The winter season is slowly transitioning into spring, and for us snowboard and freeski junkies, it spells only one thing - spring shred! Sun's out, friends around, slushy snow, and laid-back vibes in the park - you know it, we've all been looking forward to it for at least half the season. Our park riders shared their insider tips on their top picks for spring session snowparks, the setups you'll find there, and the exciting events lined up for later this season!
Tip from our rider Anne-Sophie Lechon.
What's your go-to snowpark for spring shred and why?
Kaunertal, Austria! The Gletscher still has a lot of snow and rails all the way down!
Could you describe the setup of this park?
There are almost only rails, and small jumps so everybody’s having fun! From small tubes to creative features such as elbow, C-rails and there was even a mini pipe last year. Rails are safe, easy for beginners and perfect to try out new tricks for advanced riders! Shapers make the park perfect again every night.
What's your favorite feature/obstacle of the park?
My favorite feature is the Z-rail! Smooth but challenging, perfect for end of season chill sessions!
How would you describe the atmosphere/vibe of this park during spring?
During spring it’s usually sunny and we all have fun together. We always find people we know and meet new friends on the gondola and in the park. Riders of all levels are welcome! Perfect days make us want to keep on shredding after the closing hour! No problem! We hike a feature until shapers come to shape. After this, we all meet at the parking lot and cool down together.
Are there any spring shred events coming up in this park this season?
Spring classics! From mid april till mid may. They organize events every week! Rail days, slopestyle, banked slalom, FWT final stop and public photoshooting in the park! My favorite one is the public photoshooting! Everybody’s so hyped, we all land new tricks and enjoy the last days together! This year the photographer is Henrieke Ibing, a super talented girl, so come and shred with us girls!
Photos by: @haiiiiia
Tip from our rider Fabi Fraidl.
Which snowpark do you prefer to go for a spring shred?
Snowpark Serfaus, because it has very long run with 25+ features in a line and it's not crowded at all most of the time.
What’s the setup of this park?
Lots of tubes, boxes and fun small jibstuff to get creative on. The shape is great most of the times and all the obstacles are very slippery.
And what about your favorite feature/obstacle, do you have any?
My favourite feature there is the bananaslide tube (~ 8 meters). It's so sick because the distance between the 2 tubes is kinda far, which makes for a great boardbending experience, haha, and you can get very creative on it.
How would you describe the atmosphere/vibe of this park during spring?
In general, there are not many people around, so it's great to bring a group of friends and lap the park all day. It's so much fun. Serfaus is kind of a secret spot and very underrated, in my opinion, not many people know about it.
Are there any spring shred events coming up in this park?
Not much going on there regarding events, which is nice for a change. You have the park pretty much to yourself all of the time.
Photos by: @christianwaldegger
Tip from our rider Olga Martinelli.
What's your favorite snowpark for spring shred and why?
My favorite snowpark for spring shred is Ursus Snowpark in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy. It's quite big and has a lot of features and obstacles, so it's great to ride in.
What's the setup of this park?
It has a top park with easier jumps and rails and a bottom park with a line of rails, a line of medium jumps and a line of large jumps, and more small jumps and rails.
Which line is your favorite?
The medium line.
How would you describe the atmosphere/vibe of this park during spring?
The vibe is awesome, a lot of friends to ride and have fun with.
Are there any spring shred events coming up in this park?
Yes, at the end of March there will be Red Bull Hammer with homies finals.
Photos by: 1,3 - @armando_boatto, 2 - @marco_morigi
PENKEN PARK, ABsoLUT PARK AND MORE AUSTRIAN SNOWPARKS
Tips from our rider Tinka Droppová.
Speaking of spring shred snowboarding, what's your favorite snowpark?
I would definitely recommend Penken park (Mayrhofen) for spring shred. It's a creative snowpark with pleasant obstacles and in combination with slash snow, sunshine and spring vibes it's ideal. A bonus is the fast park chairlift, thanks to which you can get many rides in a day. Of course, Absolutpark (Flachau) is also a high-quality park. It also has a very good setup, it's on the sunny side and has a nice spring vibe. For spring shred, I also like St. Anton park (St. Anton am Arlberg). It's also on the sunny side and there's a park poma so you can get a lot of rides. And, of course, I have to mention my favorite - the Innsbruck snowpark Patscherkofel. It's a small local park with 5 obstacles and a T-bar lift. It has a cool vibe and people often stay there to grill and chill after closing time. It's not the best and biggest snowpark, but it is very fun. The Steinplatte snowpark is definitely worth mentioning as well. Many riders from Innsbruck come to ride there, it has creative obstacles and it's quite long. And I can't miss the spring shred on the glaciers either. Hintertux or Kaunertal offer fun and high-quality riding, for example. In all these snowparks you will find both simpler and more challenging obstacles and features, and above all, you can alternate jibbing with jumping on kickers.
Is there any obstacle/feature that you particularly enjoy?
I probably don't have any favorite obstacle. Depending on the feeling and mood, I enjoy different obstacles, it also depends on where and how they are built.
What is the atmosphere like in the mentioned parks? Do you know of any upcoming spring shred events that will take place in these snowparks this season?
When the warm spring weather is on, no one wants to rush back down to reality from the parks. There are often grill&chill sessions with music, that everyone enjoy. We're riding together, pushing each other to try new tricks. Spring slash snow is the best for that. In every park, there is an event associated with the spring shred, or with the end of the season. There are either Cash for trick or BBQ shred events. Of course, this does not apply on the glaciers, where, on the contrary, openings are happening.
Photos by: @prouzicc
HORSEFEATHERS SNOWPARK MÖLLTALER GLETSCHER, AUSTRIA
And speaking of openings, we'd like to invite you to the opening of the Horsefeathers Snowpark in Mölltaler Gletscher, Austria, which will take place on April 20, 2024. Come ride with us and kick off the spring shred season on the Mölltaler Glacier! More info on IG @gletscherpark.
