TOP “One of the more magical aspects of the dam is simply getting there. Wolle’s dad, Heinz, worked with the hydroelectric companies that literally gave us the keys that unlock a series of electronically controlled gates in tunnels through the mountainside outside of Mayrhofen. The only other people with access to these closed roads is Bridgestone Tires, who do product tests on these wintry roads. Sometimes Wolle also likes to drive as if he’s one of Bridgestone’s test drivers. Fortunately, I am confident in his skills and trusted him with my life.” Photo: Scott Sullivan BOTTOM Wolle Nyvelt’s first drop on the Zillergründl Dam in 1998. Photos: Heinz Nyvelt Words Ben Shanks Kindlon S tanding at 430 feet tall and 2,400 feet wide, Schlegeis is one of five massive hydroelectric dams located in western Austria’s Ziller Valley. The gargantuan struc-ture looks like a towering wave of cement nestled uni-formly into the picturesque landscape of the Alps. A miles-wide reservoir rests on one side of the wall, with mountainous terrain pushing up against the other. It took six years to construct this leviathan levee, completed in 1971 and producing electricity in Mayrhofen a year later. It’s also one of the largest rideable pieces of concrete in the world. concrete. Then we came back and filmed it for Absinthe Films’ Satura-tion. That’s when we got a real taste of it.” In Satruation we see Wolle hauling downslope alongside Ziller-gründl’s wall before attacking it backside, riding out onto the gritty cement and then catching the snowy transition at the bottom of the bank. He cuts a heelside turn, rips another wallride and smashes back into powder at the bottom. Gabe Langlois filmed the shot—an awe-some, fast-paced culmination of freeriding and jibbing—and Justin says the footage blew him away. “I’d heard they’d ridden a dam, but I hadn’t seen anything,” Justin says. “With 16mm film you’ve got to wait to get your transfer back, and when I finally saw his footage come in it was like, ‘Man, we got something really special.’” Wolle soon returned to Zillergründl with his good friend, Roland “Roli” Schwaninger, where they built a skatepark-inspired over-vert snow cradle. You can see the resulting shots in Wolle’s segment for Pop (2004), which are followed by him spinning a cab five into the wall at Schlegeis. Each trip to the hydroelectric dams inspired new possibili-ties, eventually leading to the Absinthe crew’s remarkable session at Schlegeis in 2008. Winter 2008: Wolle Nyvelt is gearing up to snowboard down Schlegeis. In the air above him hangs Absinthe Films Director Justin Hostynek, soon to be zooming by on a zip line. Justin is on a homemade rig, hoping like hell his sketchy setup won’t send him crashing at high speed into the wall. Following a hair-raising trial run, the crew films a groundbreaking lead-cam shot for Absinthe’s Ready— one of several clips they have captured over the years at these truly iconic spots. The cable-cam session wasn’t the first time Wolle snowboarded a dam like Schlegeis. His initial experience went down at the nearby Zillergründl Dam in ’98, but no one was around to film it. Roads to the dam are closed to the public during winter due to avalanche danger, but Wolle’s dad, Heinz, worked for the power company that operates the dam, giving Wolle access to the area. “I grew into a family of people working at hydro dams,” Wolle says. “My grandpa worked there, my dad worked there. One day they had a helicopter going up to Zillergründl and he said, ‘Do you want to come and take a flight with us?’ I got a heli drop by myself on a nearby peak and rode down to the dam, then I dropped in on it for the first time. My dad shot some photos from the top, they’re super blurry. I didn’t even touch the 046 THE SNOWBOARDER’S JOURNAL
The Snowboarder's Journal The Snowboarder's Journal 19.1: Page 46
