The legendary Boss des Bosses, Europe’s biggest inter-resort mogul competition, will be back in Verbier on March 15th. Founder Tom Banfield organised the first Boss des Bosses in Chamonix back in 1990, challenging a friend from Val d’Isère to settle their dispute over which resort had the best skiers. Last year, teams and supporters from Zermatt, Chamonix and Portes du Soleil came to Verbier for the head-to-head mogul competition. Teams made up of skiers, snowboarders, telemarkers and mono-skiers navigate a steep section of snowy bumps (‘bosses’ in French) scoring points for speed, style and jumps.
VL: How was last year’s event after the 5-year break?
TB: The legendary Phoenix rose from the ashes and shook off its dust. Teams from Zermatt, Chamonix and Portes du Soleil arrived with bus loads of supporters to enjoy a fabulous display of fun and games. A dramatic final saw Zermatt beat Verbier on the final race.
NdR: Last year’s event was a real experiment, especially with the location of the course. Back in the 90’s, the Mogul Mania events were staged on the sunny slopes of Fontanet, however we decided to create our own purpose-built course in the trees. It provides better visibility in case of a white out, and spectators can access the site on foot, avoiding the safety issues that curtailed the event’s continuation in Chamonix. Luckily for us, the idea was a great success, especially as it was only a short roll down the hill to Le Rouge’s L’After Party and prize-giving.
VL: What can we expect at this year’s event?
TB: Amazing skiing, great tunes and, hopefully, plenty of warm sunshine. This year’s sponsors include Faction Skis, Sinner Clothing, Mountain Air, Le Rouge Restaurant, Winslow Breweries, Pharmacie de La Croix de Coeur, Sungod Goggles, Verbier Tourism and Téléverbier.
NdR: We learned a lot of lessons from last year’s inaugural event. Amongst other things, how to make better bumps and better jumps.
VL: The first Boss des Bosses was 27 years ago, so it’s older than most of the competitors – what do you think makes the event still so popular with the younger crew today?
TB: It’s only Niko and I that have grown old! The event itself is still fresh. Mogul skiing is still great to watch and the crowd is still made up of a never- ending stream of young seasonaires living their dreams.
NdR: 1990 seems like only yesterday, but the spirit is the same. Chasing the lifestyle of a ski fanatic is a choice that only a few people have the pleasure of realising, but we that do have two things in common: we love to ride and we love to party. So, any event celebrating both is bound to succeed.
VL: How has the event changed over the years?
TB: We started with a ghetto blaster, a bag of cassettes and a megaphone, so to have DJs and a proper sound system is a great improvement. On the skiing front, the quality of jumps and tricks has gone stratospheric!
NdR: Stratospheric jumps indeed! This year, French National Champion Ben Cavet will be setting the standard, skiing for Portes du Soleil. Regarded as one of the best aerialists in the business, Ben recently won a silver medal at the FIS World Cup in Deer Valley, USA.
VL: Your favourite memory so far?
- There have been so many hilarious moments and tense finals, it’s too hard to choose one.
NdR: One of my many favourites was watching one of my team mates destroy a very competent skier from Zermatt while dressed as a giant banana.
VL: Who would you put your money on this year?
NdR: Zermatt have managed most wins over the years, winning last year’s final against Verbier on the very last run. So with the incentive of revenge, my money is on Verbier.
VL: How did the Boss des Bosses end up in Verbier?
TB: I’ve known Niko since the very first edition of Boss des Bosses, when he skied for Chamonix. We started reminiscing about how he had skied for three different resorts in the first three editions and after a few more beers we discussed the possibility of hosting the competition in Verbier.
In September 2015, Niko called me to say that his friends, Raph and Tash from Le Rouge, were also keen to bring the event to Verbier, so, thanks to their collaboration, the dream became a reality.
The course is above Bar 1936, with easy pedestrian access from Carrefour.
11h Course inspection
12h Racing begins
15h Grand finals
17h Prize giving and L’After Party at Le Rouge
22h After L’After party at Le Crock