Freeride Testival 2026 | Hochfügen

The event

PowderGuide will be presentat the four stops of the Freeride Testival 2026 as a weather partner and with a joint stand with Penguin: The Powder Collective. Other exhibitors are well-known brands from the ski industry who will be presenting their freeride portfolio. Not only ski manufacturers are represented, the latest snowboards can also be tested! You can find the other stops in our event calendar.

Friday

Before the event starts on Saturday, the organizers have invited everyone to the industry evening. The night ski tour starts at the 8er Jet with destination 8er Alm. We get talking to exhibitors and other familiar faces right from the start. Timo and Pablo quickly lose me (Till on the splitboard), but that's no problem on a piste ski tour.

On the way I meet Joe, who has been left behind by Racing Ralf. But we take up the chase (at least that's what it feels like to me, as we overtake numerous ski tourers and my heart rate rises to 180). As Timo and Pablo surprisingly manage to take a wrong turn, I still reach the restaurant before them and am already proudly drinking my first non-alcoholic wheat beer when they arrive.

The evening is rounded off with a delicious pizza and a relaxed chat with the numerous exhibitors. In the end, we were in bed far too late for the 6.30am alarm clock, but it was worth it!

Saturday

Early in the morning, the small test festival area filled up with numerous motivated visitors. Despite the generally rather modest snow conditions, everyone was busy testing and talking shop. The PowderGuide Penguin stand was also very busy. We were very happy about the many nice encounters and conversations. In between, there was even time to test a few skis ourselves and gather first-hand impressions.

The Spurart team provided the perfect soundtrack throughout the day. Finally some relaxed electronic sounds and not that typical après-ski drone that makes you wonder whether you've landed on the slopes or at Ballermann. From 2:30 p.m. onwards, the whole thing flowed seamlessly into the official after-party: cool beer, good music and lots of happy faces brought the test day to a relaxed close.

Freetour guiding with Penguin

Let's go, get your skis on and join in - my freetour freeride day at the FreerideTestival - As part of the collaboration between PowderGuide and Penguin, I (Pablo) took part in the freetour course for beginners in Hochfügen on Saturday.

A little about me

I would describe myself as an average ski tourer, freerider and occasional avalanche analyst. If you asked me how to create a snow profile, I'd probably dig out a 30 x 30 cm column, mumble something halfway intelligent and hope for the best.

I've skied all over Tyrol and even a bit around the globe. I've dug many snow pits for fun, but I've never taken a proper course; I've mainly learned from experienced friends and, of course, YouTube videos.

To be honest, I wouldn't call this course a course. It was real touring in real terrain with real learning on the go.

Who is this course for?

For beginners in ski touring (from zero to around 50 tours) and even for people who have already planned a few tours on their own.

On Saturday, our group was a diverse mix of all kinds of people: a mother who wanted to teach her daughter how to ski tour, a couple of doctors who wanted to improve their touring skills and even a ski instructor who wanted to get away from the slopes. Different walks of life, but the same love of adventure.

How was the course?

The ski instructor Pauli started the day by testing our ability to interpret the current avalanche report for the region. We discussed the different stability of the snow layers and where we would find them on our tour.

He introduced the safety measures and equipment we should always be aware of (checking equipment, avalanche beepers, preparing for emergencies...). A small note: I think this is something that many people take for granted. Every year I do a gear check with my friends and every year there is someone with a broken probe, a forgotten shovel, dead batteries and so on.

Back to the tour: it began with us starting out and climbing up to an already prepared snow column. To my surprise, he didn't perform the typical 10-10-10 tap test on the top of the 30x30 column, but instead a sideways 5-5-5 tap test. He pointed out that this test allows the compatibility and stability of the snow to be recognized more quickly, something he often uses on his tours. Then we read the snow layer fracture and the extended weak layers. He took his grid scale to measure the different grain sizes and explain the dangers they pose on the ascent and even the descent.

After a thorough analysis of the snow conditions, we followed the tour up to a ridge at an altitude of 2310 meters. On the way up, he not only taught us the correct zigzag technique, but also showed us how to read the surroundings: the valley, the colors, the riverbeds ... and how the danger can change when the avalanche danger rises from level 1 to level 4.

From the summit, the view over the valley and even Innsbruck was breathtaking. We even got out our apps to try and name the surrounding peaks. After a well-earned meal, it was time to ski down. Pauli pointed out safe stopping points where the snow might be difficult to ski and explained how to ski on deep powder snow. The conditions were not the best and put each of us to the test, even causing the ski instructor himself to fall.

It was a little reassuring to see that even the experts struggled when the snow changed from deep powder to hard, ski heavy snow. Unfortunately, the day came to an end far too quickly. But not without a good beer and an exchange of impressions between us all.

Conclusion

If the FreerideTestival is coming to your area, do yourself a favor: Take part in the Freetour course. For €120 you get a whole day of skiing, freeriding, avalanche safety and expert instruction; all in one unforgettable mountain experience. Climb up, learn, ski down, have fun!

Be part of it!

Back at the festival site, the raffles are already being eagerly evaluated. In the PowderGuide raffle, the amount of precipitation below the zero degree mark on the Loassattel had to be guessed. The prizes include a snowboard from Korua with a PowderGuide Penguin fleece hoodie, a ski helmet and goggles combo from Head, fast goggles from Dynafit and, last but not least, first aid kits from Deuter. The winners were beaming as they accepted their prizes at the awards ceremony. The snowboard was even taken out on the same day - luckily the first aid kits stayed packed!

In the afternoon, light snowfall sets in, surprising one of the Testival participants as he takes a nap on our PowderGuide deckchairs. Slightly snowed in, we dismantle our stand and look forward to the next stop of the FreerideTestival in Montafon.

Next stop

The next stop of the Freeride Testival will take place on February 7 and 8 in the Silvretta/Montafon ski area. Come along and test the equipment for next season! PowderGuide will of course be there again with a new snow depth prediction game, we look forward to seeing you!!!