The Banked Air has been the brainchild of the beloved Klaus Marko, aka Captain Chaos, of 90-ies SPC Camp Fame, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the 1st Halfpipe World Champs, held in Ischgl back in 1993!
The concept of the Banked Air is simple. Four hips followed by banks and a kicker at the end. As in any regular banked slalom, time is of essence, but seconds are deducted for airtime, style and difficulty. A chip attached to each riders board registers the time spent off the ground.
The Banked Air week started with the arrival and Ä-Party, where old and young gathered in Ischgl to celebrate snowboarding. On wednesday the riders had the chance to test the course for the first time to be ready for the eliminations the day after...as seen in the highlight reel above.
Hightlights Part 2
Then it got serious, the competition was on and conceeded of 80 or more legendary riders across 3 generations. There were multiple teams too battling it out for the team award as well as individual titles to be won across the 3 disciplines within the one race, air time, speed and style!
Austrian riders dominate the team ranking and Terje Haakonsen/NOR wins overall & style ranking which is no suprise!
Check Terje's run here:
If you've watched all the highlights now check out some photos of the event from Vernon Deck.