Freeride City Innsbruck to host top-class Freeride Filmdays
Last updated on 09.10.2019
Freeriding is not a sport, it is a way of life – you can get a very clear sense of that at Freeride Filmdays, which will be held in Freeride City Innsbruck from 6 to 9 November 2019. Nowhere else are the urban lifestyle and the unspoilt Alpine natural world so closely intertwined as in and around Tyrol’s capital. And of all the snowsport cities in the world, only Innsbruck can produce, every year, such breathtaking and impressive pictures of the freeriding scene.
It’s a fact: Tyrol’s Alpine-urban capital is adored by powder snow fans and freeride enthusiasts. Because around Innsbruck there are four legendary, but in essence, very different freeride areas. Among connoisseurs of the freeriding world, the city has long held a reputation as the perfect “home base” for chill-out days in the snow. But as well as the unspoilt deep snow slopes, not to mention the sporting aspects, the city also attracts fascinating film projects to Freeride City Innsbruck. So this year from 5 to 9 November 2019 Innsbruck will be the venue for three high-profile film events as part of Freeride Filmdays. To mark its 10-year anniversary tour, the international Freeride Film Festival starts off in Innsbruck, before moving on to Germany and Switzerland. Key features: premières, breathtaking shots, get-togethers, meet & greet sessions with professional riders and filmmakers, autograph opportunities and competitions.
Absorb the passion from the screen
It all kicks off on 6 November with the 10th Freeride Film Festival. The line-up for the 12 locations in Austria, Germany and Switzerland features six wonderful, varied productions: whether at the crossroads in a freeride career, whether sunk in thought in the mountains of Norway or joining together en route to adventures in the snow.
On 8 November, Freeride Filmbase will take place in the Metropol Kino cinema on the largest screen in western Austria. This is where Innsbruck celebrates its freeride films. A total of seven extraordinary short films will be showcased on this day: freeriding where the sun never rises (Through Darkness), ski adventures with a zeppelin (Zeppelin-Skiing), escaping the consumerist jungle (Calm after the Storm) and via Interrail (Stanice). Riders and filmmakers will of course be appearing on stage.
The Grande Finale on 9 November will host the Linehunters Movie Tour – created by freeriders for freeriders. The Linehunters Movie Tour brings to the cinema young film crews with innovative approaches, unalloyed passion and some surprising perspectives. Low- to no-budget mixed with established production teams, action from New Zealand to Japan, thought-provoking themes from Lebanon and ironic moments from the Alps.
For all the details on Freeride Filmdays go to: freeride-filmdays.at
TIP: The Alpinmesse fair will also be held from 9 to 10 November. This is an Alpine weekend packed with workshops, multivisions, keynote speeches and displays of outstanding mountain sports products. All film tickets include admission to this important Alpine sports trade fair alpinmesse.info
Freeride City Innsbruck: Unspoilt lines x 4
All dedicated powder fans can experience the perfect freeriding day in four ski areas around the capital of the Alps: the Nordkette, the Kühtai, the Axamer Lizum or the Stubai Glacier. What this means is that there’s simply too much choice: these mountains offer such a varied terrain and slope configurations. Around Innsbruck in the winter there are almost always unspoilt first lines on the deep snow slopes.
Innsbruck’s Nordkette is the jewel of the Alps and a playground for many local ski enthusiasts. Given that this freeride paradise can be reached in just 20 minutes from the city, it’s not unusual on powder days for Innsbruck residents to take a few turns in the snow on their way to work. As well as the Karrinne, which with 70% inclines is the steepest ski route in Europe, what sets the Nordkette apart is the amazing view. The best place to admire this is CLOUD 9, an igloo bar for connoisseurs, party animals and sun worshippers. nordkette.com/de/freeride
Deep snow fans meet in the Axamer Lizum Olympic Park for variant skiing – it’s only 19 kilometres from Innsbruck. This freeride top spot boasts 300 hectares of open terrain, natural pipes and numerous north-facing slopes, which provide the optimum conditions for an adventure in the powder snow. Five different ski routes with a total length of 10,000 metres ensure the ultimate encounter with nature. axamer-lizum.at/en/freeride-tirol
The main features of the snow-laden Ski Resort Kühtai are, on the one hand, a 400-hectare freeride area with varied powder runs from 2,520m to 2,020m and then there’s the KPark Kühtai. This freestyle park with its variety of creative obstacles, its 8-m high SuperPipe and a length of 172m and its SnowCross track for all speed junkies, is a “shred mecca” for all riders. The area is snow-assured on account of its altitude, so the most important ingredient, powder snow, is guaranteed. kuehtai.info/winter/skigebiet/freeriden
What is so great about freeriding in the powder section of the Stubai Glacier, the largest glacier ski area in Austria, is the certainty of snow and wide range of variants. Rest assured – all powder snow fans will definitely get their money’s worth here. But do play it safe: no fewer than 13 freeride runs are shown on an off-piste map and recorded as GPS tracks. In addition, special videos show the routes in detail. At the Eisgrat and Gamsgarten stations there are freeride checkpoints with descriptions of the routes, an LVS security check and avalanche warning information. In addition, a special training ground has been created at Gamsgarten station to search for any skiers buried under an avalanche.
stubaier-gletscher.com/aktivitaeten/freeride
What matters: safety first
Freeriding is probably one of the most exhilarating adventures that winter offers. But only if you take personal safety and respect for nature seriously. Experience and an understanding of Alpine dangers are just as much a part of every freeride tour as good preparation. More information on the topic of freeriding in the Innsbruck region can be found at innsbruck.info/skifahren/freeride.html and current snow and weather reports at avalanche.report
TIP: At 19.00 before Freeride Filmbase on 8 November there will be a multimedia presentation by the Snowhow association about avalanche awareness. freeride-filmbase.at
