Freeride World Tour

Anyone living the dream of freeriding in Austria can learn from the best. Snowboard vice world champion Flo Orley and FWT winner Stefan Häusl have left their active careers behind them - and are now passing on their knowledge to the next generation. Orley as co-founder of the Freeride Academy Innsbruck, Häusl as a coach for young freeride pros on the Arlberg. The impressive offspring from their own ranks proves that both are doing it right: Stefan's daughter Jana is the current FIS Freeride Junior World Champion and Flo's daughter Momo is already a two-time European Champion U14. Freeride DNA literally runs in the family in Austria.

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 season is coming to an end, but the snow is returning once again and the contest scene is in full swing - with the SLVSH Cup, Natural Selection, Spring Battle and more. There are also exciting insights away from the slopes: a documentary about the black snowboard scene, an all-girls street film and two projects from Mt. Hood that show the unique scene there.

Tiemo Rolshoven is 21 years old and has been competing for Germany on the Freeride World Tour since last season. He is known for big tricks, but also shows consistently good skiing in extremely technical terrain. In a brief interview at the first FIS Freeride World Championships in Ordino-Arcalis, he told us how he got into freeriding and how he would characterize himself as a skier.

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.

The season is drawing to a close - for some, for others it's just getting started. Whatever stage you're at and whatever medium you're on, there's something for you this week. We get glimpses behind the NST scenes with Ellery and Jared, Ebba takes us to Kashmir, India, and squeezes into the gondola. The Bunch shoots probably the coolest promotional video for Klättermusen, and Mark McMorris says thank you - and we say it back: here's to lots more snowboarding!

"All good things come in threes" is often said, but it is not always true. This time, "exceptions prove the rule" would probably be more accurate. Due to the snow conditions, no Freeride World Tour contest can take place in Fieberbrunn either.

March ushers in spring - and to match, here's my favorite short film by Finn Bilous, which has just been released. We also go snow camping in the Swiss Alps and Manu Bernard presents his unique style of season recap in pure, simple art. The full review of the Nines is online with breathtaking footage and we get exciting insights into the development of a new Armada snowboard.

The Freeride Worldtour confuses Kühtai with the Caucasus. Lots of helping hands, a good atmosphere in the sunshine, spring temperatures and a freeride community that, after a little foretaste, is first disappointed and then happy. A community that shows why it is so nice to be part of it.

The new Freeride World Tour season is already in full swing. An exciting start to the 2026 season, in which the best freeriders in the world will be chosen on one and two boards. PowderGuide will once again be reporting live and up close from the tour this year. This year, we have already had the opportunity to interview one of the absolute high-flyers of recent years and get her in front of the lens. It's about the path away from the pressure to perform in the alpine system, mental low points on the Freeride World Tour and the search for true freedom on the mountain. Lena talks openly about her journey from racing to freeriding. It's about learning from mistakes, process-oriented thinking instead of fixating on results, responsibility in risky sports and why she now skis lines by feel and not by points.

Piper Kunst steals the show. Armada's Team Movie makes history, Snowboard Heaven unfolds in Riksgränsen, the Japan Team Movie celebrates its 20th anniversary, a Nasa station appears in the Pyrenees - and finally there's a comedy hit.