Everything to Know About the 2026 LAAX OPEN

All Images: Marcel Laemmerhirt

From January 14-18, 2026, the FIS Freestyle World Cup circuit will turn its attention towards Switzerland as the LAAX OPEN gathers for a new decade. The 11th year of the fabled freestyle competition will feature live music, Olympic qualification, a Red Bull rail jam and more.

While past additions of the event have sometimes been hard to keep track of from the other side of the globe, that won't be the case this year. Each day will be livestreamed and replayed for those of us who can't make the trek. This includes qualifiers, semi-finals and finals for every event... and trust us, you'll want to tune in.

The comp historically features snowboard slopestyle and halfpipe, with freeski slopestyle being added in 2023. Importantly, this FIS Freeski World Cup slopestyle will serve as the final Olympic qualifier event for riders looking to punch their ticket to the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Games. Riders will be coming out of a harrowing stretch of competitions, meaning this will be as much a mental battle as it will be a physical one.

A few frames from last year's slopestyle madness

Both the men's and women's fields are stacked, and while the complete athlete roster has yet to be announced, you can bet on more than a few heavy hitters. Notably, Olympic gold medalist and 2024 overall Crystal Globe winner Mathilde Germaud has already confirmed her attendance, as has fellow Swiss rider Andri Ragettli, who claimed the first-ever LAAX OPEN freeski slopestyle victory three years ago. Expect these two titans to be hometown favorites.

To no surprise, this slopestyle course is always staggering. The shapers at Snowpark LAAX take their work seriously and continuously supply one of the best parks in the world. They break out the big guns for this course, with last year's selection featuring a wild amalgamation of rails, a pristine jump line and a quarter pipe.

A notable inclusion in this year's LAAX OPEN will be the Red Bull Rail Riot. Separate from the FIS World Cup events, Rail Riot will be held on Friday, January 16, the day before freeski slopestyle goes down. It's described as an "open format street contest for freeski and snowboard."

Not much has been released on whether or not Rail Riot 2026 will be similar to last year's inaugural event, which featured open registration, a Best Trick Award and a stacked panel of freeski judges that included Felix Klein, Alice Michel and Sämi Ortlieb.

Of course, no LAAX OPEN would be complete without a lineup of free live music that will make you want to stay out late into the night and do it all again tomorrow. And did we mention it was free? Dario Hess, Saint City Orchestra, Phenomden and Stereo Luchs will headline shows on Friday and Saturday nights.

If you can make it to Switzerland this January, we can't reccomend it enough. Between the hype for the upcoming Olympics and the general atmosphere the LAAX OPEN drums up, it's always worth it.