The Hotzone Hintertux Opening is always one of the best attended openings around and this year was no different. Thousands of riders unpacked their boards from their summer resting place to get their first few turns of the season. The Betterpark crew managed to produce one of the best opening parks in memory and some of Europe’s finest were soon throwing down all over the place.

As is common with glaciers, the weather is a temperamental beast and we were only blessed with sunshine on the Friday. The foggy conditions meant that the infamous Session of The Dudes Contest, unfortunately had to be postponed so instead an impromptu coaching session for the kids took place instead. It was great to see how stoked the young riders were and so many of the older attendees were nursing hangovers, the riding might not have been up to scratch anyway.

The Hotzone Opening is a chance for everyone to come together to celebrate a mutual love for snowboarding. When you see snowboarders sleeping in tents in the glacier carpark, you cannot fault their dedication. At least they didn’t have far to crawl from the party.

Sunday saw the Libtech cash For Tricks session go down in the fog. Riders of all ages and abilities battled it out for the chance to win on the spot cash and Libtech giveaways. Loads of hammers were thrown but notable stand outs were Ulrich Moller, Stuart Innes and Leon Vockensperger.

 

The Hotzone Opening has always been on point but this year the park, parties and off hill activities made it even better than normal. If you didn’t make it to the Opening this year, fear not as the Betterpark is now officially open.

For more information on the Hotzone Opening, check out their facebook page here.