Europe’s Answer to Mt.Baker

I usually have a hard time sleeping the night before, even if it’s the fifth season I’ve jumped it. – Nico Droz

In autumn 2003, the annual Burton catalogue dropped on shopfloors worldwide, featuring Romain DeMarchi on the cover launching over an enormous cat track gap. The jump was exciting not just because of its epic scale, but because the skiers trundling along on the piste below – and the space station style buildings in the background – clearly placed it in Europe rather than America.

In fact, this Baker-style road gap was located in the French resort of Avoriaz, within Romain’s backyard ski area known as the Portes du Soleil. It had been known to local shredders for some time, but until the Burton catalogue appeared – and Romain’s section in the subsequent Absinthe film Saturation – it had remained largely under wraps.

“We tried it for the first time in 2000 with Tero Ainonen and Romain,” reveals Ride pro and Avoriaz local Nico Droz. “Tero went first with a backside air – so sick! Mad respect for Tero for going first! Then Romain and I both hit it with backside 3s.”

By 2005, the Avoriaz Gap had attracted the attention of the large British contingent living in nearby Morzine, with Scotland’s Gary Greenshields claiming the honours as the first UK rider to clear it during a solo session with photographer Andrew ‘Ribbo’ Hingston. He returned a month later with filmers Adam Gendle and Tim Warwood, who filmed his backside 3 for the Lockdown movie Bad Ass Big Airs. Since it needed perfect snow conditions to be doable, Gary incurred the wrath of Nico Droz by having the audacity to turn up first on a particularly good powder day.

“Yeah, I had a small run in with Nico but it was all good,” says Gary. “He was just super pumped to ride it but we’d already hit it – and it’s his local spot you know? So I can understand how he felt when he saw us there.”

In 2006, the Gap was well and truly smashed by a UK crew consisting of Greenshields, Tyler Chorlton and Danny Wheeler, who threw down a variety of tricks including a backside 720, cab underflip and corked 540 – immortalized in Lockdown’s Show Offs and Wheeler’s own flick Skyrocket.

So what’s it like to hit the thing?

“It’s a fun jump – quite big – but nice to ride as long as you get the speed right!” says Gary.

“The run-in is not bad at all,” adds Nico Droz. “It’s not too long and pretty straight to the jump. Every time we do it, we shape the kicker the day before so it’s is solid the next morning. It’s always a weird atmosphere during the build – everybody is joking around but at the same time our stomachs feel tight! I usually have a hard time sleeping the night before, even if it’s the fifth season I’ve jumped it – probably because of the high consequences if anything goes wrong on the run-in or take off. And then there’s the skiers on the cat track! We have to make sure they don’t stray too close to the lip of the landing, which takes some serious organization.”

If you’re in Avoriaz after a fresh dump and thinking of taking a look, Nico suggests you get your game on:

“Every year new tricks are done on the gap, so these days if you step up to the plate you better have some good trick in mind!”