Pirates Territory – Two Generations of Freestyle Pirates at Snowpark Alta Badia

Logo Pirates Territory – Two Generations of Freestyle Pirates at Snowpark Alta Badia
28/03/2018, 10:15
Logo Pirates Territory – Two Generations of Freestyle Pirates at Snowpark Alta Badia

They are ambassadors of freestyle and a crew at the same time – the Pirates Alta Badia. It’s been already 15 years since their name started circling the high plateau of the Dolomites. Find out everything about the people and the motivation behind the name in this story. And make sure to check out the video clips from the last visit at Snowpark Alta Badia.

“15 years ago, we founded the crew when we were still very young and seized every opportunity to shred off-piste! Then we’ve lost track of each other for some time. Couple of years later I met Altin and we relaunched the whole thing”, Lukas Valentini recalls. Together with his friend Altin Alla, he has determined the Pirate-crew’s fate and has also crucially coined the local freestyle-scene until today.

By now, the crew and their logo are omnipresent at Snowpark Alta Badia. As is right and proper for Pirates, the skull is flaunted on the red entrance portal as well as on the container walls at the park’s chill area. About 15 official crew-members are bemedaled with the logo on their jackets when they shred the park almost daily in winter. Altin and Lux spend the whole winter up on the mountain. In between, they change their Pirates jackets for a different uniform and switch into different roles. “Both of us are also working as snowboard-teachers and we use the park for the lessons as well. The demand for freestyle-lessons has also grown steadily since we’ve put our logo on the wall of the ski school!”, Altin proudly explains.

Looking at the young crew-members of the Pirates, it’s easy to see how big of an influence they’ve already had on the next generation. Mattia Mersa is 12 years old and the youngest of the crew. Together with his brother Elia Mersa and their buddy Felix Schrott, they roam Snowpark Alta Badia daily to work on their shred skills and on their ultimate goal – turn pro. “The boys are super ambitious and practice a lot. And as far as we’re concerned they’re doing fine in school as well! So, everything’s cool”, Altin jokes.

Hence the freestyle future of South Tyrol is secured and Altin and Lux are overflowing with ideas and energy! “The plans for the future are grand!”, Lux laughs impishly not wanting to give away any details. “As long as we can, we will still send it over those kickers! And if we ever get too old for that, we still remain the Captains of the Pirates!”, Altin adds.

For more information on the Pirates Park aka Snowpark Alta Badia you can visit www.snowpark-altabadia.org, Facebook and Instagram!

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