The Jungle Fever“ in Thuringian Forest rocks the Quiksilver Wir Schanzen

The first Off-Alps Wir Schanzen tourstop that took place on Feb 20th at the Snowpark Haubach/Thuringia was a great success. 46 riders from Germany, Austria and Switzerland presented a top-class snowboard and freeski show to the visitors and the judges.

The Snowpark Heubach was perfectly shaped thanks to many working hours of the shaper crew of Orange Jungle and the lift carrier “Eiszeit” and waited to be thoroughly tested. And it passed the test with top marks. The setup consisting of rails, boxes and kickers left nothing to be desired and the girls and boys could really run riot. 750 spectators came not only to watch the contest but also to take part in different “Jungle Games” – amongst other prizes a snowboard could be won. The Chill Out Lounge offered a little break with snow furniture, Hot Bull and of course: Thuringian bratwurst. In the relaxed atmosphere the riders could really show their bag of tricks at a very high level.

First the snowboard and ski kids (both U16) stepped it up. The snowboarder Florian Lehmann (GER) and the freeskier Lukas Csauth (GER) offered the best action and won their age groups. Afterwards the girls showed what they are made of: Sandra Ryser (CH) starting in the snowboard class and freeski girl Sabrina Cakmakli (GER) stood on top of the podium. The job of the judges was not easy especially in the men’s class. The snowboarder Christoph Weberhofer has dominated the qualifying for a long time but in the finals Lukas Scherneck (GER) topped all and won the contest. The Allgäuer freeskiers showed awesome tricks and did some educational work in terms of freeskiing in Thuringia. Alexander Kneifel (GER) came out as winner. The winners did not only cream off cool prizes from Quiksilver and the Orange Jungle, but also important points in the overall Wir Schanzen ranking as well as snowboarders´ TTR points.

After the contest the motto was: lights off – spot and torches on! At the Red Bull Best Trick Session a very special obstacle waited for the motivated riders: An old construction site trailer has been designed with graffiti and equipped with a flatbox on top. The riders appreciated the effort of the organisers and paid tribute with snowboard- and freeski tricks in a class of their own. Jule Seifert (GER) spared no one and shredded this big obstacle with her skis and won the Red Bull IPod Touch. Christoph Weberhofer (AUT) is getting a specialist in Red Bull Best Trick Sessions: After Nesselwang he could also win this session with a nice 270 to Frontside Boardslide 450 out.

As you can see it was a perfect day at the snowpark Heubach which compares favourably with snowparks in the Alps. The Wir Schanzen setup will remain for the rest of the winter and is waiting for all Thuringian riders.
It is certain: the experiment was successful – the Thuringian Forest rocks!

For those of you who had no time to come to Heubach – here is a video with everything that you have missed.