In Copenhagen, Skiers Are Getting Ready to Flip and Spin Down Artificial Snow

Ian Greenwood
·2 min read

Towering above Copenhagen, Denmark, stands the Amager Bakke, a state-of-the-art waste incinerator notable for its enormous smokestacks. The plant burns around 560,000 tons of trash annually, using the energy byproducts to produce power.

But the Amager Bakke isn't an industrial eyesore pockmarking Copenhagen's cityscape, far from it. The facility features a climbing wall, cafe, and, yes, an artificial ski slope known as CopenHill. The latter will host a freeskiing competition—the Scandinavian Team Battle—next month on Saturday, June 8th.

Jesper Tjäder airs one out on the CopenHill course.<p>Jesper Gronnemark</p>
Jesper Tjäder airs one out on the CopenHill course.

Jesper Gronnemark

As its name suggests, the Scandinavian Team Battle splits invited skiers into teams of two by European nationality. The pairings ride the course together, and whichever team throws down the hardest wins. A release from CopenHill noted that "creativity, big sends, and general crowd pleasers are highly rewarded." If anyone remembers Orage Masters, it's a bit like that.

The loose format produced more than one zany moment last season, including a Manramp-inspired team effort. The idea—which involved a group of skiers holding a tube aloft—was great on paper, but Jakob Ebskamp, who attempted to slide the feature, hooked a tip and took an incredibly heavy bail straight to his back. Thankfully, he walked away unscathed despite slamming into a patch of not-so-forgiving fake snow.

Jakob Ebskamp soars towards a session-defining slam.<p>Jesper Gronnemark</p>
Jakob Ebskamp soars towards a session-defining slam.

Jesper Gronnemark

Ebskamp, who organizes the event and competes for Team Denmark, seems undeterred by the slam. "I couldn't be more stoked to once again host such amazing skiers in my home city to ski plastic in the summer sun! I believe this year's event will be the biggest one yet, and I can't wait to see it all unfold," he said.

The upcoming event will be the Scandinavian Team Battle's fourth iteration. Defending champions and Team Sweden members Jesper Tjäder and Emil Granbom will return to see if they can secure victory once again. The rest of the stacked cast is as follows:

TEAM NORWAY: Johan Berg & Mikkel BK

TEAM DENMARK: Jakob Ebskamp & Isabella Tvede

TEAM FINLAND: Harald Hellström & Elias Syrja

TEAM INNSBRUCK: Lisa Zimmerman & Tereza Korábová

We're inundated by ski video content via Instagram and YouTube these days, making it easier than ever to watch an absurd amount of high-level skiing from the comfort of your couch. But don't get it twisted: seeing this summer throwdown in person—if you happen to be in the area come June 8th—is the way to go. An iPhone screen can't capture the excitement of a live jam session featuring some of the world's best skies. Plus, Copenhagen during the summer rocks.

Our friends at Newschoolers are running live coverage via their Instagram page for those who can't make it.

Related: The First Family of Jackson Hole's S&S Couloir

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