Nicolas Fojtu

A single photo had taken over our minds. It was an aerial view of an island in the deep blue Sea of Japan. At its center stands a lonely mountain with snow-covered slopes. Deep furrows carve out gullies, form wide slopes and gently run out towards the forested coast. We had to go there - to find out if it really exists.

Everyone has been to the Leventina. But most people have probably just whizzed through without thinking about touring, by train or on the highway. But if you've ever looked out of the window in winter, you might have guessed that there is some wonderful downhill terrain at higher altitudes in the valley. Especially when there is plenty of snow on the southern slopes of the Alps, this region is also a hot tip for snow addicts from the north of the Alps.

In the beginning there was the splitboard, or something like that. In any case, the board, which can be split into two parts, was used for snowboarding tours before today's alpine snowshoes. In this experience report, I try to summarize why splitboards have been on the rise again for a few years now and where the biggest differences to touring with snowshoes lie.