Davos

The Backcountry Weeks are organised by GoVertical, an association of local mountain guides from the canton of Graubünden. They works together with the local destinations, in this case Davos/Klosters. On the long weekend in January, from 25/01/2024 to 28/01/2024, the 9th edition of the Backcountry Weekend took place in Switzerland's legendary winter sports destination. Backcountry Week 2024 offered a comprehensive and varied programme for all kinds of backcountry enthusiasts.

Dr. Benjamin Walter is a physicist by profession. He works at the SLF (Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research) in Davos and is primarily concerned with snow physics, specifically the changes to snow crystals caused by wind transport and the resulting risks to the snowpack structure. Christiane Eggert interviewed him for us.

The backcountry weekend in the legendary winter sports destination of Davos will take place for the 9th time on the last weekend in January. The Backcountry Week 2024 offers a comprehensive and varied program. Participants of all skill levels will get their money's worth as part of various guided ski and splitboard tours, technique and avalanche courses.

This week we introduce you to the next round of our PowderGuide team. Sebastian earns our PowderGuide weather, Johannes has been with PowderGuide for a while and takes care of the IT and Toni, Josh and Timo rock social media.

The WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF is opening its doors in Davos on June 24, 2023. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the researchers will give all interested parties an insight into their diverse activities.

Johan Gaume is a professor at ETH Zurich and the new group leader of snow and avalanche research at the SLF in Davos. He is also a pretty gifted snowboarder! Gaume combines his hobby and profession with avalanche research. His research plays a major role in the development of 3D snowboard simulations and is of great interest to ski tourers and freeriders.

Piste guns or snow farming sites - all there to herald the start of the winter season as early as possible. But what is behind these two methods and do we really need them?

The SLF issued its first avalanche bulletin on December 21, 1945. Since then, avalanche risk forecasting has developed significantly. However, despite all the technical advances, specialist knowledge and the assessment of experts are still required today.

The Jatzpark on the Jakobshorn in Davos is not only popular with the local freestyle scene, but is also known beyond the regional and national borders for its short but sweet park laps. The Davos PG crew also likes to ride here, especially earlier season before the powder arrives.

Many ski resorts may be closed in spring, but the ski touring season is not over yet. But where is the white gold? Especially at this time of year, information is scarce - avalanche warning services have stopped their daily reports, few ski tourers report on the conditions and generally speaking, ski tours are simply difficult to imagine when you're lying in the sun in the valley wearing shorts.

If you imagine snow-covered slopes and powder runs, Spyder is perhaps not the first brand that comes to mind when it comes to freeride clothing. The Spyder product development and marketing department took this missing association to heart and, together with professional athlete Amie Engerbretson, developed a collection for female freeriders that can hold its own in both touring and freeriding thanks to clever detailed solutions.

Célia Lucas, 29, has been an avalanche forecaster at the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF in Davos since last winter. In this interview, she tells us how she ended up in Switzerland from Luxembourg, about her day-to-day work at the SLF and how her profession also accompanies her on private ski tours.