Full-size, 22-foot halfpipes are in short supply these days—there’s only a few ski resorts worldwide that make the effort to maintain one. That’s why the eyes of the freeski scene are being drawn this weekend to Corvatsch Park in Switzerland, where the world’s newest superpipe will make its debut.
The new halfpipe is located directly below the Murtél mittle station.
Fabian Gattlen
Stories
Icy walls of glory
The world’s newest superpipe opens this weekend in Switzerland
Corvatsch’s new pipe is located directly below the Murtél middle station at 2,700 meters above sea level. It’s 170 meters long, 22 meters wide and has Superpipe-standard 7-meter walls.
The new halfpipe will celebrate its grand opening on Saturday, 24 February. At 10:30am, current and former halfpipe stars will officially inaugurate the pipe. The highlight guest is none other than Alex Ferreira, who just completed a historic sweep of this year’s World Cup halfpipe contests. At 11:30am, the pipe will open for the public.
Last year's World Cup slopestyle in Corvatsch featured an innovative mini-pipe feature at the bottom of the course. Now Corvatsch is offering the real thing.
Furger
Earthworks were completed in autumn 2023 using a unique approach: Instead of building up berms for the pipe walls, a channel was dug down into the ground instead. It’s a method that promises to be more resource-efficient, making the construction and maintenance of the pipe more economical with less snowmaking required.
Corvatsch says that various nature conservation groups were involved in the construction of the halfpipe. In order to preserve local flora, the top layer of vegetation was removed at the start of the earth-moving phase, stored and then replaced at the end of construction.
Earthworks in summer 2023.
The halfpipe is part of Corvatsch’s push to become a major hub for freestyle sports. Its top-notch snowpark has already been attracting national teams and top athletes for years, and hosts the final World Cup slopestyle of the season. The halfpipe will also be used as a venue for the FIS Freestyle World Championships being held at Corvatsch in 2025.
