a beautiful lodge, located right in town, and got the ski yet another European super resort with incredible scenery, mind blowing terrain, and amazing friends. With a film crew following us around like celebrities, the park crew worked hard creating a table for a sunset shoot.We too worked really hard.....
The shoot was very successful, and the sun hovered on the horizon well over an hour, allowing everyone to get a few hits.Here's a shot of me doing a 5 into the sunset! Stoked!
With fabulous dinners, plenty of wine and cheese, and lots of lady talk, we finished our trip to France and parted ways the following day!