After Cardrona, the slopestyle season takes a break of almost four and a half months while we wait for the snow to fly further north, where we then turn our attention to the Big Air World Cup calendar, which will be fully wrapped up in the second week of January.

When we return to slopestyle, it will be a big event, because from January 15th to 18th, the Laax Open will once again be held as perhaps The “not to be missed” event in the global competition calendar. The Laax Open The Slopestyle and Halfpipe World Cup week is a mecca for the snowboarding world of Europe and beyond, and with the world-renowned competition celebrating its 10th anniversary this season, we can expect it to be the best season yet.

After Laax, the journey continues to the USA for the biggest competition week of the year outside of the World Championships, the Buttermilk Resort in aspen climbs the host slope, Big Air And Halfpipe competitions over the course of seven grueling days from January 30th to February 6th. It’s been a while since we’ve seen a resort host the full range of Park & ​​Pipe events (for snowboarding). And Still, freeskiing is the order of the day (and we can’t wait to experience it all at one of the best shred destinations in North America).

From Aspen we drive north to CalgaryCanada, where the Snow Rodeo will take place from February 19-23 at Canada Olympic Park, on the best training ground in the far north. Calgary hosted the first ever FIS Snowboard World Cup slopestyle competition in 2010 (won, of course, by Canadian Mark McMorris). This season, Calgary will celebrate the 15th anniversary of this historic host with a special event.

And if everything goes according to plan, it will be another highly anticipated event to close out the Slopestyle World Cup season, as we have set ourselves the goal of LivignoItaly, for the test competition for the halfpipe competition of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina next winter.

While there is still some work to be done at the Livingo venue – hence the “TBD” (to-be-determined) note next to the event on our calendar – we are more than confident that all the pieces will be in place by March 12-14 so we can send the world’s best onto the track that will serve as the home of the greatest show on earth in February 2026.

FOCUS ON FEMALE DRIVERS – WOMEN

The only acceptable starting point is the snowboarder, who is currently arguably the most advanced in the world – Japan’s Kokomo Murase.

Murase, who won the Crystal Globe in Slopestyle and Park & ​​Pipe last season, regularly made the extraordinary look easy in 2023/24 by crushing all the NBDs, finishing on the podium in four of five starts and taking three wins. Murase’s style is impeccable, her trick repertoire is extensive and her consistency is unmatched. Expect more history – and more wins – from the 19-year-old this season.