Marius Schwager

So far, not too many centimetres of snow have fallen in autumn 2012, the impressive, exciting amounts of snow are still to come. Logically, the freeride world is less inundated with the latest powder shots. Time to take a look at the summer video collection: a splitboarder, a clown skier with a helmet camera, a promotional video and short films from Eastern Europe and South America have made it into this week's selection.

At the end of September 2012, the extreme sports community received the sad news of a disastrous avalanche on the 8156 m high Manaslu, the eighth highest mountain in the world. Due to mountain closures in Tibet, numerous expeditions, some of them with well-known names such as Greg Hill, Glen Plake, Benedikt Böhm and many more, attempted the difficult eight-thousander until an avalanche hit camp three.

Last season we introduced the editorial feature of the best web videos of the week at PowderGuide. Every week we present our subjective finds of the week – with your support again!

We present a new editorial feature on PowderGuide: Every week we will present our subjective net finds of the week here: Freeride-related topics will be picked up and presented – successful blog entries, articles, links to pictures or very special events. Even we can't find all the articles and events worth reporting. We are therefore grateful for your support!

The trail culprit from the Kitzsteinhorn on 14.9.2012 has brought imitators onto the scene! Not only have fresh tracks been discovered on the Kitzsteinhorn, but a copycat has also been found on the Stubai Glacier! Any useful information leading to the public exposure of the perpetrator will be rewarded with a PG cap.

Winter 2012/2013 in the Alps was heralded by a brief "hello awake"snowfall interlude. Not only the PG readership was already (at least partially) eager for the first snow, but the PG team also resumed its winter work.

"The Alps from above": An impressive documentary with a high-quality Cineflex camera will soon be available on the Arte TV channel. Absolutely high quality in the best Arte style, so get your HD screens ready!

"This is Herbert", is how our mountain guide was introduced to me at a recent press event. Not that you necessarily need a mountain guide to hold your hand on an easy glacier hike, but "saying no" would also have been rude. Especially as I immediately liked the contentedly grinning Herbert. Classically tanned skin from the mountain sun and a reassuringly reserved manner, far removed from any alpine swagger. A pleasant conversation revealed that Herbert and I share a passion: Capturing the beauty of the mountains in photographs. What a coincidence that Herbert has just published an illustrated book with two friends. "Austria alpin – The great peaks in Austria". I took a quick look at the large-format work and my mind was immediately made up: this thing is "fat", you have to have it!

Time often passes faster than most people would like. That's what some freeriders from Tyrol thought last winter 2011/2012. The trailer for their film "Time – for the Whiteroom" has just been released and features riders from the German-speaking scene and great images from the "Whiteroom".

Spain has once again won an international soccer title, you're sweating at the thought of physical exercise and on your days off you're shuttling between beach bars, ice cream parlors and air-conditioned rooms. Unmistakable signs of a season with very little snow; which in everyday language is called summer. You can put up with it, or not. A guide to summer escapism?

Slowly but surely and soon, winter 2011/2012 will come to an end. Some people don't want to believe it yet, others have been regulars at the ice cream parlor and beer garden for weeks and the newly acquired beachwear has already been shown off extensively. Time for a brief comeback of the Videos of the Week, which should whet your appetite for the summer – and perhaps also for the winter 2012/2013 – that is soon to follow.

Alpine downhill fun and comfortable ascent performance - that's what many freeriders dream of. When it comes to the characteristics of freeride ski boots, a stable shell and a walking function are required. The Tecnica Cochise is one such ski boot model that caught the attention of the PG editorial team. We tested the Cochise in practice.