Ski passes
Webcams
Live info
Useful information
Impact Playground
Three days of riding, creativity, and good vibes.Beyond the spectacle on the features, Impact Playground embodies something deeper: the vitality of a freestyle culture that, since its rebellious origins in the 1990s, has never stopped reinventing itself. Freeskiing is прежде all a mindset: that of riders who see the mountain not as a marked-out area, but as an endless playground, where every bump, every rail, and every kicker becomes an opportunity for expression.
This culture has its own codes: sessions with friends before competition, attention paid to style as much as technical skill, music accompanying each run, and circles that spontaneously form at the base of a feature to watch, encourage, and challenge one another. Impact Playground doesn’t just showcase all of this, it ‘s a direct expression of it.
At a time when freeskiing is gaining visibility through major international competitions and social media, events like this play a key role: they remind us that the discipline is first and foremost built from the ground up, in human-scale formats where creativity takes precedence over results. Three days, a snowpark, riders from all backgrounds, and a shared belief that sliding can also be an art form.
The tone is set from the very first hours: riders arrive smiling, happy to be reunited, and no one wastes any time. The session kicks off immediately on the “cage,” set up at the top of the snowpark. This creative feature, with its multiple riding options, instantly sets the tone of the event: there are no imposed lines here each rider interprets the feature in their own way, and that is precisely what makes the spectacle so compelling. Attempts come one after another, ideas flow, and the atmosphere builds.
After a well-deserved break for a quick bite, the group heads back out on skis toward a pole-to-box setup followed by an up-flat-down feature. To wrap up this busy afternoon, the crew moves down to the rail zone at the bottom of the snowpark. The level is incredible, and the day ends on a high note.
In the evening, everyone gathers at the Nazca Bar to watch the day’s footage together. This is one of the key moments of the Impact Playground format: the riders themselves vote, a way of keeping the event rooted in the community spirit of freeskiing.
For this first day, Dutch rider Joey Van der Meer takes the win and claims the day’s title. The “Best Rookie” trophy goes to Swiss skier Maël Bovay.
The positive energy from the day before hasn’t faded. From the morning onward, the vibe is still there, and things get going again without delay. The first session opens on a long down-flat-down-flat-down feature, a highly technical setup. The atmosphere is electric: everyone is cheering each other on, big tricks are being thrown, and the day is underway.
The crew then heads to a rail-to-wall feature, a setup that demands precision and commitment, perfectly closing out the morning on a technical note.
The afternoon steps it up another notch. Riders take on the big jump line—the kind of feature where the most daring truly stand out before finishing once again on the rail setup at the bottom of the snowpark, which has, over just two days, become the go-to spot for ending sessions.
Back at Nazca Bar for the video debrief, the voting takes an unexpected turn. This time, it’s impossible to separate Paul Vieuxtemps and Matteo Soquet: a perfect tie. Two visions of freeskiing, two styles, and the same level of intensity. The judges couldn’t decide, and in the end, it feels like the fairest outcome.
In the rookie category, Swiss rider Leo Rupp takes home the title of the day!
Last day. The atmosphere feels like the end of a trip: intense, slightly nostalgic, but above all filled with the desire to make the most of every remaining minute. The day is shorter, but the riders aren’t mistaken—they still have tricks to land and footage to capture.
The morning session kicks off on the Rainbow, the perfect feature to warm up at full speed. The legs wake up quickly, runs follow one after another, and you can feel that everyone wants to end on a high note. The final day delivers on its promise.
The afternoon takes on a more free-flowing shape. No set features, just an open session, with everyone heading back to their favorite spots to make the most of the final hours in the snowpark. Moments like these are special in an event like Impact Playground; this is where freeskiing returns to what it fundamentally is: a game, pure enjoyment, without pressure.
Pour le dernier rassemblement le rendez-vous est donné à la buvette de l’Ortaz, pour profiter du coucher de soleil sur les sommets et annoncer les vainqueurs du jour dans un cadre qui fait honneur à trois jours de belle montagne. Une façon de clore l’événement comme il a été vécu : à l’air libre, entre riders, dans la bonne humeur.
And just like the day before, the voting can’t separate everyone. Julius Champion and Joey Van der Meer finish in a perfect tie, with the latter wrapping up a week of outstanding performance after already winning on day one. In the rookie category, French rider Maël Collado stands out in this final session, making it the third different rookie winner in three days, a clear sign that the new generation is far from lacking inspiration.
