Freeride

"Oh bella Italia" - It's always surprising how chilled it is on the southern side of the Alps. The small village of Madesimo, nestled in a wide basin, offers a special freeride experience with the Pizzo Groppera. On good days, the skins stay in the backpack, which is why today we present a tip without any ascent. Many descents go over 1,000 m towards the valley. Tired legs are guaranteed in the evening!

Large ski resorts have it all: Hundreds of kilometers of perfectly groomed slopes, numerous lifts, often almost endless off-piste options and snow from December to the beginning of May. And yet it is often the small resorts where you have the most fun.

Valyo Peltekov is one of the founders of the "Bulgarian Freeride Team" and is a passionate freerider and FWQ rider himself. He is committed to the Bulgarian freeride scene, for example by organizing freeride events such as the Doncho Invitational. It recently emerged that the main sponsor of the Bulgarian Freeride Team is involved in a massive corruption scandal. Valyo explains how he dealt with it and what the consequences were for the team.

We are delighted to be able to offer a place at the training session, the next level camp and the end-of-season chillout again this year together with risk'n'fun. risk'n'fun is the training program of the Alpine Club Youth. In addition to learning technical skills, the freeride camps also focus on "human" topics such as group dynamics and personal risk perception.

"Your posts are constantly encouraging people to go powdering all over the world. What's the point! I think it's fatal in view of the ecological consequences." We are always happy to receive reader feedback, even if it is critical, like this message that Roman recently wrote to us. If a Facebook message then turns into a meaningful discussion and an entire article, we are all the more pleased. PG reader Roman Bonderer criticizes the contradictory (travel) behaviour of many winter sports enthusiasts:

Situated in the Hohe Tauern at 2,565m in the middle of the Ankogel ski resort, the Hannoverhaus was reopened in 2013 and has been run by the young hut keepers Elisabeth and Christopher König since the 2016/2017 season. Elisabeth and Christopher always have an open ear and are happy to respond to their guests' wishes. Whether you need a TouringTip or the weather conditions for the next day, the two are always on hand with help and advice.

"Is it time to stop seeing Dynafit as a purely ascent-oriented (ski) manufacturer?" The product developers probably asked themselves this very question a few years ago and expanded the range to include some downhill-oriented ski models. The Dynafit range is now divided into four areas: Race, Speed, Tour and Free. The Beast 108 is the widest and most downhill-oriented ski in the Free segment.

The small Mallnitz/Ankogel ski resort is inconspicuously hidden in the north-westernmost corner of Carinthia. But there is absolutely no reason to hide: with just a few meters of ascent, you can reach enormous descents of almost 1,800 meters in altitude, which should be on every freerider's to-ski list. Overnight stay in a hut in pole position included.

Our globetrotting Skibum correspondent Zach talks about life in the "Corvus" apartment, a rotten vacation home in the chronically muddy part of Las Leñas, behind the garbage containers of the big hotels, where a sworn crew of Las Leñas enthusiasts meet up year after year. But: the future of the Corvus family is uncertain because the lift operator is making life increasingly difficult for freeriders.

Due to the whims of nature, a glacier grotto has formed on the Steinberg route, which can even be accessed (carefully!) on skis or a snowboard. Conditions reporter Christian Berner describes his impressions.

From 23 - 25.03.2018, the snow-covered playground of the Silvretta-Bielerhöhe was once again the setting for a fantastic freeride spectacle. For the 6th time, 35 snow-hungry skiers, snowboarders and telemark skiers gathered at the Saarbrücker Hütte to celebrate the Back on Track Feel Free Ride Contest 2018. OMG stands for "Oh My God" and describes the BOT 2018 pretty well, but still doesn't quite do the experience justice!

The Arcane Split from the French board brand Borealis, which has been on the snowboard market since 2013, was named "Big Mountain Splitboard of the year 2018" by Splitboard Magazine. Not only the award, but above all the performance-oriented yet eco-friendly design made me curious about the Arcane Split and the improvements that the splitboard world has seen in recent years.