Last weekend saw the Sosh Big Air 2017 take to the shores of Lake Annecy, where the athletes made sure to put on a show.
The Sosh Big Air returned to Annecy as part of the annual High Five Festival, which spans across 3 days, showcasing new movies, gear, signing sessions and live music. It self-defines as ‘the Cannes Festival of Skiing’ and is always a lot of fun, drawing in snow sports enthusiasts from across the world.
In the midst of the site, a 42 metre high, 105m long structure was built, a formidable sight. It was from this platform that the creme de la creme of freestyle skiing and snowboarding displayed their skills in the Sosh Big Air 2017. We’re talking Olympic champions, X-games champions, movie stars, the lot.
For those competing at the Sosh Big Air this year, the main challenge was how to bring a fresh, unique new take to tricks that many of these skiers have mastered. The crowd was huge, the atmosphere was intense and the standard was incredibly high.
It was the youngsters who really brought home the goods though. 17 year old Elias Syrjä took the men’s win with some highly impressive never before seen tricks. Meanwhile, at only 15 year old, Tess Ledeux of France put in an incredible performance, winning the female event with a brilliant Rodeo 720. Ledeux was closely followed by Giulia Tanno (18) and Coline Ballet-Baz (25), both of whom put in very entertaining performances.
Legend Tanner Hall also made a comeback of sorts with a very well received double backflip, but it was not enough to take him to the podium. Bringing up the men’s top 3 were Torrin Yater Wallace and Luca Schuler, who has confirmed he is back home and ‘all good’ after a heavy crash.
Unfortunately, his was not the only fall of the event. Jeremy Pancras also suffered a shiver-inducing crash. Thankfully, both are reported to be OK, so we wish them the best and hope to see them both back on the slopes very soon.
You can watch the highlights of each round at the Sosh Big Air site. Or, check out our behind the scenes video from last year’s Sosh Big Air Competition.
Image Credits: Like That Events