Tobias Huber

Back in spring, there was a first look at the new Lupo T.I., the crossover boot from Dalbello. As many aspects were already covered there, this article deals with the impression after around 40 days of skiing and the experience gained during the test period.

A lot has happened in recent years when it comes to the downhill performance of touring ski boots. While the development of more stable frame bindings and, most recently, downhill-oriented tech (hybrid) bindings have created a need for boots of this type, top touring boot models with specified flex values of 100-130 have come onto the market, or alpine or overlap designs have been equipped with walking functions and replaceable soles. The Italian ski boot manufacturer Dalbello, which belongs to Marker/Völkl, is now launching a ski touring boot on the market which, as a descendant of the top freeride model KR2 Pro, is a 3-piece or convertible design boot with a walking function, interchangeable soles and tech inserts.

Now it's over, the Alaska tour stop in Haines that overshadowed everything this FWT season. At first it looked as if the Freeride Word Tour entourage would have to travel on without having achieved anything, having sat out the bad weather and made three futile attempts in vain. But then the tide turned: the competition only took place one day after the official time slot. The question of whether the wait and effort for this unique Freeride World Tour stop was worth it was one that many European freeride fans were able to answer for themselves on 23.03.15 on the live stream at prime time. For all those who didn't have the time or opportunity, here is a recap of the event.

The FWT crossed the Atlantic for its fourth and only North American tour stop in 2015 and landed in Haines, Alaska (USA). The field of participants has been reduced in all categories: Only the top 60% of the overall rankings are still taking part in the FWT Alaska premiere. But 2015 will not only be remembered for this first FWT tour stop in Alaska, but also for the following anniversary at the FWT finale: the Verier Xtreme is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

On February 26, 2015, the Swiss ski resort of Zermatt hosted another edition of the Skiers Cup between teams from Europe and America under powder snow and blue skies. The 5th Skiers Cup offered good conditions for the freeski team competition between Europe and America. The European team managed to win back the Skiers Cup trophy in the form of a ski boot. The overall score is now 3:2 in favor of the Europeans.

Since this season, the Swiss alpine specialist Mammut has also been offering a vest in its range of airbag backpacks and is thus consistently working on expanding its freeride range. At first glance, an airbag vest appears to be a purely niche product. In an extensive test, various testers tested the vest for function and practicality and realized that the vest is more suitable for everyday use than they had initially assumed.

George Rodney (USA) for the skiers and Estelle Balet (SUI) and Jonathan Charlet (FRA) for the snowboarders are the winners of the third stop of the FWT in Vallnord-Arcalis. At the stop of the Freeride World Tour 2015 (FWT) in Andorra, which was canceled in Austria and now made up for in Andorra, today's third-placed Felix Wiemers (GER) and today's seventh-placed Stefan Häusl (AUT) punched their tickets for the fourth stage in Alaska.

At the FWT stop in Vallnord-Arcalis on February 13, Hazel Josie Birnbaum (USA) and Sam Smoothy (NZL) won in the skiers' category and Estelle Balet (SUI) and Jonathan Charlet (FRA) in the snowboarders' category. Flo Orley (AUT) took second place and leads the snowboarder rankings. It was the third stop of the season for the freeskiers. Eva Walkner (AUT), who finished second today, is qualified for the fourth stage in Alaska as the overall leader. The competitions in the other three categories that were canceled in Fieberbrunn will be made up for later this week in Andorra.

The Freeride World Tour stop in Vallnord-Arcalis (Andorra) is confirmed for Friday, February 13, 2015. The first riders will start at 10 am. The event has been brought forward by one day to ensure the best conditions for the riders.

The third part of our coverage of ISPO 2015 deals with the new products in the freeride and touring ski sector. As in previous years, a slow evolution continues to take place in the ski sector. We didn't see a revolution in ski design at the trade fair, but we didn't expect one either.

Livigno wants to make a name for itself as a freeride destination and has organized a 4* FWQ to bring together the up-and-coming contest freeriders and show the scene what the duty-free resort in Italy has to offer in terms of terrain. On February 3, 2015, 78 athletes competed against each other in the usual categories of ski men, ski women, snowboard men and snowboard women within 6 hours in Val Cantone.

On the weekend of January 24-25, 2015, some of the best and most motivated freeriders from numerous nations gathered for the fifth time to take part in the 4* Freeride World Qualifier contest. Big Mountain Hochfügen is known for its superb organization and great flair - this year, despite high expectations, we were not disappointed ...