FACE to FACE

BY ELENA KÖNZ

Elena has been on the West team for six years now! She is not only a talented snowboarder but also a creative painter! We are excited to launch the FACE TO FACE “capsule” including one unique snowboard, 10 prints printed by @sergelowrider and 15 long sleeve shirts produced on environmentally friendly garments.

All benefits of the “face to face” project will be donated to the NGO “SKATEISTAN”, which empowers children through skateboarding and education in Afghanistan, Cambodia and South Africa. Learn more about “skateistan” HERE

www.westsnowboarding.com FACE to Face “capsule”

HEROES – Women in Snowboarding

Being part of this great book dedicated to women in snowboarding means a lot to me. Definitely a book you don‘t want to miss on your coffee table! 288 pages with inspiring stories and the best photos by Jérome Tanon.

“Heroes” book – signed

As a kid I used to sit in front of my window drawing pictures of the Engadin mountains. The same mountains where I later found my love for snowboarding. Drawing and Snowboarding were the two hobbies that meant the most to me when I grew up. However, for a long time the two passions remained separate worlds. Often in life I was told what is right and what is wrong, how I should be and act. That I should stop snowboarding and do more art, or that I was behaving like a „boy“.
I’m lucky that by rebelling against this pressure I found places where the pursuit of unique style is valued and even promoted. Simultaneously I had the chance to meet numerous brave and interesting people who inspired me become what felt right. After years pursuing the two passions I start to see more and more similarities between them. For both, it is about the creation of movement, resulting in forms which give each human a unique style, independent of gender and background.

Studies of THE LINE

A3 prints on natural paper I & II

 

Originals A5 painted with charcoal, black paint water and snow

Studies of THE LINE I

first line – sold

climate change – sold

weekends – sold

holiday season – sold

night line

nose butter

tree lines

straight line – sold

 

Studies of THE LINE II

to switch – sold

to normal – sold

air time

snake run

reset

home run

powder spray

water slide

 

supportyourlocalartist.ch

SEASON at HOME 2018 / 19

Last season I was mainly snowboarding at home in Switzerland. It was one oft he best winters I had. Enjoy!

Edited by Elena Koenz

Music by Sono

sbesmag.com

prime-snowboarding.de

IL DAT ALB

In this short Film “IL DAT ALB” – “the white cube” Elena Könz shows us a creative approach to two of her passions – snowboarding and art. In collaboration with the skiresort Motta Naluns/Scuol she had the opportunity to create a park line – the “Dragon Line”.

P: PeakFrames

Together with the artist Rips1 (Linus von Moos) Elena painted the obstacles for the line with shapes of a dragon (a recurrent animal form in Elena’s artwork). Elena makes a statement in using only obstacles she upcycled from the skiresorts old stock with the help from the shapers of the snowpark.

Elena Könz – „To ride on my own art in the white cube of nature is a dream come true.“

For more information @jibberleni

Presented by Engadin-Scuol-Zernez Tourismus and Bergbahnen Scuol AGFilm and Edit by PeakFrames GmbH peakframes.ch

Audio and Sounddesign by Brauereisound GmbH

Produced by Elena Könz elenakoenz.ch

P: Corsin Näff

 

Read More:

rtr.ch

scuol-zernez.engadin.com

eatgoldsnow.com

whitelines.com

 

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://scuol-zernez.engadin.com

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