Fieberbrunn

After the contest was moved to the replacement face, there was only enough snow for the women's skiing. The men's and women's snowboard and men's ski competitions had to be postponed to Kappl on Tuesday, February 3, 2015 at 8:30 am. On the face in Fieberbrunn, which was peppered with pines and stones, many skiers had difficulties last Saturday and in the end the ladies who were able to calculate the risk correctly and finish their run safely came out on top.

For a long time it looked as if the organizers would have to look for a replacement face. But the snowfall of the last few days made the 2nd stop of the FWT in Fieberbrunn possible. After the first points of the 2015 season were awarded in Chamonix, the search for the perfect run continues in the Kitzbühel Alps.

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.

I feel a little strange as I load my powder skis into the car in bright sunshine, blue skies and almost 20 degrees in the shade. But I'm happy to leave pre-summer Stuttgart behind me and make my way to Fieberbrunn for the Risk'n'Fun Chillout, the last stop on my three-stage freeride training course. As soon as I arrive, I'm already looking forward to seeing the familiar faces from the previous camps this winter.

Due to the difficult snow conditions on the Wildseeloder in Fieberbrunn, the third stop of the FWT, also the 10th anniversary edition of the Big Mountain Fieberbrunn, took place this time in the Paznaun Valley on the Quellspitze in Kappl. Despite the last-minute relocation and the unfamiliar slope, the freeriders performed impressively in the sunshine and challenging snow conditions. The winners were Sam Smoothy (NZL) for the skiers, Sammy Luebke (USA) for the snowboarders, Nadine Wallner (AUT) for the skiers and Shannan Yates (USA) for the snowboarders.

As in all other sports, athletes in winter sports prepare specifically for the upcoming strain long before the actual start of the season. Phil Anker has developed a freeride-specific training program from his many years of coaching professional freeriders such as Matthias Haunholder, Stefan Häusl and Huber Lorraine.

Will all my hours of training in the gym, in the forest and on the meadow since the beginning of January pay off? With these thoughts and a good dose of respect but also a lot of anticipation for the coming week, I get into the car with Thomas, who, like me, was a participant in the risk'n'fun training session in Sölden. In a good mood, we make our way to the Klostertal valley to the Sonnenkopf on the Arlberg, where we continue with Level 2, the next level.

After the 5th stop of the Freeride World Tour in Fieberbrunn on March 9th was postponed by a week due to poor snow and weather conditions, all riders were condemned to hold out. The best freeriders in the world were forced to bridge a few days. German World Tour rider and Fieberbrunn "local" Tom Leitner shortened the waiting time for his fellow riders from the States by organizing a short trip to his home in Berchtesgarden. The freeride spots in the area, such as Obertauern, were also checked out with local Ferdl Winter.

On January 19, 79 rookies (17 women and 62 men) proved themselves in a 2* Freeride World Qualifier where the pros of the World Tour will be battling for victory in just over a month's time. On the Wildseeloder in Fieberbrunn, it was "drop in" shortly after 10:00 am into the Herrgottsrinne at the women's start of the Freeride World Tour. As at the start in the Axamer Lizum, Martin Rofner from the Arlberg stood at the top of the podium at the end of the day. Benedikt Minutillo, Lea Hartl and Stephanie Hamann also won in their respective categories.

Premiere for the newly launched Open Faces Freeride Series! The first tour stop will take place next weekend in the Axamer Lizum.

From 2013, there will be a new way into the Freeride World Tour for ambitious freeriders: the OPEN FACES Series. The newly launched contest series combines many already renowned Freeride World Tour qualifier events in Austria, e.g. X-Over Ride on the Kitzsteinhorn, into an attractive contest series for freeriders in Tyrol and Salzburg for the first time and crowns the overall winner as Austrian freeride champion.

Originally, I "only" wanted to conduct an interview with freerider Pia Widmesser (27) from Kiefersfelden. During the summer months, to get to know her better, to talk about her passion and her sport in peace and quiet. As it's better to meet up with a sportswoman outdoors rather than indoors, we agree to go hiking together. Why not climb the 2118-metre-high Wildseeloder summit? After all, Pia has already skied down the north face of this mountain several times in winter as part of the FWT (Freeride World Tour), in which she has taken part twice so far. Pia certainly thinks it's great and agreed: "I've never been there in summer!"