North Face has taken over from RipCurl for the 6th Les Arcs Freeride event held over five days between the 1st and 5th of March 2004. The competition is still part of the World Tour, won by Manu Gaidet in 2003.
Gaidet, the 26-year-old Courchevel guide and ski instructor, began his competitive freeride career in 1996. Last winter he took first place at Whistler and Les Arcs.
The competition is held on the legendary slopes of the Aiguille Rouge. Apart from some extreme skiing the program includes an avalanche transceiver competition, BASE jumping and paraglider demos. In case you were wondering what a BASE jump is, it is a parachute jump, the term BASE describes the various permitted jump points: Building, Antenna, Span and Earth.
For more information consult the Les Arcs tourist board website.
After finding new sponsors this year the organisers of the North Face Freeride competition were faced with a lack of snow on the competition slopes. They took the hard decision to cancel the competition this year on the grounds of safety. Let’s hope they are back in 2005.