Drop into this year’s stunning Audi Nines venues with James Woods and Laurie Blouin
The 2019 edition of the Audi Nines presented by Falken is currently underway at Sölden and Obergurgl-Hochgurgl in Tyrol, Austria.
James Woods shows us around the venue at Sölden, where two massive avalanche barriers have been converted into a freestyle paradise. The top section features two Big Air jumps, giant quarterpipes and the notorious “Launch Pad”—a 10-meter-high ramp balanced on a narrow steel construction, ten meters high and launching riders over a daunting 32-meter gap. Meanwhile, the lower section offers a bewildering variety of creative transition features to challenge the riders’ imaginations.
“This course is a work of art! It looks incredible visually and aesthetically, and they’ve created it all around a really good riding setup. It’s a masterpiece, and within that, an amazing setup of jumps that’s as brilliant to ski as it is to look at.” – James Woods
Over at Obergurgl, Laurie Blouin takes us through the second venue. Designed with the women of Audi Nines in mind, the setup features a 23-meter Big Air jump, a cannon rail and the highlight “UFO” feature: a combination rainbow rail and wallride with some clearly extraterrestrial design inspiration.
All this week the men and women of Audi Nines will be stacking footage on these monumental features, before the event culminates with the Contest Day on Saturday, April 27th at Sölden.