Simple as a Turn, by Patagonia
Nicholas Wolken and the magic and mastery of turns on snow in
The Official 2026 Escape Closing Cup Recap is live!
Escape Closing Cup Vol. 4 went down in Laax under heavy sun, slushy laps and a stacked crew from all over Europe and beyond. No contest, just a proper gathering, legends, new generation, and overseas homies all riding together. Cash for tricks, live music, long days on snow and even longer nights, this is what the Escape Closing Cup is all about.
We kicked off the season ender on Thursday night with a welcome night and the launch of limited edition Escape merch at the Doodah pop-up store at the Riders Hotel.
Over the next three days, a roster of riders from all over the world showed what they’re made of on special setups built exclusively for the Closing Cup. Stirring away from a rigid contest format gave the riders a laid-back vibe to just have fun hitting the features. Modified minipipe session on the first day went off and did not stop until the lifts were closed. Not even a hailstorm on the second day stopped anyone from trying to clear the 25m challenger box. As always, the best was saved for last with a hip session to close down the event.
The mountain was not where it all stopped, after a solid leg-burner run down to the valley, Aperols were flowing deep into the late hours of the night.
Even though we aim for non-competition vibes, MVP titles were up for grabs for the standouts of the weekend. For women, it was Kaili Randmäe, shredding all 3 setups hard and clearing the challenger box with a 50-tail grab out. For guys, the Norwegian powerhouses Markus Rustad and Kristian Skjømming took home the shared MVP title.
Featuring riders Alek Østreng, Martin Lässer, Mees Ootdijk, Danimals, Johannes Taklo, Gian Sutter, Moritz Thönen, Alex Tank, Alex Stewart, Marko Malsub, Toni Kerkelä, Tom Venderotte, Lenny Oliver, Tommy Demartin, Jacob Krugmire, Livia Ruckstuhl, Jaime Castro Pelegrina, Lucas Cornillat, Simon Gschaider, Markus Rustad, Luke Lund, Ryo Aizawa, Joe Sexton, Benny Urban, Ryan Collins, Brady Lem, Simon Pircher, Dario Burch, Joe Simpson, Petr Ershov, Kas Lemmens, Kaili Randmäe, Nata Sanchez, Paul Eller, Isak Andre Lindberg, Nick Pünter, Lars Popp, Cooper Whittier, Mar Ferreira, Queralt Castellet, Antti Jussila, Viginia Amengual, Yulia DeFlorin, Kristian Skjømming
Filmed & edited by Guillaume Sturma
Additional filming by Lionel Moerch & Luca Hebing
Presented by Vans. Supported by Salomon, Doodah, Red Bull, HoverAir, Laax, Method Mag, Spleen Collective, Oakley, Calanda, & Dakine.
Nicholas Wolken and the magic and mastery of turns on snow in
Filmed entirely in Colorado between December 2 and January 21 during the
