Lorenzo Rieg

High alpine tour with an almost endless descent down into the Stubaital. Often still worthwhile late in the spring.

Skiing, snowboarding and ski touring may not always take place at low temperatures, but they often do - after all, the beloved powder snow is rarely found at temperatures above zero. Precipitation in frozen form is also usually welcome and the wind, with its well-known chill factor, is more frequent and stronger in the high mountains compared to the lowlands. The sports that PowderGuide is all about can therefore make you feel cold. Or rather, you can get cold if you're not properly dressed!

With the AR version of the popular Nuclei, Arc'teryx is launching a warmer synthetic fiber insulation jacket on the market, which is also equipped with a windstopper membrane, making the jacket not only more robust but also more weather-resistant.

While there has been one innovation after another in the ski touring boot segment (and freeride boots with ascent function) in recent years, things have been relatively quiet in the alpine boot segment. Those who need or want the ultimate performance still reach for a racing boot, which is fitted by a boot fitter and where comfort is usually sacrificed in favor of power transmission and ski feel. All other skiers, whether on the piste or off-piste, use a more or less sporty "normal" ski boot.

San Martino di Castrozza is no longer a real insider tip, even if it is a little quieter after fresh snowfall than in the absolute hotspots. There are of course also opportunities for ski tours from the numerous lifts, with the Cima Valcigolera offering a rewarding descent with a short ascent.

Although the Roter Stein is somewhat hidden, it is still a much-visited classic. Understandable, as it starts quite steeply almost directly from the parking lot and offers interesting terrain almost all the way to the summit. Only the last few meters have to be covered on foot...

On ski tours (at least for me), the hardshell jacket spends almost the entire ascent either in or on my backpack. As I only wear it for the descent, I started looking around for a lightweight model without any frills and ended up with the Alpha FL from Arc'teryx. What was important to me was a robust, high-quality and relatively durable membrane, and the Alpha FL also uses Goretex Pro (in contrast to the Alpha SL, which is identical in terms of cut and details but slightly lighter, which uses Goretex Paclite), which promises long-lasting weather protection.

With the expiry of Dynafit's patent in 2012, the monopoly in the pin binding market is also history. This not only led to a certain boom, but also to numerous new developments from various manufacturers. While some models differ only in detail from the original Dynafits, others have been significantly further developed.

The fact that Courmayeur has a lot to offer freeriders has become increasingly well known in the north of the Alps in recent years (it took long enough). However, Rudy Buccella's guide, which was published in 2012, is relatively unknown. Reason enough to present it in a PowderGuide review.

With the "Black Edition", Fritschi has brought out a revised version of the Vipec for this season, which, like its predecessor, combines maximum safety with high ease of use, light weight and great downhill performance. We have already tested the binding.

Thanks to the successful Quest series, Salomon has long been an established name in the field of strongly downhill-oriented boots with a walking function. For the current season, the MNT Lab and the MNT Explore are the first two "real" ski touring boots. These already visually striking boots promise excellent downhill performance in addition to low weight and good ascent properties. We took a closer look at the "smaller" model, the MNT Explore.

The Schwarztor is not one of the great classics in Zermatt for nothing. After a short but impressive ascent, you reach the Schwarztor, which provides a passage northwards between Breithorn and Pollux to the Schwarzgletscher and the descent on the same. This is certainly not the most challenging descent in the area, but the landscape experience and, above all, the ratio of ascent to descent altitude meters are among the best.