BEO MEGA POST 2012

What a week of solar flares and big airs the 13th Annual Burton European Open was! All rockets have landed and riders have returned from orbit at this point and we've got the MEGA wrap up ready for you earthlings.

LAAX was turned into a shredastic space station with riders coming from all over the galaxy to rip the super pipe and the newly-located slopestyle course. It was a space race between the Swiss-Russian Iouri Podladchikov and the hairy American Danny Davis in men's pipe. The slopestyle was dominated by the Scandi astronauts, with young gunner Alek Oestreng docking successfully at the top spot for the first time at the BEO. It was all-American for the the ladies with the usual names hogging 1st place with Jamie Anderson for slope and Kelly Clark for pipe.

There was also a LOT of fun had during the course of the week as well, with tons of parties and concerts and awesome mini-shredding. Even though half of our crew was sick with the Ebola virus and another got his face rearranged by an out-of-control skier, this year was incredible at the BEO. Such a good vibe and amazing good times with good friends. Thanks everyone, it was special!

Enjoy the mega blast of pix and flix, and don't miss out next year!

The whole thing started with the Juniors, these kids are amazing.

Aloha from extra super duper sunny awesome LAAX! Travelin' Dan bringing those good vibes across the pond again. Photo: ADTPre-drop helmethead confabulation, McMorris, Davis & Grilc. Photo: ADTThe lovely Kari Opsal was there too. Photo: ADTIt was some serious t-shirt weather during slope finals. Burton badasses all up in the cut: Sani, Kevin, Adam & Hasi. Photo: ADTAimee Fuller checking her score, unfortunately she didn't make the cut for finals. Photo: ADTBut she killed it in the webcast booth with Henry & T-Bird. Check them out trying to avoid getting fried by the blisteringly hot sun, shit was way cray-cray that day. Photo: TAGJamie Nicholls got mashed up pretty bad on a toeside catch on the first rail but this kid is a beast. He has some pretty crazy magician skills too! Photo: ADTEthan Morgan had his superhero outfit on, check out his awesome interview in issue 12.4, out soon! Photo: ADTThis guy got the memo and came in his best space jacket. Photo: ADTLike we said, crazy hot weather for late Feb... Silvia Mittermuller working on that tan. Photo: ADTOur favorite pessimist was also in the house, Jan Prokes & Hasi soaking up that sun. Photo: ADTHi, Jamie! Photo: ADTThis one's for the ladies, Hitsch adjusting his, uhm... knee brace? Photo: ADTPeetu flossin' that #1 bib. Photo: ADTAlex Beer is THE wax wizard crystal warrior. Homie's not bad at snowboarding either. Photo: ADTAlek was in good spirits all day and it showed in his riding. Photo: ADTKevin Keller quenching his thirst with some of the refreshing local quaff. Photo: ADTLadies & gentlemen, bib #13, Seppe Smits from Belgium. Photo: ADTToots scoping out the lay of the land, this year's course was awesome, two thumbs up from us! Photo: ADTJamie has the best style, she gets all squared up and her arms never move, the girl's a joy to watch! Photo: Alba Pardo TatchéEnni was in full blast off mode, check out that MEGA pop. Photo: Alba Pardo TatchéIsabel Derung was the local favorite and she held it down for the home crowd. Photo: Alba Pardo TatchéAlek totally deserved the win, dude was stomping the shit out of some nasty spins. Photo: Dasha NosovaRoope is on a serious tear right now, homeboy is making the podium at pretty much every event. Photo: Dasha NosovaLife is not a drag for Silje. Photo: Dasha NosovaSeb Toots couldn't put together a full run but he was still ripping. Photo: Dasha NosovaHitsch Haller with that extra steezy tip grab. Photo: Alba Pardo TatchéMcMorris flings a frontside avec beaucoup style. Photo: Alba Pardo TatchéP2D2 had a solid run and placed 3rd. Photo: Frode SandbechThis was the line up to drop in for the slope semis, Alek keeping positive. Photo: Frode SandbechIt was a sunshine-y day for Isabel Derungs. Photo: Alba Pardo TatchéTor Lundstrom and... Photo: Dasha Nosova...Kevin Backstrom didn't make the cut, what a couple of losers! Photo: Dasha NosovaDenis "Bonus" Leontyev didn't even try, but that doesn't mean he rips any less! Photo: Dasha NosovaChris Bachmann and Jon Weaver need no introduction, these dudes are fucking LEGENDS! Looking all steezy in their cosmonaut gear at the prize giving. Photo: ADTLittle spacemen! Photo: ADTEnni, Jamie and Isabel are such sprayers. Photo: Alba Pardo TatchéHow happy does Alek look? Big ups, buddy! Photo: Frode SandbechThe 90's are back! Henry rockin' those banged out goggs. Photo: TAGEvery night everyone would leave their boards outside the rooms and every night the Rocks Resort staff would tape "eviction notices" to every single board. Sorry Rocks crew, snowboarders are just a bunch of derelicts, thanx for putting up with us! Photo: TAG
Kevin Pearce was there for most of the week, Kodak moment with Dave Mailman in the space suit during pipe finals. Photo: ADTHitsch getting in the zone before his run. Photo: ADTJ-Town & Daniel-san filming another episode of the Frendly Times. Photo: ADTIouri was super focused all weekend and it paid off! Photo: ADTKP got a LOT of media attention, so good to see him back in the mix! Photo: ADTTM extraordinaire and Austrian shred legend Beckna sniping some shots. Photo: ADTMr. and Mrs. Grilo in the stands. Photo: ADTKingsnorth transformed that burger into something else later that night. Photo: ADTMad 'gramming skills, yo: the cute intern from 7th Sky (sorry, we forgot your name!), Leslie McKenna & Tricia Byrnes. Photo: ADTStale & Fredi bro down during the long break between the first and second runs. Photo: ADTBrusti and Nicolas taking in the action and that sweet Swiss sunshine. Photo: ADTFredi Austbo dropping into one of the biggest and steeziest alley-oop FS airs we've ever seen. Photo: Alba Pardo TatchéKelly was going HUGE, as always. Another notch in her belt, congrats Kelly! Photo: Adam MoranGretchen has also been killing it lately, check out that amplitude! Photo: Alba Pardo TatchéCilka made both slope and pipe finals, this girl RIPS. Hi-5, Cilka! Photo: Alba Pardo TatchéNate Johnstone hails from Australia and he can snowboard the shit out of the U-tube. Photo: Alba Pardo TatchéPeople these days twist into the craziest body positions, Roger Kleivdal twisting and twirling down the pipe. Photo: Alba Pardo TatchéHoly shit, Arthur Longo goes BIG! Photo: Alba Pardo TatchéMarkus Malin always boosts into the finals, keep charging man! Photo: Alba Pardo TatchéTim-Kevin Ravnjak is only 15 and made the men's pipe final, kid is another Slovenian slayer who's been killing it quietly since he was a tiny little grommet. Look out for TKR, little fella's got some serious skills! Photo: Alba Pardo TatchéOh, hai! Photo: Alba Pardo TatchéJan Scherrer had a lot of home crowd support. Photo: Frode SandbechHeavy mediation on Peetu's heavy switch method on his first hit, NASTY! Photo: Frode SandbechLook at that crispy blue sky, almost as crispy as Stale's riding. Photo: Frode SandbechRyo Aono melted everyone's faces off with his soaring aerials & cray-cray ninja skills. Photo: Alba Pardo TatchéThere was actually a pretty huge crowd for pipe finals this year, it was pretty cool to see! Photo: Alba Pardo TatchéDan Davis... DROPPING! Photo: Alba Pardo TatchéDanny Davis = style incarnate. Photo: Alba Pardo TatchéIouri first hit mega blast. Photo: Alba Pardo TatchéIouri second hit mega blast. Photo: Alba Pardo TatchéJust absolutely timeless. Iouri FS air. Photo: Alba Pardo TatchéVictory lap triple-poke method, FUCK YEA, Iouri! Photo: TTRSlash attack! Photo: Alba Pardo TatchéKevin was stoked for his Frend Danny. Photo: Alba Pardo TatchéWay to crush it, ladies, it's amazing to watch the level of riding in women's pipe these days. Photo: Alba Pardo TatchéHappy wieners! Photo: Frode SandbechIouri got ambushed by Danny & Ryo! Photo: Alba Pardo TatchéJamie also took home the MINI Creative Use of Space award, we are HYPED on this initiative, it's awesome that someone is paying cold, hard cash to reward creativity in snowboarding. Hat's off to MINI!Emil Andre Elsletten is a force to be reckoned with, look out for this kid!Cilka is awesome and she is a cutie to boot. Seatbelts 4 life! Good on ya, Hitsch! Danny is down for METHOD. Thank you to Birgit, Astrid, Petra, Patrick and everyone else who always take such good care of us at BEO every year! It is always a pleasure sharing that week with everyone, and we will definitely see you all in LAAX again next year! Photo: TAG

Many thanks to Frode Sandbech, Alba Pardo Tatché and Dasha Nosova for hooking us up with the awesome snaps, make sure you check out their sites!