Spirits Of The Cedars

Being one of the oldest countries in the world, Lebanon is despite her small-scaled dimensions a remarkable intriguing country that needs to be visited more than once. Without prejudice and recognition alone. Why? You don’t know, until you go.

Three women on boards – Mirte van Dijk (NL), Elena Koenz (CH) and Valerie Schlieper (D) – visited the most historical places of the country: from mountaintop to seaside. They met with local athletes and outdoor enthusiasts who told them about history, culture and politics.

The Cedars ski resort lies at the end of the holy valley: the Qadisha Valley. In this area you will find the oldest Cedar forest of the world, the Cedars of God. You can do some snowboarding, mountainbiking and surfing all in one day. The people around here have a story of their own and one of these stories lies here in the Cedars of God.

Media Contact: hello@mvdmedia.com

Nikita Clothing / Lebanese Wanderers

Credits:

Organizer & Producer: Lebanese Wanderers, Producer: Sari Haddad Production, Assistant: Jad Rizkallah, Idea and Concept: Jan Bakker, Director of Photography: Ed Yazbek, Drone Operator: Carlos Haidamous, Main Camera: Michel Fakhoury, Editor: Seb Jam, Photography & Editorial: Mirte Van Dijk

A chasa

This year was awesome for riding powder in Switzerland. The best thing about it was that I didn’t have to fly anywhere to find good pow. I could basically stay at home and let the nature do its work. As I stopped riding competitions after the Olympics last winter, I could enjoy the pow to the fullest without having thoughts on missing out trainings or competitions.

We had some awesome days in my hometown over Christmas where we could ride powder everyday in my home ski resort Scuol or touring near by.

I grew up in Vnà, a small village in the mountains of Switzerland. The village has 60 habitants, so I know everyone by name. Some oft he houses are empty and the village was our playground when we where kids.

This is when I had first thoughts about doing a film project in the village where I grew up. When PeakFrames asked me if I would like to do a film project with them, I had a plan.

When we could start to film unfortunately most snow in the village had already melted. As we still wanted to film something there, we had the idea to drop from a roof because there was still some snow up there. After the post man drove two times over the landing with his car and we prepared it again, our friendly neighbour let me climb up the roof and get the shot.

The first two days filming in my hometown where pretty intense. We did two other spots near my hometown and one turned out to be a lot of fun as I could ride it first as a quarter and then as a jump where I did a backside air.

A week later we got lucky as it snowed again. My friends Isabel Derungs and Irene Schweizer joined me for one of the most fun powder days in my home ski resort Scuol. We did some hikes to find untracked snow where we could film some sprays, turns and butters.

The day after we decided to do a backcountry jump. We didn’t have too much time as the bad weather and fog came in quickly. It was the last short window of light when I decided to do a backflip. I landed the backflip far down the landing with the last bit of sunlight. Afterwards it got so foggy that we decided to leave the spot.

It was a really good experience and so much fun to film with PeakFrames, Isabel Derungs and Irene Schweizer. A huge thanks to everyone involved and to everyone supporting and believing in us.

 

Read more:

 

https://snowboardermbm.de

https://www.peakframes.ch

https://www.whiteout.ch

https://whitelines.com

https://www.pleasuremag.com

https://girlsareawesome.com

https://eu.nikitaclothing.com

https://prime-snowboarding.de

https://snowboardermbm.de

 

 

 

Marmel

 

My name is Elena Koenz and I am a professional Snowboarder from Engadin, Switzerland. Leading a life close to nature and the mountains has inspired me to give back to preserve our mountains for future generations. This is why I am an ambassador for Protect Our Winters Switzerland.

For this season I was able to design my own pro model for West, the Swiss snowboard brand I ride for. The design is a result of a collaboration between the artist Rips1 and myself. This is my board I use all-day every day for playing on the slopes, jibbing and jumping and having fun.

As a small step in the right direction, I decided to donate 1% of revenue generated with the sale of this board to Protect Our Winters Switzerland. POW mobilizes the outdoor community against climate change. More information on http://www.protectourwinters.ch

I wish you an awesome season, go outside, enjoy the snow and don‘t forget to stay creative – @elenakoenz

Song: Steiner & Madlaina – Statue of His Time
Camera: Irene Schweizer, Corsin Näff

The Season’s Selection – Elena Koenz

The Season’s Selection – Elena Koenz from doodah on Vimeo.

“Wenn Resultate kommen, dann aus der Freude heraus”

Interview in der Engadiner Post, September 2016

THE REAL PINK LADIES

Interview mit Nathanael Rölli und Linus von Moos zur Fumetto Satelitten Ausstellung im Doodah Luzern.

 

Skatedecks “THE REAL PINK LADIES I und II” Acryl und Ölfarbe auf Holz

 

 

Bündner Sport Jahrbuch

Südostschweiz 12. November 2015

Elena Könz findet sich im “Bündner Sport Jahrbuch 2015”

http://www.somedia-buchverlag.ch

Hakuna Matata

Chixxs Portrait in the Chixxs on Board Winterguide 15/16

Sports award “Bündner Sportlerin des Jahres”

I made it with your help! Thanks so much for all the votes! It’s a great honor for me to win the sports award “Bündner Sportlerin des Jahres”.

Congratulations also to Giulia Tanno for winning the sports award “Bündner Nachwuchssportlerin des Jahres”! It was a great night!

Live interview with Radio Suedostschweiz the next day:

Live Interview with the Swiss TV RTR in Rumantsch:

rtr.ch

Calma The Movie

Calma is a freeski and snowboard film by Sickpack. We’re stoked to present you last season’s hard work! With Elena Könz, Gian Schicktanz, Cousin Näff and Francisco Couto. Directed by Joni Näff.

facebook.com/Sickpack