Not so long ago, I wrote a guest article for the AngrySnowboard – Are The Snowboard Parks In The USA And Canada Better Than Those In Europe?
One of the things that struck me when writing the article was that it’s not easy to get an idea of the best parks in Europe. Just try searching. I’ve probably been to 10 or so different parks in Europe, so I can’t claim to know the best ones, personally. All I can do is combine my personal experiences with what I read and see in snowboarding media… and when it comes to snowboarding media, I think the parks across the pond get more exposure, they’re more well known.
So I’ve decided to make my own list. To begin with, there’s a good chance that the list is inaccurate. What I want is for people to contribute with their ideas and opinions, and I’ll update the page I’ve just mentioned.
I’m going to start with ten parks. At the moment I’m thinking that I’ll cap the list at ten, to keep it concise. But it depends on how many people use the list and make suggestions. So here’s my first attempt at the 10 best parks in Europe (not in order):
Laax
Mayrhofen
Les Deux Alpes
Avoriaz
Vars/Risoul
Val-d’Isere
Hemsedal
Les Crosets
Hintertux
Ischgl
I’ve seen around half of those parks first hand – so chip in with your own thoughts. If you agree or disagree, let me know. If there’s a park missing, let me know why it should be on there. Also, if you’ve got pictures of one of those parks and you’d like it added, just drop me an email. Similarly, if you know a good video on youtube/vimeo/etc. that shows the park nicely, I could include that. Thanks.
citizensofshred
Ive always got in to seeing the top ten parks in areas but never really took it to seriously because i feel a park is so much more then how many features is on the map. You can look at a bunch of park maps and say “that has the most features”, “that has the biggest kickers”, “That has the longest pipe” there for that is the best.
For me there is so much more that makes a good park that they never seem to talk about like general park vibe, Park ethic or even the amount of blue days a certain place gets on average a year. No use having a 70ft kicker if its white out the whole time.
Having said that one park i defiantly feel is missing of your list is Absolutpark in Flachauwinkle Austria. The length of the park, quality of features and the amazing chill out area plus the Stash Park on the next lift across make it perfect for your list. Id easily rate it up there with Mayrohfen. For more info on it check out there site.
http://www.absolutpark.com/en/park.html
Gavin
Hey citizens!
Yeah I’d agree with that, the vibe is important, as is the attitude of the people running the park. Things like the consistency of shaping, and, whilst this might be a biased view, I like it when a park caters well for different ability levels.
I’ll check out that link – cheers!
Dave
Hi Gav,
I’d have to add Åre Snowpark in Sweden to that list. I went there in Jan 2010 and have to say it was the best maintained, progressive park i’ve been to (not an exhaustive list but i’ve been to Laax and Avoriaz but these weren’t as good in my humble opinion)
The kicker line is simply sick, very well built, maintained on an hourly basis through out the day and has about 5/6 medium sized kickers in a line with fun stuff(pole jams etc) thrown in for good measure. Then there’s the jib line, which is equally well thought out and maintained.
I had more fun here than i did at other resorts but it’s probably to do with my skill level at the time (just starting to get comfy with kickers) and also met a friendly contingent of Norwegian rippers. Learnt a lot thanks to the cool vibe and fun obstacles.
There’s not a lot else in Åre but I’d deffo recommend it for doing endless laps in one of the best parks in Europe(i reckon) Here’s a clip of the park (in Swedish):
http://www.vboarder.com/snowboard/1529/are-snow-park-med-haze-jakob/
Cheers
Dave,
ps:good blogging!
Gavin
Hey Dave,
thanks for that, I’ve just checked out the video – it looks pretty tight. So was that three different kicker lines, or two? The smaller kickers looked nice, and there was still a bunch of features after the kickers. Awesome.
I’ll try to get a picture or two, and add that to the list. I’ll update it when I’ve got a few videos and stuff, do it all in one go.
Thanks!
Gavin
Dave
Hi Gav,
I think there are 2 kicker lines and a jib section. The smaller kickers are really nice and awesome to learn on.
Looking forward to more vids and pics of the parks mentioned above :’)
Inna bit
Ps: Happy New Year
Dave
Gavin
Hey Dave,
thanks for the update. Yeah, I’m hoping to have a nice set of pics and vids for the parks, makes it more interesting than just a list of names 😉
Happy New Year also,
Gav
Lorenz
Livigno snowpark in Italy, check it out:http://www.snowgang.com/snowboard/uploads/xforum/1130_4d5679bee1520.jpg
Gavin
Hey Lorenz, thanks for that, the picture looks pretty cool. I’ll try to get some more info on the park! Cheers, Gavin