Freeride World Tour

The small ski resort of Kappl in the Paznaun Valley has been a household name for most freeriders since the Freeride World Tour stop was relocated from Fieberbrunn to the Quellspitze. Reason enough to introduce you to the short tour to the summit, where even non-pros get their money's worth...

In perfect snow and freeride conditions in the Engadine, the 3* FWQ took place on February 7th in beautiful sunshine on Corvatsch. The 100 freeriders from 19 nations offered the spectators a spectacle in a class of its own: the winners of the World Tour Qualifier were Juan Bergada from Argentina in the ski category and Anna Khankevich from Russia in the women's category. In the men's snowboard category, the winner is Alexandre Alfano from France, who impressed the judges with his fluid run. Anna Orlova completed the Russian double victory in the women's snowboard category. PowderGuide rider reporter Nico Göz was on site and gives us his impressions...

On February 8, 2014, Europe's contest freeride elite gathered once again in Hochfügen to collect valuable points for the Freeride World Qualifier Tour. The 4* event is a highlight for many of the athletes thanks to the perfect organization, the unique supporting program and the perfect terrain - and so, as every year, the numerous spectators were treated to an impressive show. Max Kroneck secured victory in the men's ski category, Flo Orley won the men's snowboard category, Lotten Rapp the women's ski category and Amber Schueker the women's snowboard category.

The Big Mountain Hochfügen 4* FWQ is now an established contest with a very strong field of riders on a slope that can easily compete with most of the FWT faces. This was one of the reasons why the podium places at the 2013 edition were mainly occupied by current FWT riders, above all Loic Collomb-Patton, who qualified for the World Tour with his victory and has been unstoppable ever since. While the conditions on the slopes were pretty good at times due to the difficult winter in the Northern Alps (PowderGuide tested them on site), the mild temperatures and foehn are currently putting quite a strain on the snowpack. Nevertheless, we hope for a successful competition from 08.02.2014 in safe conditions!

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.

At the third edition of Verbier Freeride Week, amateurs and well-known freeriders from all over the world were once again able to compete for one of the coveted starting places. In the three 2* FWQ contests that took place, you had the opportunity to qualify for the 3* final with a very good placing and thus collect some points in the FWQ ranking system right at the start of the season. For PowderGuide, Niko Göz once again reports on his experiences at the event this season.

Loïc Collomb-Patton (FRA) for the skiers and Sammy Luebke for the snowboarders (USA) are the winners of the first stop of the Freeride World Tour in Courmayeur Mont Blanc (ITA). Creative line choice impresses the skiers, control and style the snowboarders. At Cresta Youla, skiers Josh Daiek (USA) and Jérémie Heitz (SUI) and snowboarders Sascha Hamm (GBR) and Ludovic Guillot-Diat (FRA) took second and third place.

The FWT continues its global growth. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Freeride World Qualifier (FWQ) and the Junior Freeride Tour (JFT). Following last season's success, the two event series will include even more individual events in both Europe and America in winter 13/14. With almost 50 FWQ events around the world, riders will have more opportunities than ever before to earn one of the coveted starting spots for the 2015 FWT. Registration for the European events opens on December 2nd!

Most PG readers will be familiar with the name Tom Leitner from his participation in the Freeride World Tour. As one of the first to show freestyle elements in big mountain contests, he is certainly one of those riders who can win a tour stop at any time, as long as he gets his line down cleanly. In addition to contest riding, he also found a little time to film during the past season.

Last weekend, everything revolved around the X OVER RIDE Big Mountain on the Kitzsteinhorn. It was the second year for the organizers within the Freeride World Qualifier series. As expected, the field of riders was very strong: it was not only about the Open Faces overall victory, but also about securing the last points for entry into the premier class, the Freeride World Tour. With bright sunshine and perfect conditions, nothing stood in the way of the crowning finale of the Open Faces Freeride Series. For PowderGuide, participants Julian Zenzmaier and Jochen Mesle were on site and report on their impressions.

The unified Freeride World Tour has crowned its first world champions: Drew Tabke (USA), Ralph Backstrom (USA), Nadine Wallner (AUT) and Elodie Mouthon (FRA). The winners of the final on the Bec des Rosses were Kevin Guri (FRA), Ralph Backstrom (USA), Matilda Rapaport (SWE) and Elodie Mouthon (FRA). The contest took place in very good snow conditions at an absolutely top-class level! Thousands of spectators on site and over 180,000 viewers followed the 18th Verbier Xtreme live via webcast.

French freerider Sebastien "Seb" Michaud first got on skis at the age of three. After five years as a member of the French free-style team, he discovered his passion for freeriding and has since enjoyed numerous international successes. Seb Michaud is now one of the most experienced freeriders in the world. We wanted to get to know the cool Frenchman a little better in a short interview.