Freeride World Tour

We are celebrating the upcoming cold snap with the films of some of our best friends, first and foremost Max Hitzig and Valentin Rainer. We are also very happy to finally follow Max Kroneck and Jochen Mesle's bike-ski trip through the Balkans - a great adventure. Finally, Krister Kopala emancipates himself and releases his first major film of his own, with exciting steep face snowboarding.

In any case, the high pressure is over for now and we're in for a cold snap in the next few days, hopefully with more than just cosmetic snowfall. And yes, the Alps urgently need snow! The upcoming FWT finals in Fieberbrunn and Verbier could use it, as could all of us, and finally northern Italy, which is already fearing the next summer drought. We can find reason for hope further above us, in the stratosphere.

On Friday, the FWT made up for the stop planned as the start of the tour at the infamous Ozone Face in Kicking Horse, Canada. The highest art of freeriding was on offer: Snowboarder Liam Rivera won as a rookie for Mexico, on skis Max Hitzig and Valentin Rainer confirmed their huge potential, and in the women's event rookie Megane Betend won on skis and Michaela Davis-Meehan on snowboard. The riders have been cut and are now heading to the finals in Fieberbrunn and Verbier.

The VdW are all about the tour stop planned for today in Kicking Horse, Canada. The stop was originally planned as a prelude, but was postponed due to difficult conditions. Now 40 cm of fresh snow have been reported in the Ozone face and everything is now set for a great show. We have put together some background reports as a pre-program, enjoy!

The first two stops of the FWT have already been completed and although the snow conditions were difficult, the action was impressive. In Andorra, the race was held on the Pic Des Les Planes, in the same face as the 2022 stop. This terrain offers many options for line choice, starting with a steep and technical section and then offering countless small to medium-sized obstacles, mostly characterized by flat landings.

The VdW strive for your favor with the greatest possible variety: FWT, The Fifty, Scandinavian, high alpine and north alpine vloggers, a new ski boot, a book tip, a podcast and finally the right music! Just see for yourself what you like, there should be something for everyone!

Both winter in the Northern Alps and the FWT have started all over again. Although there are no moving images of the PowderAlert yet, there are all the more of the FWT, as the second stop is already history. We recommend taking a look at freerideworldtour.com, where you can efficiently zap through several hours of replays!

It was a party! The FWT took place in the Spanish Pyrenees for the second time in a row and it already seems to feel very much at home here. Under blue skies and in partly difficult, partly fantastic snow conditions, it was especially the performances of the local heroes that had hundreds of spectators cheering. It's clear: control wins points but Air&Style wins events, and young rookies win against old hands. A great start to the season!

The FWT season starts next weekend. As many have already noticed, the Freeride World Tour has been swallowed up by the FIS. Little will change in the upcoming season, at least for spectators. What this step means for the medium-term future of contest freeriding is still up in the air.

As usual, we present the best freeride content on the internet. Nothing more needs to be said today, see for yourself!

As a skier, I realize that snowboarders always have a special approach. Their flow and style are different, they glide or float along and it looks as if they can sometimes let themselves go completely - just let go. I watch this with admiration and since the advent of splitboards, you don't have to feel so sorry for them in their other movements. So today we are concentrating on snowboard films.

We are once again offering you the best mix of ski styles in various formats and languages for New Year's Eve and hope there is something for everyone! Laura Obermeyer makes a strong statement! And what is Hendrik Windstedt actually doing? Happy New Year!