Freeride Testival 2026 | Silvretta Montafon

The event

PowderGuide will be present at the fourth stops of the Freeride Testival 2026 as a weather partner and with a joint booth 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.

As at the last Testival in Hochfügen, numerous manufacturers have arrived with the new product range for the 2026/27 season. Our partner Atomic will also be there this weekend. The supporting program is again organized by Penguin, with the support of the Schruns ski school in the form of freeride ski technique courses.

Friday

We leave the Arlberg tunnel and head towards Montafon in pouring rain. What a winter... But at the valley station of the Valisera cable car, we see snow on the gondolas coming down from the mountain into the valley. That gives us hope for the coming days.

Over dinner, we discuss our experiences of the last two weeks. Conclusion: almost everyone has been ill and is happy to finally be back on the mountain! To be on the safe side, we drink a few beers to ensure a good night's sleep. Back at the hotel, we set the alarm for 6.00 a.m. and still try to look forward to the next day.

At the Powder Collective booth and between the laps on and off the slopes, there was plenty of chatting with visitors, talking shop, networking with other exhibitors and enjoying the sun in the PowderGuide chairs. As a weather partner, PowderGuide provides the weather and snow forecast for all Freeride Testival tour stops - and was obviously also personally responsible for the perfect weather this weekend.

The Testival day ended with a sunset afterhour on the terrace of the Bella Nova hut. Two DJs from Innsbruck, Dativ Lindkeks and Frida Iron, provided electronic sounds and played on a large stage where international stars usually perform. Many Testival exhibitors, participants and even vacationers who happened to want to enjoy a few drinks danced into the golden sunset.

After a few cold drinks and with tired legs from an intense combination of skiing and dancing, we went straight to bed to start the next day full of energy.

Sunday

The day starts even sunnier than Saturday! And as the day progresses, the clouds in the sky can be counted on one hand. The best conditions for the second day of the Freeride Testival! The rush to the test festival area is just as high as the day before. The location at the top station of the Valisera gondola is ideal for such an event!

People are also busy typing for the snow depth prediction game at our stand, and our PowderGuide deckchairs in the sun are almost permanently occupied. But even away from our stand - just like yesterday - we have the greatest pleasure in exploring the ski area. The phrase "If there was real snow, it would be a mega cool run ..." is also heard a lot on this day. But even with the rather modest snow conditions at the moment, we still find a few good off-piste turns. We diligently test our way through the exhibitors' range and I am envious of the huge selection for my colleagues on skis. Hopefully a few more snowboard manufacturers will make it to the last two stops ...

With the good weather and great atmosphere, the morning feels like it goes by far too quickly. After lunch, there's still time for a tour of the ski area, then it's time for our highlight of the event: the award ceremony for the Silvretta Montafon snow depth prediction game. As this time the correct solution was guessed extremely accurately and by several people at once, the winners are chosen by drawing lots. We are slightly disillusioned to discover that unfortunately none of the winners are still here. Nevertheless, one person comes to our stand beaming with joy to receive their PowderGuide thermos flask! We are delighted to be able to hand over at least one prize in person this weekend.

Then it's time to pack up and load the gondola. Once again, I'm happy about the great weather, because unlike last time in Hochfügen, our clothes aren't completely soaked and don't have to dry in the apartment at home!