Day 1 - Orage European Freeski Open by Swatch

It's no secret that Europe has been having a record year in terms of snowfall. What were typically green valleys on the drive from Zurich down to Laax, Switzerland for the past three years of the Orage European Freeski Open were still blanket white landscapes.

The scenery in Switzerland

Laax has always been known for building some creative features into the European Open slopestyle, and this year is no exception. Taking advantage of all the extra snowpack, Laax has built a free standing halfpipe IN the slopestyle run. Let's not jump too far ahead though, here is a complete rundown of the slopestyle course from top to bottom:

The first feature is the Volkl/Marker guitar box...

The [slopestyle] halfpipe...

First jump...

Banks Gilberti practicing his 9's on the second jump...

The last table...

The Giro goggle c'box finishes off the course

Slopestyle qualifiers get underway tomorrow where one hundred skiers will face off for twelve spots in Friday's semi final. Accompanying the top twelve with a free pass to the next round are the following invited athletes:

Russ Henshaw - Austrailia
Philip Casabon - Canada
Joe Schuster - Canada
Pekka Hyysalo - Finland
AJ Kemppainen - Slopestyle
Benedikt Mayr - Germany
Tobi Reindl - Germany
Anders Backe - Norway
Andreas Hatveit - Norway
PK Hunder - Norway
Jossi Wells - New Zealand
Andri Ambühl - Switzerland
Kim Boberg - Sweden
Henrik Harlaut - Sweden
Mike Clarke - USA
Tanner Rainville - USA
Tom Wallisch - USA
Colby West - USA

Sarah Burke - Canada
Christina Huber - Germany
Eveline Bhend - Switzerland
Virginie Faivre - Switzerland
Nina Michel - Switzerland
Sofie Windstedt - Sweden
Claudia Bouvier - USA
Kristi Leskinen - USA

Stay tuned to orage.com for daily news, results, photos, and video throughout the weekend.