Video and photos: Fernando Rodriguez Marmolejo

There was a total change up from the Fest boys for Dark Fest this year. The crew moved to Stellenbosch and a local farmer gave them free reign on his steep hillside. Sam, Nico and Clemens were able to build the course of their dreams among the vineyards and the result is simply stunning.

The attention grabbing but admittedly sketchy roll in from last year is now gone and in its place are three whale tails that segue into a road gap, a 90 foot huck and a huge trick step up. It’s a stunning line that allows the riders to flow up to 45 mph without a single pedal stroke.

Fernando Marmelejo Rodriguez was our man on the ground with camera in hand to capture all the action. Of course there’s a load of rad shredding but it’s also packed full of super insightful interviews – best of all is Matt McDuff chatting about his first time going big again after his Loop of Doom horror crash – it’s well worth sticking around for.