Laaaaaiiiiiiiid Baaacckk © Jeff Green Photo

With the Slopestyle portion of the Snickers Classic finished on Saturday, it was time for riders to take on the big, red, gargantuan, beast of a wallride conveniently constructed in front of the Popcorn bar at the top of Saas-Fee. (I guess that’s why they call it the Popcorn wallride - I always thought it had something to do with riders ‘popping like corn’ but hey, this works too). By competing in both the Slopestyle and Wallride sessions, riders fought to dethrone the previous 07 king Nicolas Mueller and become the 2008 King of Popcorn.

Only a few managed to get this high © Jeff Green Photo

After a couple nights of ridiculous partying and live music provided by the likes of Scott Sullivan, DJ Stylewarz and yes, even the man himself Shaun White rippin’ on the guitar, most of the major competitors were too hung-over to even bother hitting the wall. Nevertheless, those that managed to suck it up went balls-to-the-wall (in some cases, literally). It took a while for the riders to really get a feel for it, but eventually we saw some sick rock to fakies, endless flat spins, big ollies with little taps here and there, some double sessions and even a hand plant on the coping! The crowd was stoked all the way through as they lounged on the patio of the Popcorn Bar and worked on some pretty impressive goggle tans. It was the perfect end to great weekend of competition.

The sheer size of this thing gave riders some creative options © Jeff Green Photo

When all was said and done, it was Denis Supersaxo who would prove his superior wallriding skills and take home first place of the Popcorn Wallride session with Christian Weber following in second and Seppe Smits in third. However, the King of Popcorn title was bestowed upon 16 year-old Belgium rider Seppe Smits thanks to his fourth place finish in the Slopestyle and his third place in the Wallride.

Overall the 4-Star Snickers Classic & Popcorn Wallride in Saas-Fee Switzerland was a perfect way to end the 07/08 Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour and we can’t wait for another sick season launching in July.

The double sessions were all-time © Jeff Green Photo