Totti Lingott

Warm insulating jackets with a small pack size have been popping up like mushrooms in recent years. The Atom SV Hoodie from Arc'teryx comes highly recommended.

The Alpspitze stands strikingly above Garmisch-Partenkirchen - so striking that it has become the symbol of the northern Limestone Alps. With its north face visible from afar and the dead-straight south-east ridge, the Alpspitze has long since overtaken Germany's highest mountain, the Zugspitze. Every ambitious ski mountaineer should have climbed the landmark of Garmisch-Partenkirchen at least once in their life - and ideally early in the morning before the lifts open, directly from the Stuibenhütte. The descent over the eastern flank with the sweeping view as far as the Bavarian Alpine foothills is breathtaking and unforgettable!

For the first time, the BigLePowSki tour made a stop in Scandinavia from April 13 to 15, 2012. The Dude also had the right nose for this fourth and final event of the winter in Sogndal (Norway), as the temperatures dropped to wintry degrees again just in time and it snowed the finest powder snow that you wouldn't expect even in Norway in April. The BigLePowSki-Happening is organized by Black Diamond and Arc?teryx and is supported by Fritschi, FreerideMap, Pieps and Polartec.

Not so long ago, people still went skiing and touring in the tried and tested woolen undershirts and pants. Nowadays, it's normal for ski underwear to be made from dozens of different textiles and adapted to the body's different requirements in terms of breathability and heat capacity. We put the Arc?teryx Phase SV Comp LS functional shirt under the microscope and subjected it to extensive wear tests during ski tours and freeriding.

The fourth and final BigLePowSki freeski happening of the 2012 season will take place in Norway. For the first time, the Dude is heading north from the European Alps and will be making a guest appearance in idyllic Sogndal from April 13 to 15, 2012! Once again, a series of workshops, testing opportunities and of course the legendary Dude Party await all participants. This time there will also be a photo contest under the care of PowderGuide photographer Baschi Bender. The BigLePowSki event series is presented by Black Diamond, Arc?teryx, Diamir Fritschi, FreerideMap, Polartec and Pieps.

Völkl's widest powder ski is getting an update this winter. Since the Kuro first came onto the market in winter 2008, it has only changed marginally. The 2013 version is now being revised and will be significantly stiffer and therefore heavier thanks to titanium inserts. PowderGuide has already had the opportunity to put the powder weapon through its paces in the deep Tyrolean snow and the rugged off-piste terrain of Disentis.

From March 23 to 25, 2012, the BigLePowSki– event series took place in Chamonix (France) for the first time. No other ski resort in the Alps can keep up with the off-piste possibilities of the five resorts in the Chamonix Valley, so it seemed only a matter of time before the Dude made an appearance here too. With sunshine and good snow conditions, the participants were able to explore the off-piste terrain of Les Grands Montets on Saturday and Brévent / Flégère on Sunday with the local guides. The BigLePowSki is organized by Black Diamond, Arc?teryx, Diamir, Freeride Maps, Pieps and Polartec.

The Engelberg ski resort in central Switzerland is now well known to every freerider. This has the disadvantage that the first-line jostling for the first gondolas can be quite stressful. If the classic variants Laub, Steinberg, Jochstock or Galtiberg have usually turned into moguls after just one day, the descents in particular, which require a little effort (ascent) or alpine know-how, offer lonely descents and are still easy to ski days after the last snowfall. One of these freeride tours, the Titlis circuit, has been considered a classic since the 1990s and every freerider should have done this tour at least once. There are many reasons for this: a magnificent 2700-metre descent, impressive views from Tödi to Finsteraahorn or alpine adrenaline when abseiling are just some of them.

From March 23 to 25, 2012, the third BigLePowSki Freeski Happening of the 2012 season will take place - and for the first time, the Dude will be making a guest appearance in the Mecca of steep face skiing, Chamonix! A series of workshops, testing opportunities and of course the legendary Dude Party await all participants. The BigLePowSki event series is presented by Black Diamond, Arc?teryx, Diamir Fritschi, FreerideMap, Polartec and Pieps.

The Afghan Ski Challenge took place for the second time on March 9, 2012 in the Afghan province of Bamiyan. At Afghanistan's second international ski championship, the locals outclassed the far more experienced racers from the West. Since two Swiss journalists persistently organized Afghanistan's first ski race last year, it has been reported in many international media. The response was overwhelming and this year some well-known outdoor companies offered their support to organize the event in an appropriate setting.

As the little brother of the well-known freeride ski area on the Titlis, the Brunnibahn in Engelberg also offers some interesting downhill options and definitely less crowds. When the slopes in the shadowy area around the Trübsee have long since been groomed, you can still find the odd patch of untracked powder snow on the "sunny side of Engelberg". Among other things, the variants with the ascent towards Rigidalstock and the west-facing descent through Ober Stoffelberg are popular. If you like it a little more alpine and are not afraid of a via ferrata passage with skis on your backpack, then you should take the 700 meters of ascent to this summit in your stride, because the descent has it all.

Sam Smoothy (NZL) wins a stop of the FWT for the first time and then immediately in the freeride mecca of Chamonix (FRA). With his fluid riding style, he clearly set himself apart from Reiner Barkered (SWE) and Oakley White-Allen. The latter now leads the overall standings. In the women's event (skiing), Jaclyn Paaso (USA) could not be beaten by Angel Collinson (USA) and Janina Kuzma (NZL). The snowboard competition was won by French local Douds Charlet (FRA), who finished on the podium ahead of Ralph Backstrom (USA) and his compatriot Aurelien Routens (FRA). The women's podium (snowboard) was also dominated by North Americans: Maria Debari (USA) won ahead of Margot Rozies (FRA) and Shannan Yates (USA).