In Europe there is only one big mountain competition each year: the Chatel Mountain Style. In truth though, it should be renamed Seb's Baby. It's the brainchild, project and obsession of the head track builder at Chatel, Seb. He had an idea for a competition that would be different to everything else out there, he wanted to create an event where riders didn't just need to pull the biggest tricks, they also needed to tame the mountain. The thought was to re-create the kind of skiing the guys around Chatel do each winter, tearing down the face of the mountain and tricking the obstacles as they go. Riding up on the lift with head judge, Ben Walker, one day he sketched out his idea to run a line down the opposite side of the valley to the bike park trails, among the big boulders. He doesn't just talk the talk either, ask anyone with an iPhone around town and the chances are they'll have the video of Seb guinea-pigging the enormous first step-down getting ready for this year's competition. He didn't clear it though, he over-shot it by the best part of ten metres...Since that first conversation it has grown from a wild idea to one of the biggest dates on the freeride calendar and you need to look no further than the entry list to see proof of that. This year the lineups is headed up by names like Brandon Semenuk, Cam Zink and Andreu Lacondeguy. We headed up the mountain with Seb and Ben to check out this year's course.The big question now is what will the weather do? Thunderstorms were the order of the evening here in Chatel, but the forecasts say sunny from here in on. So long as the wind stays down there will be riding and, if it's wet, freestyle on spike tyres. Now that's gnarly...