Freestyle Snowboarders Take to Saas-Fee, Switzerland, for Training Camp

It’s finally that time of the year for freestyle snowboarders around the world.

In less than two weeks, many of the world’s best halfpipe, slopestyle, and big air snowboarders will head to Saas-Fee, Switzerland, for training camp at the famous Stomping Grounds Park. There, the riders will dial in their old tricks and break out new ones ahead of the 2026-27 competition season, where they will compete against each other in World Cups, the X Games League, The Snow League, and many other contests.

Each year, the Stomping Grounds builds one of the best terrain parks in the world — specifically for the camp. Massive jumps, rails, and a premier full-size 22-foot halfpipe fill the park, giving athletes a proper place to train and simulate competition runs in a practice environment. The park building company takes every detail into account, selecting and inserting each feature with competition in mind. Slopestyle lines begin with rails before moving into the jumps — just how slopestyle courses are typically built in competition. For its halfpipe, The Stomping Grounds uses a snowfarming technique to ensure its snow is suitable for shaping. When completed, the Saas-Fee halfpipe is one of the best in the world, making for a pipe that sees new tricks born in it every year.

“Our acclaimed slopestyle course will be the premier pre-season location to work on jump, transition and rail tricks using our competition-sized features,” Stomping Grounds writes on its website. On the halfpipe side of things, “industry-leading halfpipe shaper Jeremy Carpenter will once again be leading the build and also maintaining the pipe throughout the sessions.”

The Stomping Grounds training camp will run from October 5 to October 26. 

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The Saas-Fee Stomping Grounds camp is one of the most exciting times of the year to be a fan of freestyle snowboarding. It is the time when the riders are really throwing down, pushing progression to the absolute limit. Over the years, the Saas-Fee camp has been the birthplace of dozens of the most difficult tricks in snowboarding. The triple-cork 1440 in the halfpipe, back-to-back 1980s off big air jumps, and multiple 2340s were all born in Saas-Fee. And if this year is anything like previous years, the tricks and footage will be jaw-dropping.

While the camp does not officially begin until October 5, some of the biggest names in the sport have already arrived. Popular energy drink brand Red Bull has been hosting its own private session at The Stomping Grounds over the past week, giving its athletes a chance to break in the park before the camp begins. 2026 Olympic slopestyle gold medalist Su Yiming, 2026 Olympic slopestyle bronze medalist Jake Canter, and 2026 Olympic halfpipe rider Chaeun Lee are just a few of the Red Bull riders already training at the park.

Throughout the coming weeks, dozens more will make their way to Switzerland to prepare for this season’s competitions. Top U.S. Snowboard Team riders like Red Gerard and Sean Fitzsimons have been staples at Saas-Fee, as has Canadian slopestyle legend Mark McMorris.

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Competitions for the 2026-27 season are just weeks away, and the Saas-Fee camp is the perfect place to end a long offseason. Massive jumps, technical rails, and a premier halfpipe give athletes a home for getting their boards back under their feet without the pressure of competition and scoring. After three weeks of training at one of the best parks in the world, the riders will be competition-ready for the first events of the season.