It is the end of March and one of the most important parks of the freestyle community in the Alps shines with top-conditions beneath finest bluebird-skies. Part of the scene: A photographer, a filmmaker and a bunch of smiling snowboarders. “It was perfect – dreamlike. The park really is in awesome conditions. It was a little bit slushy, but the take-offs were hard. For me it was definitely one of the best days of the season!” This conclusion was drawn by no one less than Werni Stock – snowboard pro, local hero and co-initiator of the Penken Park Team.
“Awesome!”, Penken Park team rider Alex Walch answers the question, what the shooting day was like. Alright, easy. However, the evening before the shooting the guys were skeptical whether it would be possible to ride the pro kickers, because it was freezing during the night. “At first, we feared that it would be an icy session, because the way to the park pretty frozen. But they had prepared the landings with the snow groomer in the morning. So the landings were really great.”
Team colleague and shred buddy Mario Wanger is also still stoked about the shooting. During the talk words like “insane” and “perfect” come up. “Park and weather were ideal – It couldn’t have been better!” Learn more about the Zillertal valley local and the Penken Park scene in this rider portrait!
If you are still not quite sure what the Penken Park Team actually is and what it does – no problem. In the following brief explanation you will read about what the guys do and how they help to keep the park at its high level.
Werni Stock, Mario Wanger, Alex Walch, Kevin Trammer and Tom Tramnitz. These are the names of the Penken Park Team members and four of them shredded for the camera during the shooting. On the one hand, they are something like the ambassadors of the Penken Park. On the other, they give precious feedback to the guys in charge of the park from their perspective as pro riders. This way they contribute to a park set-up that is oriented towards the freestylers’ wishes.
“The Penken Team is a really cool thing, because it was formed in our home park. Now we are not just riders but a team that’s part of the park”, Werni says happily. That way the guys were able to cooperate closely with Steff Morocutti and Norbert Benauer from QParks. “We are a team; they are a team – it just works!”, Werni is pleased about the cooperation. “This year we didn’t really have anything to complain about, but we have already had the chance to share our ideas for the next season”, Werni explains.
Alex is more than satisfied that Werni considered him for the team: “Because Werni got me on board, I have spent more time than usual in Mayrhofen and the park is really awesome this season. The kickers have the right pop and make for some decent air time.”
After all this talk about air time, perfect conditions and one of the best set-ups of the past 20 years, we don’t want to keep you waiting any longer: Enjoy this super nice edit of the Penken Park Team!
Here we would like to show you a video from YouTube.
By the way, regarding Penken Park’s 20 years anniversary, there is a really nice raffle for you on Facebook and Instagram where you can win a season ticket for the Penken Park! Just dig out your oldest/sickest shot from past sessions at Penken Park, upload it on Instagram with the hashtag #20yearsofpenkenpark or send a private message to the Penken Park Facebook page and motivate your friends and family to take part in the following voting. Good luck!
Stay up to date about the current setup at the end of the winter season too and download the park app for Android and iOS. All news about the setup can also be found on the website of Mayrhofner Bergbahnen. See you soon at Penken Park – Stay True!