Anselm Köhler

The dry autumn with late summer flair in the golden larch forests and south-facing rock faces is coming to an end, and Ullr is sending us winter greetings for the second time. During the first greeting in mid-September, the first turns were already enjoyed, but the snow did not last. This second greeting hopefully heralds the start of winter, and we can start the PowderAlert series with snow height betting games as usual and bet on a strong winter.

Every year, the Splitboard Festival and Testival takes place on the Tyrolean fjord, halfway between Munich and Innsbruck, in the cold hole of the northern Alps, in the snow-rich Karwendel, more precisely in Pertisau at Lake Achensee. Splitboard enthusiasts come together - whether they are experienced splitboarders, beginners or newcomers. Old-school hands who still saw their boards by hand and manufacturers and providers of splitboard tours and camps are also present. This year for the 10th time - congratulations on the anniversary edition. I want to check it out, it's a first for me.

Rumour has it that winter and the time of white splendour is finally here. And finally the scratching on the glacier remains or scraping on the grassy slopes will be replaced by real freeriding opportunities. Once again, the snow height prediction game will help you to correctly estimate where the most snow will fall.

Rumor has it that winter and the time of white splendour is finally here! It's time for real freeriding opportunities to replace scratching on the glacier remains or scraping on the grassy slopes. Of course, the snow hint game wants to help you and show you where the most snow has fallen with an educated guess!

Splitboarding has definitely come of age in recent years. Even if there are still astonished onlookers at the conversion at the summit, the systems are now all very mature and are also widely represented on the market. With ski boots on your feet, however, you still amaze people. Although splitboarders who use a so-called hardboot or AT setup are also becoming increasingly common, they are still a vanishingly small minority.

Every fall has come to an end. Every winter, the first snow has enchanted the landscape. Every year, the bikes and climbing gear can be swapped for the skis from the summer camps at some point. This year was the same, only the snow climbing game extended the fall by 6 weeks and was on the road.

At some point, the prolonged late fall will turn into an early winter with short days and, this year, a light layer at higher altitudes. At some point, the bikes and climbing gear can be swapped for the skis from the summer camps. And then, it's time for the PowdeAalarm and the snow height game! For the fifth time in a row! And there are some great prizes again, more on that below.

Many ski resorts may be closed in spring, but the ski touring season is not over yet. But where is the white gold? Especially at this time of year, information is scarce - avalanche warning services have stopped their daily reports, few ski tourers report on the conditions and generally speaking, ski tours are simply difficult to imagine when you're lying in the sun in the valley wearing shorts.

The International Snow Science Workshop (ISSW) brings together scientists and practitioners from a wide range of snow-related fields every two years. New findings and research results are presented in various thematic blocks - so-called sessions. We break the whole thing down into more or less digestible morsels and summarize the sessions of the ISSW2018 for you every two weeks.

Apparently, a new type of avalanche prevention device was announced at the ISPO in Munich. The AvyScanner is a small radar that scans the snow cover.

Every two years, the International Snow Science Workshop (ISSW) brings together scientists and practitioners from a wide range of different, but always snow-related, subject areas. New findings and research results are presented in various thematic blocks - so-called sessions. We break the whole thing down into more or less digestible morsels and summarize the sessions of the ISSW2018 for you every two weeks.

After about 50 touring days, the 4-piece splitboard has proven itself completely. 4-piece? Yes, during the ascent you carry the two centre sections on your backpack and therefore have two narrow ascent skis on your feet. Such concepts have existed for more than 15 years, and since 2014/15 Salomon has ventured into the 4-piece splitboard market with the Premiere. For me, it's my first 4-piece and there's no way around it on long tours ...