Dropping in: Grand Opening of the World's newest Halfpipe – Corvatsch has a new Attraction
It's done! Corvatsch AG's long-standing project was officially opened today in the presence of numerous riders and guests. Corvatsch has gained a halfpipe and is now one of the few resorts in the world to offer a top superpipe. Enthroned directly in the Corvatsch Park at the Murtèl middle station, it sits 2,700 metres above sea level, is 170 metres long, has 7-metre high walls and conveys that feeling of freedom that freestylers love so much.
The honour of the first test run in the pipe went to Swiss snowboarder David Hablützel, who showed just how much style the riders have who fly through the pipe: “The orientation of the halfpipe is brilliant because it faces north, which means you always have the sun from behind and there’s never any glare when you are doing your tricks. That’s a huge advantage, and one you won’t find anywhere else. What’s more, both walls are perfectly exposed to the sun and the entire pipe is bathed in sunshine at noon which makes it really cool.”
Alex Ferreira (USA), who has won everything there is to win in the halfpipe this year – all the halfpipe FIS World Cups, the crystal globe and gold at the X-Games, also did the honours: "The shape of the pipe seems absolutely perfect, it’s definitely one of the best, but anything swiss-made is fantastic. I really like this pipe and I can’t wait for the World Championships next year!” World Championship gold is still missing from his medal collection, but he has the chance in 2025 as the Corvatsch Park is one of the venues for the FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships in the Engadin.
Building a superpipe is an art that very few shapers in the world have mastered to perfection. Every degree of slope change and every centimetre of the walls is important and has an influence on the rider flight phase. Carlo Rusterholz, who is responsible for the design and shape of the pipe together with Kobi Würsch from Corvatsch Park, explains: “For me, it started in mid-January after around 20.000 m3 of snow was produced for the pipe. The technical snow is mixed with the natural snow, which is important for its quality. It took me around 250 machine hours to get the pipe looking like it does today. And from now on until the end of the season, I’ll be working on it between 4-6 hours a day.”
In addition to the riders from Swiss-Ski and Swiss-Snowboard, the German halfpipe hopefuls Leilani Ettel and André Höflich also took part on Saturday. Höflich says: “The pipe feels great, especially because of the slope. It’s nicely oriented to the north and is perfectly steep, not too much and not too little. The shaper has done a really good job and knows what he’s doing. I’m looking forward to the next years where we can train here.” Engadin snowboarding veterans of the 90s such as 1999 halfpipe world champion Martina Tscharner as well as French freeski veteran Kevin Rolland, who won World Championship gold in 2009, also inaugurated the halfpipe together with the kids from the FRESK Freestyle School.
The pipe is now open to everyone and the snowboard & freeski community says: Thank you, Corvatsch!
Further information: corvatschpark.ch/halfpipe
#corvatschhalfpipe
via CORVATSCH PARK