Patrick Wehowsky

"ISPO is not dead, yet," I wrote last year. This is still true, but the patient is already in intensive care. More and more brands are starting to present their products outside of ISPO, which was also discussed here last year. The snowboard industry was once again a pioneer, as this trend now also seems to have arrived in the ski sector, as our ski article makes clear.

"The Freeride Split was developed to tackle any kind of snow and terrain you might find in the backcountry," says the manufacturer Furberg about its Freeride Split, now in its third generation. We took a look at the current version of the splitboard to see whether it also performs well in the test.

After Deeluxe, Burton or Fitwell have had specific splitboard snowboard boots on offer for some time, K2 has now also been offering a boot with a Vibram sole and rear sole edge for two years with the Aspect. There have been minor changes for this season, but they don't fundamentally change the boot. Find out how it performed in over twenty days of use on-piste, off-piste and in the touring area in our test.

The Snow and Safety Conference in Zürs am Arlberg is now part of the season opener on the Arlberg for the seventh year in a row. After last year's perfect conditions with a sufficient base and an additional load of fresh powder snow just-on-time, the participants and organizers were reminded once again this year that early winter does not always have the thickest snow cover.

PowderGuide was born out of the desire to combine the fun of off-piste skiing with informed and professional risk management in order to ideally be able to spend a lifetime "off-piste". A few years ago, Jeremy Jones summed up this principle in the catchy phrase "live to ride another day".

The Helix Long Sleeve Zip from Icebreaker has probably become my most-used garment over the last year, as it excels in a number of areas.

"ISPO in Munich is of secondary importance for the snowboard industry. The pulse of the industry beats at the retailer trade fair (Shops 1st try) in Alpbachtal."

PowderGuide was there for the second time to give us and you an impression of the conference. The purpose of the two-day event is to update your knowledge of winter terrain just in time for the start of the season.

The documentary "Snow of Tomorrow" was produced in 2016 and broadcast for the first time. By chance, I stumbled across a repeat in the 3sat media library yesterday, which can still be seen for a few more days. So if you have 70 minutes to spare at the weekend: it's time well spent, as the documentary offers a panoramic view of winter tourism in the Alpine countries.

Alongside classic snowboard boot manufacturers such as Deeluxe or Northwave, the Italian company Fitwell, known for its mountaineering boots, was long unknown in the snowboard sector. This changed abruptly about 4 years ago when the first pictures of a crampon-compatible snowboard boot from Fitwell made the rounds in the relevant forums.

After some manufacturers launched the big "powder shape competition" last year, this trend is now entering its second season. In addition to well-known concepts (swallowtail), the trend among many manufacturers is towards short but wide boards, as K2 demonstrated last year.

For the fifth time, the "Snow and Safety Conference" took place in Zürs am Arlberg right at the start of the Ski Arlberg season. The generally difficult conditions in the northern Alps were known in advance, but this did not discourage the organizers from successfully carrying out their supporting program.