2026/2027 Snow Depth Prediction Game

We can’t stress this enough: every year, we get a year older! The same goes for the snow depth prediction game—and now we’re heading into our 11th season! Last season, there were variations of the prediction game at various events, and this season there will be similar versions for the FreerideTestival tour stops—we’ll always be on-site and may even launch an additional local version.

But you should definitely mark at least the second stop in Hochfügen on January 30, 2027, on your calendar—because there, it won’t just be about making predictions and testing, but… ah, no, the rest is still a secret.

For all prediction game enthusiasts, the same rule applies as always: Just filter our magazine for “PowderAlert” and follow our social media channels —then you’ll always know right away when the PowderGuide PowderAlert goes live! It might even kick off as early as the beginning of next week…

The Winners of the 10th Anniversary Edition

Drumroll, applause, and congratulations: A total of 13 regular prediction games as part of PowderAlerts were played during the 2025/2026 season.

Second and third place held their positions among the top three throughout the entire season! It wasn’t until the very last prediction games that Rallef shot to the front, overtaking Mütze and EpsCRC with three perfect predictions!

Congratulations to the three winners!

The prizes for the 2025/2026 season rightfully go to:

1. 1st Place: Rallef wins a pair of skis of his choice from our new partner, Majesty Skis , with a deviation of 0.029! Enjoy them!

2. 2nd place: Mütze wins a PowderGuide insulated hooded jacket with a deviation of 0.037. We’ve just produced a few of these, and they’re currently being printed—which is why they’ll take a little while to arrive. So that Mütze doesn’t have to run around wearing just a hat in the meantime, he’s also getting a PowderGuide merino T-shirt !

3. 2nd Place: EpsCRC wins—with a deviation of 0.046—one of the new PowderGuide fleece hoodies and—ATTENTION—one of the two new extra-long PowderGuide ski straps! Either black (50 cm) or red (65 cm)!

You can find a leaderboard with all the final results in the image.

Congratulations to the winners, as well as to the winners of the special prediction games held during the events! For everyone who came up empty-handed last year: Play regularly and increase your chances of making good picks. And since only the five best picks count toward the overall standings, everyone has a chance to make it onto the podium.

How much snow is the total new snowfall?

The total new snowfall—the key figure here—is defined as the maximum snow depth minus the initial snow depth in centimeters; the image illustrates this concept graphically, with the snow depth shown in green. In this example, the forecast period is about 3 1/2 days with an initial snow depth of 62 cm. During this time, it most likely snowed for two days. In the last few hours, there was little or no snowfall, so the snowpack has settled and compacted. The maximum snow depth was 134 cm, resulting in a total new snowfall of 134–62 = 72 cm.

Please note: Even though some weather stations explicitly display fresh snowfall amounts, our prediction game uses our own definition of the maximum change in snow depth (see above).

Weather stations? We have them now, too!

Since we’re getting a little more mature with each passing year, we’re letting the prediction game mature this year as well and are pleased to announce that there’s something new for this season! We’ll be making predictions exclusively based on weather stations that have recently been added to the PowderGuide map at and are kindly provided by our partner AlpineMeteo at .

Ratio as a Measure of Deviation

The ratio Q is defined as the deviation between the predicted (HN_t) and measured fresh snowfall total (HN_m):

Q = | HN_t - HN_m | / HN_m ,

that is, the absolute value of the difference between the prediction and the measurement, normalized by the measurement. This yields the threshold values Q = 0 for a prediction accurate to the centimeter, Q = 1 for no prediction at all (HN_t = 0), and Q > 1 for a completely off-the-mark prediction... To calculate the percentage deviation, the ratios are multiplied by 100.

Don’t let the ratio formula scare you off.

With every PowderAlert, you’ll get the current standings from the prediction game, so you always know where you stand and who your toughest competition is...

So how do I win?

Only your five best predictions count. That means the overall winner at the end of the season is the person with the lowest average of their five best odds. In plain language, this means you don’t have to submit a prediction for every event , and you can even join the prediction game later in the year. Since this winter is going to be amazing, there will definitely be more than 15 PowderAlerts—or prediction games—this time around.

How do I join?

To join, all you have to do is:

1. Read the PowderAlerts regularly so you don’t miss a prediction

2. Log in with your PowderGuide account

3. Study the PowderGuide weather maps

4. Submit your prediction for the total fresh snowfall as a comment below the PowderAlert

To make sure you’re always notified in time about a new PowderAlert, we’ll keep sending email notifications for each new prediction game until you can subscribe to the PowderAlert yourself through your account! That should be possible this season!

Just contact the prediction game master! Or, follow PowderGuide’s social media channels so you don’t miss any PowderAlerts or prediction games!

Have fun with the PowderGuide snow depth prediction game 2026/2027!

Ullr is keeping his fingers crossed!