Freeride

As more and more freeriders are planning their routes on computers and using GPS devices and smartphones to find their way around and navigate the terrain, the electronic freeride map has been available since December. With the "Scout App" (available for Android and IOS) and the tour planning software "Tour Explorer Live" from MagicMaps, it is now possible to plan your route in advance and be navigated by the "Scout App".

Where devils and demons wreak havoc in the icy expanses, deep in the crevasses, there is nothing to laugh about. At least that's the story of an old legend from Les Diablerets, according to which the devil himself is said to have turned the blooming alpine meadows of Tsanfleuron into a lifeless desert of ice after a gruesome act by a renegade shepherd.

The wealth of freeride variants, their extremely good accessibility with the lifts and targeted marketing have meant that the area around Mont Fort has been teeming with freeriders in recent years. Accordingly, you have to get up early after snowfall if you want to secure your line in the fresh snow. However, if you are prepared to climb up with your skins, you can escape the hustle and bustle and enjoy challenging freeride descents almost on your own. There are plenty of them in the area around the local mountain, Mont Fort.

Every year at carnival time, fur-clad figures make the Lötschental unsafe. The young men dress up as "Tschäggättä", according to an old custom, with fierce larvae (masks) with the intention of scaring schoolchildren and unsuspecting tourists. However, the freeride tour up to Elwertätsch is anything but scary. So it's not at all surprising to see packs of ski tourers heading towards Petersgrat on a beautiful weekend. Nevertheless, the many tour groups should not put you off. You can't complain about a lack of downhill options in the extensive area between the Hockenhorn and the Birghorn.

I've been using the Salomon Guardian for over a season now and it's time to draw a conclusion. From Andermatt to Alaska and from hardpack to bottomless powder, the binding has had to put up with a lot and I want to report on it...

In recent years, Black Diamond has spared no effort to catch up with the big names in ski construction. As is well known, the American company opened its own ski factory in China in 2012. The factory attempts to combine modern ski construction with the demands of sustainability. A large proportion of the electricity consumed is generated by solar power. In addition, all skis are pressed with prepreg fabric (glass fiber layers pre-impregnated with epoxy resin and hardener, the hardening of which is prevented by deep-freezing). This avoids superfluous synthetic resin and at the same time increases process reliability. Most skis are now also fitted with an ABS sidewall.

The organizers SPURart - Design your line, SAAC - snow & avalanche awareness camps, Projekt Berg & Freeride-Map invite you to an avalanche lecture entitled "Die Lawinen reissen an" on Thursday, 27 March 2014.

An exciting freeride weekend took place on the weekend of March 15-16, 2014 in the Schnalstal Valley. Two contests took place at the same time on the South Tyrolean glacier: The "Boardbreaker" association and the Schnalstal Glacier lifts invited 35 starters from three nations to this year's "Freeride Hero" contest, who made their way to the summit "Im hinteren Eis" in less than ideal weather conditions, but perfect snow conditions. At the same time, a group of freeriders from Switzerland, Austria and Germany had already traveled to "Kick The Vik" the day before to take part in the Eco Freeride Tour, a freeride competition designed to take place in harmony with nature.

With the Factor MX, Black Diamond has completely redesigned its established freeride ski boot. The combination of the Triax Pro shell with the MX Dircet Connect connection technology between the shell and interchangeable soles and the FMx Power Liner inner boot is intended to improve both the downhill characteristics and the ascent.

In winter 2013/14, 20-year-old freeskier Adrian Sauter completed the first three camp levels of the Austrian Alpine Club's freeride training program - Risk'n'Fun. On PowderGuide, Adrian reports on his second camp, the five-day 'Next Level', which took place from February 12 to 16 on the Kitzsteinhorn. Here you can find Adrian's report from his second camp participation ...

The organizers of the Nebelhorn Classics have had to cancel the premiere of the planned freeride festival around the traditional Nebelhorn Classics.

76 freeriders from 11 nations conquered the face on the "Stoana Mandl" at the season opener of the Open Faces series on the Hochkönig. After heavy gusts of wind had initially delayed the start, the Hochkönig finally gave the hoped-for GO for the start of the Open Faces and at the same time the start of the Austrian Freeride Series. Birgit Ertl from Radstadt won the women's ski category, Siobhan Challis won the women's snowboard category and skier Maximilian Dettenhofer and snowboarder Andreas Bichler won the men's category. For PowderGuide, participant Stephanie Posch reports on her day at the contest: