Berner Oberland

Winter camping, relaxed days of skiing and lots of family time: Engstligenalp is where child-friendly skiing, impressive nature and loving attention to detail come together. Why we have been coming back for years - and what makes this "small" ski resort so special.

Nordstau, lovely creature full of mystical power i love thee and thy fluffy shower! The oracle, full of iambs and troches, longs for you and for snow on front porches.

Everyone is waiting for The Big One, albeit for different reasons.

For weeks, keen freeriders have been wandering through the vastness of the Alps in search of powder, like whalers on the ocean in search of lantern oil or pirates in search of bounty. For a long time, there was nothing in sight. But now, finally we can hear: "There she blows, dump backboard ahead!" and there's snow again in the north-western Alps.

"You don't have snow for ski touring in Europe? Let them go heli-skiing in Alaska!". This famous quote from Marie Antoinette about the frequent situation in early winter in Europe famously led to the snowflake revolution of 1999.

Dr. Ullrstein stands impatiently in his laboratory and attaches power cables to season 2025/26, which is laid out in front of him. At the end of October, his capacitors have enough energy for a first power surge and something twitches through the early season.

The life of a cowboy is dusty, hard and full of hardships, just like the freeride season 24/25. But just before Ullr sends the season into retirement, he calls us back to the powder rodeo.

It is easy to imagine that there is a lot of work behind the introduction and further development of a ski touring binding. But here you can find out exactly how the process of feedback from various users, athletes and guides works and what added value this offers for the development process.

After a few more technical issues of Splittie of the Week, this week we would like to give you a few thoughts on choosing suitable terrain for splitboarding. We also mention an area that is certainly not an insider tip among ski tourers, but is particularly suitable for splitboarding, even for beginners.

This Chinese curse (all Sinologists roll their eyes because the oracle is giving out dangerous half-knowledge) describes our coming days quite well. But the oracle wants - no, has to - write something now, even if a lot is still unclear for Friday/Saturday, because it's snowing. And it's actually snowing right through to Saturday with short breaks.

With this last nordstau, Ullr is sending us what could be the last cold snowfall suitable for weekends and the oracle is using this opportunity to bid a highly official farewell to the summer break, as medium range forecast does not look like there will be any more wintry surprises until the end of April.

They have all come to stay.