A hot tip: Ride on in the snow parks of the region

no comments so far... »

For a few days I have been itching to visit the freestyle parks of Zell am See-Kaprun again and today was the day! The night before, I got out my park board to prepare and tune it so that I would be all set to head for the snow park early the next morning. After a short ride aboard Gipfelbahn cable car I arrived at the park which boasted extraordinary conditions. Perfectly shaped obstacles and radiant sunshine – how could a snowboarder’s heart not skip a beat?

I started off with a few rounds at Easy Park. The set-up of the park at an altitude of 2,500 metres above sea level is harmonious and highly recommendable to warm up. The series of three kickers in the upper segment of the park literally get you high. Afterwards I had a go at the exciting combination of boxes and rails: rainbow box, down rail, and curved rail – is there a better way to start the day?

The next challenge awaited me at Central Park. The sight of the pro line with its massive kickers made my stop in my tracks for a moment. Then I took a deep breath, limbered up and off I went. I felt my heartbeat accelerate when I lost ground adhesion. For a perceived eternity I was air-borne before gently touching down again. After another two airs I felt kind of addicted – I am sure you know what I am talking about.

Around noon may be the right moment to decide whether you want to stay at the snow park on Kitzsteinhorn for the rest of the afternoon or head over to Schmittenhöhe. I opted for the latter alternative and thus rode down into the valley. After all I wanted to take full advantage of the second freestyler paradise of the region, too. Rome Park on Schmittenhöhe offers boarders a large number of great lines of different levels of difficulty and has an absolutely unique flair: thanks to its uncountable obstacles and kickers of all sizes which are lovingly cared for by a team of renowned shapers, it has made a name for itself in the boarding scene. This means for you that you will regularly spot famous faces from ski and snowboard magazines dashing across the obstacles with you. It is really easy to get into conversation and swap ideas on the latest tricks and trends. Community spirit is important here and it does not take long until you will feel at home.

Here comes another hot tip for fans of freestyling: the park offers accommodation for all those who want to be the first in the morning and the last in the evening to roam the park.

After some more runs I decided that I’ve had my share of exercise for that day. Exhausted but brimming with adrenaline and endorphins I rode down into the valley to reward myself with a hearty meal and a cool wheat bear. I will remember this day for a long time to come, that’s for sure. Take care and keep on riding!