Xtreme Verbier - world's craziest freeride competition, Valais wine after

The Freeride World Tour Finals happen on the Bec des Rosses face - a near-vertical 500m cliff that the world's best skiers and snowboarders hurl themselves down every March. 10,000 spectators watch from terraces below, glasses of Valais wine in hand, gasping with every turn. The atmosphere is electric, the wine flows freely, and gravity does the rest.

What to do there

4 things to do

1. 1 Find the 43-Degree Face Where Freeriding Was Born Adventure · Free

   This is the Bec des Rosses - 3,223m, 600m vertical drop, 43-degree slopes where competitive freeriding was born. In 1996, Verbier launched the Xtreme competition here and created freeriding as a sport. Every March, 10,000 people watch the world's best skiers hurl themselves down a cliff face that's steep enough to make your legs shake just LOOKING at it. From Verbier town center (Place Centrale), face south toward the massive pyramidal peak of Mont Fort (3,329m). The Bec des Rosses is the sheer near-VERTICAL 500m rock-and-snow face on the LEFT side of that pyramid. If you see people pointing and going 'holy shit,' you're looking at the right thing.

   Backup: Any local can point it out. Ask: 'Where do the crazy people ski?' They'll know exactly what you mean.

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2. 2 Taste the Wine That Nearly Went Extinct in the 1970s Wine · Price: moderate

   In the early 1970s, Cornalin was ALMOST EXTINCT - down to a handful of vines. Courageous winegrowers from Salgesch found them and saved the variety. Now it's 'beyond doubt the greatest of Valais reds' - black cherry, raspberry, violets, velvety tannins, spicy cinnamon/clove notes. You're drinking a wine that was 50 years away from disappearing forever. At Al Capone Wine Bar (Place Centrale) or 67 Pall Mall Bar a Vin, ask the bartender: 'Do you have Cornalin by the glass?' If they look excited when you ask, you picked the right place. Expect to pay €12-18 per glass.

   Backup: If no Cornalin, ask for Humagne Rouge - another indigenous red that only grows in Valais. Tell them you want 'the local stuff, not Pinot Noir.'

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3. 3 Watch the Xtreme Verbier Finals on the Bec des Rosses Adventure · Price: low · Optional

   The ONLY competition where skiing's equivalent of big-wave surfing happens on snow. 10,000 spectators, Valais wine flowing, watching athletes ski a 43-degree face that's killed people. Buy tickets at freerideworldtour.com for March 27-29, 2026 (Freeride World Tour Grande Finale). Take the Mont Fort cable car up from Verbier - spectator viewing areas are set up on safer slopes BELOW the Bec des Rosses so you watch athletes descend toward you. When someone lands a huge air or narrowly avoids a cliff, the crowd ERUPTS. This is where competitive freeriding was born in 1996, and the atmosphere is half extreme sport, half festival.

   Backup: If you can't get to the 2026 event, ride the Mont Fort cable car up in March any year and watch locals point out the lines where past champions skied. Ask: 'Which line would YOU ski?' The silence that follows tells you everything.

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4. 4 Toast at Pub Mont Fort Where Competitors Celebrate Wine · Price: moderate · Optional

   This is 'the bar of superlatives' - hosting Verbier's most iconic après-ski and where Xtreme Verbier athletes end up after their runs. It's the spot where people who just skied a 43-degree cliff go to drink Fendant and decompress. Go during or after Xtreme Verbier weekend (late March) to Pub Mont Fort (Chemin de la Tinte 10, Verbier town center). Order a bottle of chilled Fendant (Chasselas) - it's the local white, designed for exactly this moment. Look for people with tan lines, bruises, and the thousand-yard stare of someone who just did something insane. The vibe is half celebration, half 'I can't believe I'm alive.'

   Backup: Any day during ski season works, but Xtreme weekend is when the magic happens. If you miss it, ask the bartender: 'What did [winner's name] drink after winning?' They'll remember.

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