Ben Richards

April, April - VDW is back, for the penultimate time this season. It's not over until it's over, and that's exactly how this winter feels. I've brought you lots of spring edits, including a conspicuous number of Swedes - like Bjarne's new web series Fika, in which he accompanies ski and snowboard legends through their everyday lives. There's also NUBZ TV with Freeride World Tour icons Ben Richards and Toby Rafford as well as a documentary that is particularly close to my heart: Into Altai with Victor Daviet - on the road in the UAZ bus through Mongolia.

Liam Rivera shows mental strength, but is not fully rewarded for it. Victor de Le Rue crashes, but still takes home the victory. The men's skiers show an incredible level with five riders above the 90-point mark. Mia Jones dominates the field of female snowboarders and takes a start-to-finish victory as a rookie. In the women's skiing, on the other hand, everything is shaken up once again.

The dream of many young athletes was to come true. To be able to leave their tracks in the (still) untouched nature of Alaska and join the small group of Freeride World Tour riders who have already had this privilege. Never-ending white slopes, bright sunshine in freezing temperatures and the best freeriders in the world. This calls for fun, action and thrills as well as crunchtime in the first part of the final events of a special kind.

Freeride history was written in Ordino Arcalís on February 3rd, 2026. 65 riders from 17 nations met for the FIS Freeride World Championship for the first time. According to the locals, the region is currently experiencing its best winter in over ten years - it would be hard to imagine better timing. Although persistent fog initially caused delays, the patient wait was rewarded. As the sky cleared, the snow-covered, playful and rocky "Basser Negre" face opened up and was ready for great moments. The legendary face enjoys cult status in the FWT scene. Iconic runs have been carved into the snow here before and the first Freeride World Championships also added a few new chapters to the story.

Val Thorens has once again delivered. We were supposed to go up the legendary Cime Caron, but Mother Nature had other plans. Too little snow, too much risk. So we moved to the Pointe de Thorens (3,266 m). Sounds like plan B, but it felt more like a jackpot: steep faces, technical sections, fresh powder and a French crowd that was so loud that you could hear some of the riders before the start. Between slope inspection in the fog and bright blue skies at the contest, there was that typical FWT magic: improvised, chaotic, but in the end legendary for exactly that reason. The second stop of the Freeride World Tour 2026 was not a fair weather event, but real freeriding with all its ups and downs.

Blue skies, fresh snow and 3,000 fans who turned the slope into a cauldron. The start of the Freeride World Tour by Peak Performance 2026 could hardly have gone better. At the Baqueira Beret Pro by Movistar, the legendary Tuc de Bacivèr celebrated its comeback as a venue for the first time since 2023. And the slope immediately showed why it enjoys cult status among freeriders. Despite the challenging snow cover after fresh snow and wind, everything came together on the day of the contest. The riders heard the noise of the crowd right at the start, let it push them - and delivered bold lines, big airs and genuine world-class freeriding.

This week has it all. The two Kiwi-Bens present a cinematic masterpiece that they shot in their home country. Sage Kotsenberg delivers one of the coolest intros ever, whose animated style evokes nostalgic memories of old games. There's also one of the best SLVSH games in a long time - this time as an all-mountain version instead of in the park. And finally, Bucket Clips enters its fourth round: Rosina's passion project, which brings together women and FLINTA people in the freeski scene.

Old Man Winter is awakening - and October marks the start of the ski and snowboard film premiere season. Today we have an overview of what you can expect in the coming weeks: Which releases are coming up, which trailers are already out, and for some projects we only know the name so far. A few releases for new ski models are already online, as well as a fresh gear guide. We also take a quick look back at the season in the southern hemisphere: what happened in New Zealand and South America? It's good to be back - here's to a great start to the winter! There have already been a few highlights: look forward to Zeb, Nikolai and Trygg.

I am very happy about the breath of fresh air that Hannes Hemper brings to the videos of the week. As always, you’ll get the latest clips from the heroes of my generation and the best picks from my YouTube subscriptions. Today, Xavier de le Rue makes a comeback with a new VLOG, Sam Anthamatten is honoured, Candide Thovex shines once again in a 47-second video and Gerhard Wiedemann tells us about his last ski tour in a relaxed manner. I never get enough of these guys!

To be honest, we only managed the VdW every fortnight this season. But not true, we had some nice films! And now, at what feels like the end of the season, we still have something to offer. Hedvig Vessel's great film, a bit of Antti and a king line in the Pyrenees! The VdW wish you a good end to the high-speed season and hereby close the shop.

At the fourth stop of the Freeride World Tour, riders can expect the face of the Wildseeloder in difficult snow conditions. The expected 20 cm of fresh snow overnight turns into 1 cm and the slope is frozen, especially at lower altitudes, due to the previous period of warm weather. On the day of the competition, however, the sun shone brightly and spurred on all participants. Victor De Le Rue, once again in first place, secured the title in the men's snowboard category. Canadian Erin Sauve came out on top in the women's category. Frenchwoman Astrid Cheylus and New Zealander Ben Richards came first on skis.