Real Snow @ Winter X Games Europe

burn’s Real Snow Brings Backcountry to the X Games

burn’s Real Snow Backcountry brought a whole new dimension to the Winter X Games this year and is part of burn's Human/Machines campaign to showcase the contrasting schools of snowboarding. There are no perfectly formed giant kickers. There are no super-pipes built to spec. Real Snow is about man and the mountain.

In a nutshell, 8 big name riders travelled the globe to seek the best backcountry hotspots to film a 90 second video part. It resulted in epic lines, insane cliff jumps and a school of creativity never seen before at a traditional comp. like X Games.

Aside from the medals and the €10,000 prize for the fan's choice, burn Unit and Real Snow star Gigi Rüf described the appeal of the contest thusly, “Every rider in the competition is someone I look up to in terms of creativity and style. The best thing about Real Snow Backcountry was being given the opportunity to prove it.”

“I remember when I was given the rider list of the competitors. It was so intimidating at one point I thought I might not be up to the challenge.”

Luckily for us, Gigi Rüf and his partner in crime, Jake Price, did rise to the occasion. Their video--with Gigi on a board and Jake behind a camera--gave us some of the finest backcountry footage ever captured on film and establish the gold standard for all riders aspiring to tame the pow in uncharted territory.

At the end of play, Gigi Rüf’s video part scored him a silver medal at X Games 2012 Tignes. It’s a victory in a competition he cares about deeply and is surely not the last of its kind.

RESULTS:
1. Nicolas Müller
2. Gigi Rüf
3. Jussi Oksanen
Fan’s Choice: Jussi Oksanen.

Watch the Real Snow teaser and all 8 entries below.

burn’s Real Snow Backcountry - Official Teaser

Gigi Rüf

Mathieu Crepel

Iikka Backstrom

Devun Walsh

Nicolas Müller

Jussi Oksanen

John Jackson

Mark Sollors