Massive ski and snowboard events are just one of the reasons we love the resort of Verbier, we’re sure they’re part of the reason it keeps winning best ski resort in Switzerland. Snow sporting events don’t get much bigger or more exciting than the final stage of the Freeride World Tour, Xtreme Verbier that comes to Verbier on 28th March 2020.
The final is the culmination of the 5 stages of the Freeride World Tour professional series and all the qualifying competitions around the world like the Nendaz Freeride Competition taking place Friday 13th March 2020. Fighting for the winning spot are the world’s best male and female freeride skiers and snowboarders, they know this is the final stage and arrive ready to put on a world class show.
They compete on the Bec des Rosses north face, to say that the face is steep and challenging is an understatement.
If the weather is good, to get a view of the live action you’ll need to get up early and catch the lift. If you’re starting out from a ski chalet in Verbier, you would get the Medran, La Chaux Express and then the Jumbo up to 2950m at Col des Gentianes. Some way down the Gentianes red run you’ll find the Audi Viewing Area. That’s the centre of the live action for spectators on the mountain.
Down in the resort there’ll be a big screen and plenty of spectators enjoying the event and festivities in Verbier resort on the Rue de Medran.
Riders are scored on 5 different criteria
- Difficulty of line
- Control
- Fluidity
- Jumps
- Technique
Check out the Bec des Rosses route as displayed for the 2018 final
Can you watch it from home?
We believe you can watch live online but cannot find confirmation of this. To make sure you’re in the loop, we recommend following the World Freeride Tour on Facebook, Twitter or Insta.
Verbier Xtreme Final lineup
Friday kicks off with a day of festivities in the resort centre along the Rue de Medran. There are a range of street attractions and a big photo wall where we assume you can pose for those all-important selfies. There’ll be a DJ in the evening and the riders will be there to sign some autographs with the crowd before the opening ceremony at 18:30. As always the music will keep playing and the party will be going on somewhere in Verbier till late for those who like to stay out late.
Saturday is the first day for competition events. As always with these events, the schedule has to make allowances for weather but provided all goes to plan we’ll see the start of the adults and junior competition. The competitions will push on and could push on to the following weekend depending on weather conditions. Visitors will have to keep their eyes on the weather and follow the updates to be prepared to be there for the action. The DJ & festivities will be there to keep the atmosphere charged where it’s over in a few days or takes more than a week.
Check out the official program on the FWT website.
Check out the Freeride World Tour in Verbier highlights last year (2019)
Visit Verbier to watch the Xtreme Verbier final
Because the Xtreme Verbier Final kicks off on Friday 27th March and events could be kicking off at 09:00 the following Saturday morning and the duration of the competition will be largely governed by weather, it makes staying in a lovey Verbier ski chalet (which operate Sat-Sat) a little tricky.
A great way to make sure you see it all and yet have a wonderful week is to consider booking a ski hotel in Verbier for the Friday night so you can be there for opening day and be sure to wake rested for the start of events on Saturday. It can be a great option to book a catered chalet in Verbier for Saturday 28th March so for the rest of the week, you stay in your own catered chalet. This would ensure you don’t miss a moment of the competition and yet have plenty of time to enjoy Verbier & get time riding the mountain for yourself.
As always, if you’ve got some questions on visiting Verbier for the event contact us for advice and to arrange your ideal ski holiday in Verbier.