Well know fact: first there’s teaser season, a seemingly endless stream of conciousness from the marketing depts of snowboard brands. This morphs into première season, where the best of the best get their views from the comfort of plush cinemas or – more frequently – online, before finally we hit the end of the cycle: contest season.

Prepare to be blown away once again by the level of riding on display – the BEO is always gold.

We’ve already seen the first few early bloomers from the Antipodes – Australia and New Zealand making their marks – but the real harvest starts coming in just after New Year with the Freeride World Tour and X Games.

For us humble Euros, the largest event on our continent will be this: the Burton European Open. From the 29th January to the 1st of February, this year once again it’ll take place in the freestyle mecca of Laax.

We’re yet to know if this’ll be part of the new WST2.0 master plan, but whether you’re there in person or watching stealthily from your office monitor be sure you’ll blown away once again by the level of riding on display – the BEO is always gold.