St. Moritz, Switzerland – After last weekend’s kickoff to the 2011 season in Courmayeur, Italy, the Freeride World Tour moves to the Corvatsch ski area in Engadin St. Moritz this weekend for the second stop of the six-event tour for the men.nIt’s a brand new stage of the newly-expanded Freeride World Tour 2011. Engadin St. Moritz, in the southeast corner of Switzerland is famous as an exclusive playground for celebrities. However, it also offers outstanding freeriding that is easily accessed from the extensive lift network.

The event will be held on the north face of the Corvatsch where the riders will reach the venue via a rappel down from the gondola station followed by a short hike to one of three starts at the top of the face at 3127m above sea level. The 550-meter face features a slope ranging from 45 to 60 degrees, which is some of the highest and steepest riding of the tour.

The French dominated the the men’s ski and snowboard events in Courmayeur, and Frenchman Adrien Coirier, who placed second in men’s ski at the first stop, tells us he’s ready for Engadin St. Moritz.

“It’s taken me three years to come back from injury and that has been pretty hard for me but I’m now back at my highest level and I feel really, really good,” Coirier says. “I’m looking forward to the competition at Engadin because it’s really steep and that fits my skiing style. I’ve never competed there but I’m not feeling any pressure about it and I’m looking forward to seeing the venue from the bottom on Saturday.”

This event also marks the first time a telemark skier will compete in a Freeride World Tour event. Joonas Karhumaa, a Finnish native now living in Andermatt, Switzerland, has scored one of the highly-coveted local wildcard spots for this weekend’s competition.