Tobias Huber

Apart from the FWQ in Jasna, not much happened in terms of contests during the last carnival week. The FWT organizers looked at locations in new countries for possible contests, there is a wildcard competition for the X-Over Ride and both the FWT tour stop in Fieberbrunn and the 3* qualifier in the Axamer Lizum had to be postponed due to the weather.

After two World Tour stops in Andorra, the FWT riders are gradually arriving in the Eastern Alps and are taking part in the 3* FWQ in Montafon, for example, or are watching or familiarizing themselves with the local snow conditions in Fieberbrunn. We are all hoping for snow and that a safe contest can be held in Fieberbrunn or perhaps somewhere else.

Last Wednesday, the catch-up event for the canceled stop of the Swatch Freeride World Tour (FWT) in Chamonix took place in bright sunshine in Andorra. Lorraine Huber (AUT) and Leo Slemett (FRA) won the so-called "Swatch Freeride World Tour Chamonix-Mont-Blanc Staged in Vallnord-Arcalís" on skis and Marion Haerty (FRA) and Christoffer Granbom (SWE) on snowboard. FWT newcomer Manuela Mandl took third place. The 2*FJT Silvretta Montafon also took place on Sunday!

Despite all the ISPO hustle and bustle, contests still took place last weekend. So that our readers don't miss anything, here is a brief overview of the events of the last few days, including results and videos.

As was to be expected, there are hardly any innovations or groundbreaking new products in the ski sector for the 2017/18 season. Ultimately, almost all manufacturers are taking up the ideas from previous years and presenting them in the form of further expanded freetouring series. They try to differentiate themselves from one another through various lightweight construction methods and sometimes incorporate complex designs into the ski structure, or offer a cheaper price point or entry-level model. Flagship models are given an asymmetric sidecut with an asymmetric tip design, which is presumably a foretaste of the ski design in the coming years. As we saw last year, powder twin tips continue to die out for many major manufacturers. There are more and more directional, lightweight skis with center widths of 90-110mm or for "bad snow".

The contest season has begun. Six competitions have already taken place in the past week: Hakuba, Verbier and Kappl kicked things off. While it was difficult to find a suitable weather and time window in Hakuba due to the constant snowfall, the snow cover in the Alps is still thin, but apparently it is already good enough for contests. Hopefully also for the planned start of the FWT in Chamonix next weekend!

The first contests are coming up, with Japan and Tyrol kicking things off. As the start of the FWT season is still two weeks away, let's take a quick look at the In&Outs of the FWT starting field.

Dalbello continues to develop the three-piece convertible ski boot design in the direction of ascent performance and presents a touring boot for the 16/17 season that should score points with both its downhill and ascent properties. We have been using the boot since spring 2016 and want to compare it with the normal Lupo and Krypton as well as with similar boots in its class.

Little has changed since the last article, especially in terms of the snow situation. A few more event dates have subsequently been added and the Freeride World Tour has extended contracts with ski resorts.

This season, PowderGuide has a new "ContestHappening" section. Over the past few years, we have already reported intensively on the various Freeride World Tour competitions, their qualifier and junior events, as well as the ever decreasing number of independent events. We want to continue to do this, just in a different form: Instead of selective reporting, we will provide an overview of the latest happenings in competition-oriented freeriding in a regular, weekly column in mid-winter. Our rider reporters will also continue to provide a direct insight into individual contests.

Airbag backpacks are now a dime a dozen, from all-round backpacks to touring backpacks, the market is well served. Scott has also been offering backpacks with integrated airbag systems for several years. After switching from the Snowpulse to the Alpride system, the range of different backpacks has been greatly expanded. We tested the AirFree AP12 Pro: A very lightweight, compact model with an integrated back protector and a focus on carrying comfort.

Part 1 of the ISPO Report 2016: You could almost copy the text of last year's ISPO article, because the biggest trend in ski models is still: 15% lighter. Sometimes even 20%, but mostly with the same shapes. Balsa or paulownia wood in combination with carbon or particularly light fiberglass, depending on the price range, promise the same performance with noticeably less weight on the foot. Weight is now being saved on all wider ski models, not just the uphill-oriented ones.