By: Lorenzo Barutta
Mini Mountain Mash 2024
Madonna di Campiglio was the location that Mini and Mountain Mash chose to organize
MINI Mountain Mash 2024
, an event held January 25-28, 2024, dedicated to snowboarding enthusiasts. Here are the highlights of four days of harmony between man and nature, surrounded by spectacular sunsets, breathing in the freedom that this sport can offer to those who can grasp it.
Competition
The star of the first two days was the men’s and women’s slopestyle competition, which featured 80 international athletes from different parts of Europe and the world. It was exhilarating, to say the least, to see the riders take off and perform tricks on the edge of physics coming to close 6-turn spins or as they say in the technical language of freestyle a 2160!
The race was held at the Campiglio park, made by the Ursus guys who are in charge of building the structures. In this category, unlike freestyle, which is only about jumping on ramps, athletes also use railings and handrails of various kinds during competition, and the snowpark design is tailored to host a high-level competition.
Among the athletes were Alberto Maffei, ambassador
Burton
who unfortunately did not place on the podium, Ian Matteoli very young talent who finished second, and Vlad Khadarin, athlete from
Nitro
who won first place.
Burton: Step-On binding
The main star of the event was undoubtedly the Step-On binding, a brand new technology patented by Burton that allows for a quick, stable and secure binding on a soft snowboard. The same technology has also been proposed in the splitboard world, combined with spark plates allows Step-On to be used in the Freeride world as well.
Our considerations? Definitely comfortable, especially in the ascent stages it offers extra lateral support that makes it solid in traverses. Even on the descent, it remains a reliable binding that has no play or slack in the latch but needs some force on the boot to be properly engaged. Therefore, it is advisable to attach the board on a flat surface and from an upright position to promote proper weight and ensure proper binding. An assumption that lends itself well to snowboarding use on the slope, where you easily detach your back foot on the chairlift ascent and are then able to reattach, with a little practice, your foot on the run. A great ploy to avoid keeping our skiing friends waiting and gain time for an extra lift at the end of the day.
Parallel to the competition, at the Boch hut, the Burton Village and theIgloo Mini allowed the curious to discover the latest snowboards on the market: over four days up to 230,000 people passed through the Grostè and 1368 products were tested. A quick trip to the Anon booth to pick out the right goggles, a few words with the Burton Milano girls who worked so hard to organize and coordinate the event, and a trip to the board booth where they tested the latest 2024 novelties.
Among the novelties presented at the event in Campiglio could not miss the launch of the new Mini Countryman total electric. Love for the planet and diversity, passion for fun, and innovation were the strengths and connections between Mini and the snowboard brands present, with a special focus on all beginners who are passionate about the discipline. In particular, Woman Camp welcomed 70 women and girls by offering lessons of all levels to aspiring snowboarders.
Finally, during the last day of the event, there was a blanked slalom open to all: a snowboard speed race in which one could win a Merida E-Bike offered for the occasion by LDL COMeta.
Snowboarding is freedom
Of all the initiatives, organized to perfection between Burton, B-Factory and Mini, perhaps the one that deserves to end the tale of a snowboarding weekend is something that was not really organized. Friday night there was a rumor that there was going to be a crazy sunset: we rushed up to the gondola to enjoy the skyline from the snowpark!
Snowboarding is this: freedom, freestyle, harmony with the snow and attunement with nature. The riders, while very technical, never forget the excitement of having no rules, having fun without receiving a score or following a leaderboard. Thus was born a sunset session in which the aesthetics of the trick, bathed in the golden light of a sunset on the horizon, won out over the technicality of the competition, underscoring the freestyle nature of a sport that remains a way of life and, though tainted by marketing, continues to spread thanks to passion.
Watch the aftermovie of Mini Mountain Mash 2024: