Freeride World Tour

The qualifier series of the Freeride World Tour 2010/2011 is over. After an exciting, albeit at times very snow-poor season, eight new riders have qualified for the FWT 2011/2012. This means that the field of riders for the official tour stops of the upcoming FWT 2011/2012 has been finalized. However, the FWT is still keeping a lid on how the tour will present itself next winter.

The penultimate stop of the Freeride World Tour 2011 in Fieberbrunn went according to plan in fantastic weather and despite the changing snow conditions on the slope, and thrilled the numerous spectators. The local heroes dominated both the ski and snowboard competitions.

PowderGuide was on location for you in Slovenia at the 2-star FWQ, the Freeride Battle 2011 in Kanin. Our skiing competition freeride reporter Sebastian Fischer was actively supported this time by snowboarder Matthias Zimmermann. The conditions in the south-eastern Alps were amazingly good and the event was a huge success.

Aline Bock, 2010 Freeride World Champion (Snowboard), spoke to PowderGuide about the 2011 Freeride World Tour, snowboarding and her goals as a professional rider. After finishing a surprising second in her first year on the tour, she won the title race in 2010, her second season on the tour.

On 18.10.2010 the organization of the FWT and FWQ published the official event calendar of the qualifying events. As with the announcement of the FWT stops, there are changes and innovations to be observed. A new category, the 4-star events, has been added to the existing 1 to 3-star events. This brings the total number of events on the calendar this season to 28.

At her first Freeride World Tour participation, German snowboarder Aline Bock surprisingly climbed to the second step of the podium. Shortly before the start of the FWT 2010, PowderGuide spoke to the runner-up freeride world champion about her attitude to freeriding and her personal risk management...

Part 2 of the report from our intrepid Chamonix exiles. This time with pictures from the Freeride World Tour Qualifier event, tips on accommodation, a short trip to central Switzerland and, of course, steep couloirs again.

There was once a freestyle student in France who turned his attention to the big mountains. This gave rise to big backflips and fast lines more than a decade ago. This phenomenon has a name: Seb Michaud. To kick off the Freeride World Tour [FWT], we spoke to last year's runner-up of the tour.

During a photo shoot on 28.3.08, snowboard pro and winner of the Freeride World Tour (2010), Xavier de le Rue, triggered a huge avalanche and was swept over two kilometers. Thanks to his avalanche airbag, he survives the accident almost unharmed. In an interview, Xavier comments on the spectacular photos and talks about his experiences and thoughts on the sport and emergency equipment.