Axamer Lizum

The small family ski resort of Axamer Lizum became famous above all for the 1964 and 1976 Olympic Games, but most freeriders and ski tourers are now also familiar with it - and not just because of the Freeride Qualifier event, which has been taking place in the impressive setting of the Kalkkögel for several years now.

The FWT calls the event in Fieberbrunn 'Crunch Time' and that's exactly what it was. Contests in Nendaz and Axamer Lizum had to be canceled due to the high risk of avalanches. Read all about the latest ContestHappenings here:

Apart from the FWQ in Jasna, not much happened in terms of contests during the last carnival week. The FWT organizers looked at locations in new countries for possible contests, there is a wildcard competition for the X-Over Ride and both the FWT tour stop in Fieberbrunn and the 3* qualifier in the Axamer Lizum had to be postponed due to the weather.

The first contests are coming up, with Japan and Tyrol kicking things off. As the start of the FWT season is still two weeks away, let's take a quick look at the In&Outs of the FWT starting field.

Little has changed since the last article, especially in terms of the snow situation. A few more event dates have subsequently been added and the Freeride World Tour has extended contracts with ski resorts.

Thanks to a combination of lift and bus connections, the tour to the Gamskogel from the Axamer Lizum allows you to collect plenty of downhill meters without having to exert yourself too much on the ascent. In addition, the tour offers many options that can be combined as the mood takes you and, thanks to the shady orientation of the slopes, good snow can often still be found a few days after the last snowfall.

On Saturday, 14.03.15, the Axamer Lizum presented itself in its second attempt at the FWQ 3* event with sunshine, a great atmosphere in the Hoadl and good conditions on the contest slope: the Hochtennboden. The participants Julian Zenzmaier and Jochen Mesle were on site for PowderGuide and report on their impressions.

Accumulated precipitation, also known as orographic precipitation or precipitation on a slope, occurs when air masses hit an obstacle and are lifted by it. The air becomes colder the higher it rises and when it reaches a certain level, the water vapor it contains condenses. Small droplets or ice crystals form, which precipitate as soon as they have reached the required size.

The Kalkkögel in Tyrol are located southwest of Innsbruck between the Axamer Lizum and Schlick 2000 ski resorts. It is precisely this location that could now be the protected area's undoing. The ski areas are to be connected by a lift that runs through the middle of the protected mountain area. The Austrian Alpine Association recently launched a petition in an attempt to counterbalance the ever-increasing political lobbying of the planners.

We have a short review of the Open Faces FWQ stops in Axamer Lizum and Kappl for you by rider reporters Jochen Mesle and Julian Zenzmaier. The Freeride World Qualifier in Axams was held as a 3* event for the first time this year and put on a correspondingly big show. Exactly one week later, the third stop in Kappl (2*) also took place. The contest face on the Quellspitze, already known as a Freeride World Tour alternative location, had great snow conditions right to the end thanks to the good slope location (south-east), so nothing stood in the way of the contest taking place.

For the first time, the Open Faces Axamer Lizum was held as a 3-star Freeride World Qualifier, and the performance density and starting field in the Lizum were accordingly high-caliber, as the face unfortunately only offered a few opportunities. For the first time in the history of the Open Faces series, the winners came from four different nations.

New date: 14-16.02.2014. As part of yesterday's Open Faces Kick Off Party in Innsbruck, the Open Faces organizers also announced the new date for the postponed three-star competition in the Axamer Lizum. This is now to be held on the second weekend in February, i.e. from February 14th to 16th. However, the date for the Open remains open due to the unchanged snow conditions; the Open Faces crew will also provide an update on this next Saturday, January 11.