Event Check - The Dachstein Pleasure Jam 2010

It’s not every Sunday that you have a handful of the world’s best freestyle snowboarders competing on your doorstep. With the news that the Pleasure Jam had come to town I headed up to the Dachstein Glacier home of the Atomic Super Park, situated 60km south of Salzburg in the Ski Amade lift region to witness some of the madness.

With big names in attendance like Slovenian Superstar Marco Grillic, Zillertal local Chris Kroell, Swiss transition magician Marcus Keller and previous winner and renowned nice guy Elias Elhart, the finals promised a spectacle not to be missed. The conditions were perfect; blue skys and firm but forgiving snow underboard, if tricks were going down anywhere this season it was going to be at the Pleasure Jam.

The girls got underway with four riders battling it out. Britain’s Aimee Fuller got the crowd going with a big bs 720 attempt on the smaller of the middle kickers and a big laid-out backflip on the bottom step-up styled jump, but in the end it was Finland’s Enni Rukajaervi who took home the bacon with solid cab spins and consistent hands free landings. Props have to go to third place finisher Katazyna Rusin for a cheeky Rocket Air.

Expectations were high for the men’s event. The chat among the media pack was of how high the standard was this year, I found my filming spot and settled down for an afternoon of ballistic snowboarding. There were plenty of upsets for the spectators, Marco Grillic had been riding well all day but couldn’t plant his trademark double cork off the uber booter in the finals. Markus Keller also failed to place in the money spots but had been throwing perfectly styled Swiss Rolls (A kind off axis Rodeo much like Andreas Wigg’s signature flip) on demand and gave the younger riders in the final a lesson on hand plants on the wall ride at the bottom of the park. One real disappointment for me was seeing Swiss young gun Gian Luca Cavigelli not quite getting his run together in the final, he’d been sticking the biggest fs 1080 off the beast all day long until the final. Austrian Chris Kroell represented for the home crowd and earnt himself a bit of pocket money with a run of smooth frontside spins. The Scandinavian contingent took the next four places from 5th to Second. Tor Lundstrom and Roope Tonteri are definitely names to look out for and Ville Paumola is earning himself quite a reputation as a stylish snowboarder. On the day it was Germany’s Elias Elhardt that won the $6000 dollar check and an oversize pot of Jam to boot. Elias’s runs were easily the most consistent with stomped double rodeos and enormous backside 900s on the uber booter and some nice pivots on the wall ride. With two wins in two years Elias is becoming a permanent fixture on the Pleasure Jam’s podium.

Mens Winners

1. Elias Elhardt (GER
2. Ville Paumola (FIN)
3. Tor Lundstrom (NOR)
4. Roope Tonteri (FIN)
5. Gjermund Braaten (NOR)
6. Christian Kroell (AUT)

Womens Winners

1.    Enni Rukajaervi (FIN)
2.    Aimee Fuller (GBR)
3.    Katarzyna Rusin (POL)

 

Posted by Rich Ewbank in Blog & News.

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