Switzerland

Several years ago, a group of North American skiers traveled to Switzerland and scored all-time conditions. Upon return in 2011, they found the Swiss Alps high and dry. But this didn’t stop them from finding leftover lines, exploring the local culture and engaging in a good old fashioned Canadian beer brawl. Turns out being skunked in Switzerland isn’t all that bad.

Your friends are in a fight,” cries the Swedish girl, “Come quick.” Hurriedly, I grab my jacket and elbow my way through the crowded Grimentz discoteque. Small town Switzerland was the last place we wanted to get into a fight. Swiss residents are required by law to attend military training and, while they have an international reputation for neutrality, they are well prepared for warfare or, in this case, a good ol’ fashioned Canadian-style bar brawl. I trail photographer Damian Cromwell into the foyer of the nightclub and find a bizarre scene. Canadians Dan Treadway and Mitchell Scott are standing in the middle of a throng of angry Swiss men, but there are no punches being thrown. Instead, they defiantly grip a wooden hockey stick… all eight of them. The mood is tense and an eruption of brawling seems imminent. If it wasn’t so strange, it might be scary. Soon, we would find out exactly what it takes to provoke these stoic characters to violence…Subscribe to see the entire piece.

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