FREERIDE WORLD QUALIFIER (FWQ) BANSKO 2013. This winter, for the first time ever our country will host a qualifier event for the Freeride World Tour (FWT) – the world tour for skiing and snowboarding in deep snow in big-mountain terrains. During the March 1-3 period, during the Bulgarian national holiday, Bansko will host the MAD GOAT RIDE 2013 competition, jointly organized by BEFSA (Bulgarian Extreme and Freeskiing Association) and Concept Creative. This event will not only include the FWT qualifier but also a Bulgarian national championship in the same sport.

23.02.2013, The North Face of Todorka Peak, Bansko, Pirin Mountain, photo: SKI.BG

The Freeride World Tour (FWT) is the pinnacle event for freeride skiing and snowboarding and it includes a series of competitions around the world on the steepest and most fearsome slopes in the biggest mountains on the planet.

The MAD GOAT RIDE 2013 will be held on the north face of the Todorka peak, which will be skied by a limited number of riders competing in the deep snow. Each descent will be scored by a group of of 3 judges – two bulgarians and one international head judge, sent by the FWT specifically for this competition. The run of every competitor will be judged according to several criteria – difficulty of the line of descent, aggression, continuity, technique and control.

23.02.2013, The North Face of Todorka Peak, Bansko, Pirin Mountain, photo: SKI.BG

Freeride is one of the most interesting types of skiing and snowboarding, as it allows the competitors to choose many possibles lines of descent, which in most cases include different obstacles such as cliff jumps as well as narrow and steep chutes and couloirs.

Our country has unique nature and it boasts several very interesting freeride destinations with Todoroka Peak being one of those. This mountain has been chosen as the venue for the the MAD GOAT RIDE 2013 because of its specific slope, its proximity to the skiing infrastructure of Bansko and the easy access for participants and spectators. With the assistance of the Mountain Rescue Service (PSS), for the safety of all competitors, avalanche testing of the slope will be conducted before the competition, while the entire area will be continuously monitored by several teams of safety experts before and during the runs.

The North Face of Todorka Peak, Bansko, Pirin Mountain

The MAD GOAT RIDE 2013 will be held with the assistance of Municipality of Bansko, Ulen Inc., Baumit and Audi.

The participants in the competition will be divided in four groups – Ski Men, Ski Women, Snowboard Men and Snowboard Women. For the winners in all categories, there is a prize fund of over 1600 euro in addition to other equipment prizes from Stenata and XCO Sports.

photo: K. Atanasova

The competition aims to be become an annual tradition and to develop in a larger scale event in the next few years. For any additional information, please contact the organizers at competition@befsa.com.

We expect all mountain enthusiasts and fans of extreme sports and deep snow in Bansko during the March 1-3 period. We hope that this event will give us all strong emotions and adrenaline and that we will witness a unique competition, the first one of its kind in Bulgaria!

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