Main image: Jenna Foxton /  Fanatic 2017 & Snowbombing 2017

Now a staggering 18 years old – making it old enough to enjoy a not-quite-full glass of Austria’s finest lager – Snowbombing returned to Mayrhofen last week to, once again, prove that it’s still the greatest show on snow.

For a whole week, hard-partying skiers and snowboarders, along with probably just as many folk who think a Gondola is something punted by a chap in venice, descend on the otherwise sleepy Austrian village for a party to see-off the snow for another season in style. It promises the chance to shred in a t-shirt on the mountain by day, and party all night after the lifts close.

Mpora arrived at Snowbombing to ominously grey skies late on Wednesday afternoon, by which time the festival had already been underway for three days, and the likes of hip-hop royalty Run The Jewels, and British Grime artist Giggs had already torn the place up and jumped on a plane home (if you listen closely, you can still hear our tears hitting the keyboard). But that’s not to say that Snowbombing was spent. Far from it.

“The audience erupted, sloshing their beer in the air as the headliners played swaggerin anthem after anthem”

As the sun set over the mountains, the Forest Party was the destination of choice, where the sounds of Mancunian rock royalty, fronted by a man called Liam were blasting out from the trees. Alas, this was only Oasis playing over the PA, before the night’s headliners, The Courteeners hit the stage. When they did, the audience erupted, and sloshed their beer in the air as the band played swaggering anthem after swaggering anthem.

The following day, soupy heads were met with equally dense conditions on top of the mountain. Mist had descended, and visibility was down to just a few metres, making skiing and snowboarding activities only for those with super-human reactions, and the eyesight to match.