When the volcano on Miyake-jima erupted in the year 2000, the entire population of the island was evacuated and forced to live off-island for four-and-a-half years until 2005.Canadian downhill racer Stevie Smith was fortunate enough to visit the island and was granted permission to explore the volcano by bike, which was the first successful filming of the peak approved by Miyake Village since the eruption in 2000.
With the permission of Miyake Island, Stevie hiked up the to the peak with a bare bones film crew, and set out to charge down the spine of the active volcano. The lava rock was gnarly, the riding fast, and the scenery utterly breathtaking, so sit back and enjoy Stevie’s descent along the active volcano.
After another weather delay this morning due to bad visibility and strong winds, the skies cleared to a beautiful final day of competition at the 2016 LAAX OPEN. With 12 men and 6 women taking to the progressive and pristine slopestyle course, we saw one of the most entertaining finals, with the riders knowing there was $75,000 USD for the men, and $45,000 USD for the ladies on the line for first place. The pros had three runs to give it their best shot, but it was ultimately 22- year-old, Mark McMorris, and 25-year-old, Jamie Anderson, who walked away 2016 LAAX OPEN Slopestyle Champions.
After holding freestyle contests for nearly 30 years, the LAAX OPEN 2016 signals a new era in snowboarding events at Europe’s leading freestyle destination. From January 18 to 24, 2016, Laax is going to crank it up: up on the mountains and down in the valley, the freestyle feeling is taking over. Top-notch snowboarding competitions, powder runs, lifestyle, cultural and culinary delights – with something for everyone, the LAAX OPEN is in a class of its own.
A new event title, new destination, and new format: following the huge success of the Snow Epic 2015 in Engelberg (SUI), the innovative fatbike event is now be held at Gstaad (SUI) under the name of Snow Bike Festival.
From January 22 to 24, 2016, participants are enjoying 3 days of fatbike action with stage races, Eliminator Night Race, Fun Ride and partys as well as a Fat Bike & Mountain Bike EXPO with many popular exhibitors.
The Snow Bike Festival is THE happening of the young fatbike boom, uniting likeminded athletes from all over the world who are all looking for adventures on their mountain bikes with the extra-wide and grippy wheels.
These special kinds of mountain bikes enable them to ride on snow and to hold exciting races on specially prepared winter trails. The first day of the Snow Bike Festival in Gstaad started this Friday morning, introducing fatbikers to the picturesque promenade of Gstaad.