Freeride

Julia has done it! Now she stands at the finish line, satisfied and endorphin-laden, celebrating her three 2nd places. She has survived the 2832 meters of downhill.

The friendly freeride contest Kick the Vik is taking a step back to its roots this winter season and is bidding farewell as a qualifier for the Freeride World Tour. From March 22 to 24, 2013, the SAC Maighelshütte on the Oberalp Pass will once again be taken over by a manageable number of deep snow enthusiasts on one board, two thick slats or heel-free. The most impressive line choice and riding style will also win on the contest day. Freeride World Tour criteria ?! No thanks! Our roving reporter Hanna will be at the start again this year at Powderguide to report for you.

The last 12 days of my Japan powder trip offered almost the entire spectrum on my freeride day rating scale: From a solid 9 out of a possible 10 points down to 2. Fortunately, I spent this day in the cozy lodge writing this report. I will stay in Hakuba for a few more days and conclude my photo reportage with this 8th part. At the moment, the conditions are simply howling or just good enough to do one or two descents a day, but I'd rather leave the camera at home.

She has been skiing for as long as she can remember. She skied her first races at the age of six. She later turned her back on alpine ski racing. But she remained true to her passion for skiing. As one of the best freeriders in the world, Sonja Lercher competes in the Freeride World Tour (FWT). The 33-year-old appears for an interview at the International Sports Fair in Munich on crutches after a fall. At the tour stop in Chamonix, the Munich native broke her tibia during a competition. A conversation about forced breaks, backflips, avalanches, tattoos and why trees bring independence into her life.

The announcement for the Freeride Days at the Livingroom promised a lot... Mass start downhill race, avalanche lecture, practical avalanche transceiver training and a touring workshop... And all this in a living room atmosphere? Quite a lot planned for such a short weekend! Let's see if we can manage it all...

After an extremely mixed start to February, the snow situation soon got much better and we were able to experience numerous perfect days. Even though the snow wasn't always at its best and the wind was particularly strong this year, we still got our money's worth. When it storms, almost all ski resorts are often affected and there is only an alternative program left.

Bluebird and fresh powder - plus a fine contest face with lots of cliffs and a few kickers to sprinkle on top! 60 riders took part in the Nature Ride Backcountry Contest on Saturday, February 23rd in Damüls and impressively demonstrated their skills. Marlon Holzmann won the skiers' category for the second time in a row, ahead of Sven Rauber and Pascal Sander - the best girl in the skiers' category was Yvonne Nenning. Andreas Neyer won the snowboard category, just ahead of Thomas Feurstein and Manuel Holzmann. Kathrin Thum was the best female snowboarder. Contest participant Matze Kurzthaler was on site for PowderGuide.

Carbonization is all the rage for skis. And it makes sense. Black Diamond has implemented this in the Megawatt freeride ski and presents a wide touring freerider with the lightweight version.

Team Europe has done it: thanks to a masterful performance on the backcountry slopestyle course, the Europeans have reclaimed the SWATCH SKIERS CUP trophy from the defending champions Team Americas. They won with 10:6 points. Having already won the big mountain freeride contest, Team Europe was crowned the new champions of the event with a final score of 21:11!

Before the big rain, I had a few more great days in the backcountry. Although I had to mount the skins a bit more than I would have liked, the compensation in the form of excellent descents was very okay.

Lots of sun, lots of fresh snow and great adventures in the backcountry. In part 4 of Patrick Fux's powder report from Hakuba and the surrounding area, you can see that even in the powder paradise of Hakuba, the sun can shine in high winter, only to soon give way to the next snow clouds.

The Open Faces make a stop in Salzburger Land: While it was still overcast the day before, the Aberg in Maria Alm showed its best side on Saturday, 26 January, and gave the 74 starters at the OPEN FACES *FWQ Hochkönig a warm welcome. Hosting a Freeride World Qualifier for the first time, the Hochkönig ski region more than did justice to a 1-star event. Creative lines and clean jumps were required to win points from the judges. Ferdinand Winter (ski/AUT), Johanna Obermoser (ski/AUT), Niklas Hollsten (snowboard/FIN) and Jenny Farrah (snowboard/USA) knew how to get the best out of the face and won in their respective categories.