World Heli Challenge

It has been announced that New Zealand’s legendary World Heli Challenge will return on August 9^th through August 24^th, 2008, after a gap of six years. This challenge is considered on of the most legendary freeriding and freeskiing events to have ever been started.

The World Heli Challenge will bring New Zealand’s Mt. Cook National Park the best riders and skiers in the world along with seven top-notch snowboard brands and ski brands. Each brand will consist of two elite athletes that will compete against one another through the various events.

Three days of helicopter-accessed events will take place on Mt. Cook National Park’s ‘Big Mountain’. This portion of the mountain designed for snowboarding and skiing consists of 3000 feet of terrain and a 50-degree slope average over cliffs. The Backcountry Freestyle realm will allow riders to showcase their potential and talent. And the rules are simple- first one to reach the end of the 3000-foot terrain wins!

But the high-end athletes that will be taking part in the Challenge will not be spending their entire two weeks in snow; they will be treated to jet boating, bungee jumping, golfing, surfing and various other things New Zealand is famous for!

The World Heli Challenge trophy is considered one of the most prized trophies in the world. But winning the trophy is not easy either; one must be the overall winner in all three combined events. Winners from the past include skiers Chris Davenport, Kent Kreitler, Andrea Binning, Seb Michaud and Guerlain Checerit. Among the snowboarders, Matt Godwill, Karleen Jeffery, Gilles Voirol, Steve Graham and David Pujol have bagged prizes in the past. This year, a new World Heli Challenge title for the best overall ski brand and snowboarding brand will also be awarded.

Created by Tony “Harro” Harrington, let’s see if the World Heli Challenge can restore the fire after six years!

North Face Ski Challenge

The North Face Ski Challenge Tour is an event open to all residents of Europe between the ages of 12 and 18 years. This youth-dedicated event is the only one which mixes free ride and freestyle. The event concluded just last weekend in Val Thorens, with the winner of the final walking away with a two-year sponsorship contract with the North Face.

Throughout winter, 350 hopefuls from Europe gave it their all, hoping to qualify for the tour finals. Over the weeks, the number of participants started increasing rapidly. Finally, 73 young skiers from 11 nations across Europe were selected to take part in the tour finals held on April 12^th and April 13^th. These 11 nations included the UK, Finland, Italy and Switzerland.

Director of the Club des Sports in Val Thorens, Vincent Hudry said, “We believe that the North Face Ski Challenge has the potential to reach a young, new public and demonstrate to the snow sports world how big hidden talents can be. This is, in fact, totally coherent with what we’ve been doing for years during the Boarder Week. This is why this will be our only ski event.”

Sweden’s Tom-Oliver Hedvall was the top finisher in the ‘king’s’ category (16-18 years), and walked away with the sponsorship contract. After hearing the final result, a partly fazed Hedvall said, “I can’t believe this is happening to me. This is like the most magical dream come true. I’m very excited to see what this is going to bring me over the next few years…!” Apart from a kit, the North Face contract also involves helping develop Hedvall’s potential to the fullest, exposing him to the international pro rider scene and gathering support to help him enter other relevant free ski events in the coming winter seasons.

So congratulations Europe, you have once again discovered your skiing ‘king’.