The Nines Readies For 30th Anniversary Event In Crans Montana

Mark your calendars and set your reminders: the 2022 edition of The Nines presented by Falken is less than three weeks away! From the 4th to the 9th of April, The Nines will return to the slopes of Crans-Montana, Switzerland for an historic 30th edition of the mountain bike and snowsports event series. As always, innovation, disruption and progression are the name of the game as The Nines welcome a hand-picked team of top snowboarders and freeskiers for a session of the superlative kind.

Setup Sneak Peek: Flow Meets Function
The Nines are well-known for their radically original approach to feature design, and this year is no exception as the event continues its long tradition of design evolution. The 2022 setup is marked by a more natural approach with rounded shapes, bowls and organic lines setting the tone. This theme also aligns with The Nines’ emerging philosophy of avoiding the use of artificial snowmaking. It’s all natural, baby!

“Year after year we have continued to progress and develop our features, always looking to break new ground with our concepts,” says The Nines founder Nico Zacek. “This year we are excited not only to be following a more naturalistic theme with a lot of organic shapes, but also to be using 100% natural snow for all of the features.”

SWATCH

An exciting new addition is a collaborative feature replicating the iconic design of SWATCH: a massive “downward loop” that hasn’t been seen before in snow sports. The progression continues with “The Sphere,” yet another creative element that will challenge the riders with new transition concepts. Last but not least, a “Perfect Jump” flanked by two bowls will form the core of the setup. It’s here that the invited skiers and snowboarders will push their air tricks to the limits.

“We figured out this spiral idea, sort of like a time portal,” says Nico Vuignier, who helped design the SWATCH feature. “We wanted to do something that’s a bit crazy, and the spiral was worth pushing forward. You can hit the spiral as well as quarterpipes and rails on the sides. I hope it’s going to be a really fun feature to ride and that we’ll see lots of different tricks and uses.”

Roster Updates: The Squad Grows
As the features begin to take shape in Crans-Montana, the riders’ list has also grown in stature. Alongside already confirmed athletes like Marcus Kleveland (NOR, Snb), Matej Svancer (AUT, Ski) and Tess Ledeux (FRA, Ski), even more high-profile riders have confirmed their attendance. They include Olympic gold medallists Mathilde Gremaud (SUI, Ski) and Birk Ruud (NOR, Ski), legends such as Jamie Anderson (USA, Snb) and David Wise (USA, Ski) and riders’ favourites like Fridtjof Tischendorf (NOR, Snb), Zeb Powell (USA, Snb), Bella Bacon (USA, Ski) and Annika Morgan (GER, Snb). See the attached roster for the full list of riders confirmed so far.

Public Day: 9th of April
After two years without an onsite audience, The Nines are very excited to welcome the public back to the show. On the 9th of April, The Nines will conclude with an action-packed exhibition that’s free to watch for anyone who wants to make the trip up to the Plaine-Morte Glacier. See the attached schedule for more information on the Public Day. For ticket please visit: www.mycma.shop