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This year, Snowboard Spring Break returned to the legendary Kaunertal Valley at the end of April. In its second year back in action after a hiatus, it was great to see this celebration of snowboarding well attended by retailers, brands and a crew of ambassadors, pros and industry insiders. Read the round up from the Snowboard Spring Break team below.
If you ever needed reminding just how awesome snowboarding really is, then a visit to Snowboard Spring Break 2024, held at Snowpark Kaunertal from the 27th April - 01 May, would have cleared things up! 100+ testers, hundreds of snowboards, boots, bindings, optics and helmets to test, a host of UK retailers, the UK’s top riders and three days on the mountain. We even had appearances from shred legends Dave Lee, Peter Bauer and Gigi Ruf, this all added up to an all-time trip.
Arrival day was on the 27th April when everyone got together and the brands began to set up for the event. That evening the welcome meeting was held at our base for the week, The Hotel Feichtnerhof in the Alpine village of Feichten, and after a combination of snowboard chat, high levels of stoke and spending time with friends old and new, day one was complete! Things started off on the hill, bright and cold on Sunday 28th May with minus zero temperatures and new snow which led to fast times and even pow stashes for those that were willing to work for them. The brand booths were busy turning screws all day as retailers and media alike demoed hardware, learning all about the gear that will be filling snowboard stores this autumn.
Monday 29th May dawned just as sunny although a little less cold, things kicked off with the Amplid Carving Masterclass presented by Peter Bauer and Amplid ambassador Markus Moser. The duo took groups around the freshly groomed mountain to work on their carving technique, following a combination of hardcore advice and gentle coaching, 40 plus riders had gone through the Masterclass and benefitted from the knowledge shared.
After lunch it was time for The Reason Magazine and Volcom ‘Rails and Radlers’ jam located in a specially-segmented area of the Kaunertal snow park. What followed was a sweet session on three of Kaunertal’s most fun obstacles, set to a soundtrack powered by Marshall Middleton portable speakers and with plenty of local Radlers to keep the thirst at bay. With the focus on fun and progression, it didn’t matter what your standard was - everyone was welcome to show up, throw down and enjoy themselves.
With prizes handed out, it was time to leave the mountain and get ready for the evening’s party, presented by Volcom Entertainment. Hosted at the Zappa Dello bar in nearby Feichten, Volcom Entertainment brought UK DMC podium finisher Revrt to spin tunes and not only did he get the party started, he kept it going all night with a legendary near 5 hour set.
The third and final day dawned just as sunny as the others, this time with positive temperatures which softened up the snow for a final day shred. The test village continued to hum all day as riders kept riding the final pieces of product they needed to ride, all set in one of nature’s most beautiful snowboard arenas. By the end of the day, we were left wishing for more, but stoked that we had been able to enjoy the most successful Snowboard Spring Break for years!
Want to join us next year? www.snowboardspringbreak.com
Thanks to event sponsors Sun Bum, Volcom, Volcom Entertainment, Marshall Headphones and The Reason Snowboard Mag and to the SIGB for their support with lift passes.