Training area of
Ski Stars & Snowboarding Aces

The British ski racer aka "Rocket Ryding" has made it to the World Cup podium from England's plastic slopes. Since the 2017/18 winter season, the slalom ace is under the patronage of the "Diamond of the Alps". The likeable athlete can take full advantage of a professional training environment in Obergurgl-Hochgurgl, just perfect to prepare for the season, to do extensive material tests and, of course, to relax.

At least since his 2nd place at the legendary Kitzbühel Slalom in January 2017, Ryding has been regarded as an exceptional athlete who perfectly represents the "snow competence" of Obergurgl-Hochgurgl to his ski-loving compatriots at home in the UK. And the success continued already in the very first winter of the sponsor partnership,: Ryding finished 5 World Cup Slaloms in the top 10 - the Olympic Slalom in Pyeong Chang included. A detailed portrait of "The Rocket" can be found in this blog post.

The dual citizen Fritz Dopfer: he is forgiven his change from the ÖSV (Austrian Ski Federation) to the DSV (German Ski Federation) in 2007. After all, the avowed fan of Tirol has been carrying with pride the Obergurgl-Hochgurgl logo to the (skiing) world since 2011. The giant slalom and slalom specialist has a personal connection with Gurgl since childhood and also celebrated his Ski World Cup premiere in Ötztal. Supported by the ski destination, the member of the Federal German Customs Administration skiing team has consistently pursued his way to the world's skiing elite. The biggest success so far is the Slalom Silver Medal at the 2015 Alpine Ski World Championships in Vail/Beaver Creek.

"In Obergurgl-Hochgurgl I love the variety of ski pistes, the brilliant panorama and the incomparable training conditions," Dopfer enthuses about the longstanding, successful collaboration.

Since the end-of-season competitions held in Verbier in April 2018, it is official: The Viennese snowboard pro Manuela Mandl ranks among the world's best freeriders. The new female top star of the scene already surpassed her strong competitors at the OPEN FACES / 4* Freeride World Tour Qualifier in Obergurgl-Hochgurgl and was the glorious winner - just like two times before. "I can really go to the limit at Hangerer Face", states the intrepid athlete. The partnership between Manuela Mandl and Obergurgl-Hochgurgl, existing since the spring of 2018, creates a true win-win situation: the World Champion enjoys a huge choice of terrain, ranging from slopes close to the ski trails to really challenging back-country areas, while the winter destination strengthens its positive image in the snowboard and freeride community.

Pic (c) by Albert Florian