“Summer in the Stub’n”: It is all about positive vibes, neon and longboards! This year’s Longboard Classic in Stuben/ Arlberg was the most summerly edition so far: Temperatures around 25 degrees, summer slush and wet snow avalanches in the Albona face resulted in a new, shortened race course through the Rauztobel.
What sounds like a poor alternative, turned out to be a proper and very special Longboard Classic! It is no secret that this winter hasn’t been blessed with huge amounts of snow. A few days before the event, the lower section and the final part of the course were already considered not-ridable, but 14 hours before the start the conditions on the official LBC slope between Albona ridge (2408m) and the Albona middle station still seemed to be perfect. However, wet snow avalanches went off in the soaked Albona face Friday afternoon. Further controlled avalanches were triggered and could be watched by the guests on the sun terrace of the Hotel Post.
The persons in charge from Stuben quickly took action and helped with choosing a new course and start gate above the Alpe Rauz. There, 350 snowboard addicted old schoolers and longboarders came together on Saturday around 12 a.m. After a short speech by announcer Muck Müller, a pack dressed in fluorescence clothing and equipped with vintage snowboards started to head towards the ground station. After five minutes more than 60 longboard ladies followed, even outrunning a few of the old schoolers; but this was not surprising as after 25 years parts of the equipments suffered a bit of material fatigue.
Another ten minutes later and with all women and old schoolers having crossed the Red Bull goal arc, it was time for the category Longboard Men. Those who were able to strap in fast, could take advantage of the shortened course. Like Matthias Jorda: He was not only the fastest strapping in but also unbeatable on the course and therefore conquered the title in the category Longboard Men for the third time in a row. The best woman, Liz Kristoferitsch, took home the Longboard Queen’s trophy, while big mountain pro Eric Themel and his 88/89 “Sims 1/2 pipe” headed the old school ranking.
The award for the youngest rider went to Jakub Hrones, a 6-year-old kid from the Czech Republic; the other winners can be taken from the official list of results. As usual, the race is only one part of the Longboard Classic: The slogan “ride with friends” is not only referring to the race itself, but also to the period before and after. Thanks to bluebird sky and slush, the slopes of Albona were peppered with cheering fluorescence dots – small groups that waited for each other, jumping cornices and kickers together, doing Rocket and Slob Airs, Stalefish and Crail Grabs, just like in the good old times. Those who had enough from shredding in spring conditions, could change their snowboard gear into t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops, listen to the sound of Mortal Combat and chill in the snow-free event area.
Arbor, Lib Tech, Nitro, Völkl Snowboards, Dupraz, Good Boards, Rad Air and Powder Equipment provided product information and test equipment, while the new sunscreen brand SWOX had loads of samples that could be perfectly “tested” in the summer-like conditions. Furthermore a 20 square meters big wall was placed in the event area and got worked on by the sprayer collective “Blam Blam Blam” from Zurich, led by Nic Ripz. Snowboarding’s big names like Terry Kidwell, Mike Ranquet, Bob Klein, Micky Früh, Serge Dupraz, Phillip Imhof, Ishi Ishihara, Harry Gunz, Dino Bonelli, Andi Tanner, Gogo Gossner and Eric Themel were taking part in the LBC, standing shoulder to shoulder with Stefan from Bamberg, Martin from Stuttgart, Kai from Upper Austria, Mike from Krimml, Otti from Landshut, Tömi and his crew from Scoul, Franz and his buddies from Tirol, Fabienne from Zurich and more shredders like you and me. In the evening it was time for the traditional “History Video Night” in the pavilion.
There, the video “Critical Condition” was shown, in which LBC participant Mike Ranquet had a nice part, Bob Klein presented a film from the first Banked Slalom in Breckenridge in 1985, and organizer Paul Gruber brought a recording from 1981 in which he introduced snowboarding for the first time in the Swiss television show “Karussell”. The following party, accompanied by Mortal Combat sound, included scenes that shouldn’t be mentioned at this point. Here are just a few keywords for those with blackouts: beer table tower, Drew on stage, Harry on the mic, beer bench surfing, Tobi crash landing on the box,…
Last but not least: Together with producer Boris Benedek, Wolle Nyvelt was attending the LBC for the first time to film interviews with the legends. He was blown away by the event’s dynamics: “The positive vibe is unbelievable. Despite the improvised race all participants are totally relaxed and just happy to be here. I didn’t expect the Longboard Classic to be such a cool event.” It is a good sign that also the next shred generation is slowly acquiring a taste for the LBC!
We hope to see them all again soon – young as well as old legends as all LBC guests are legendary in their way. Please save the date: On April 21, 2012 the Longboard Classic will be back together with the season end party in Stuben for its 13th edition!
Results:
LBC Women
1st Liz Kristoferitsch
2nd Tania Spirig
3rd Kerstin Lazina
LBC Men
1st Matthias Jorda
2nd Volker Weiss
3rd Franz Lebsanf
LBC Old School Women
1st Marlies Nindel
2nd Stefi Hartinger
3rd Tina Mazur
LBC Old School Men
1st Eric Themel
2nd Stefan Schoissengeier
3rd Gerd Heser und Christoph Jöchel
LBC Oldest Rider Award
Reinhold Beeh (75 years)
Gabi Pfund (52 years)
LBC Youngest Rider Award
Boys: Jakub Hrones (6 years)
Girls: Olivia Donauer (11 years)
LBC Soul Award Nude Dudes
Josef Holub, Mike Friese