Karakoram

Three days at the end of the season at the Amberger Hütte in May paired with the opportunity to test pretty much everything that is currently available on the splitboard market, that sounded quite tempting when the offer fluttered into the house in April...

The PowderGuide crew was out and about for you at ISPO 2014 and took a look at the material for the coming season. Part 4 of our ISPO special is dedicated to developments in what is probably the only growth area in the snowboard world: splitboards and the associated binding systems.

At ISPO, all manufacturers let their innovation cats out of the bag. Read about the new products in the Splitboards & Miscellaneous section.

For a long time, splitboards were frowned upon by touring snowboarders in Europe. A splitboard was said to be too heavy and therefore too sluggish on the descent. Far too much weight per foot had to be dragged up the mountain compared to a touring ski setup. And then there are the problems caused by the wide skis and soft boots when traversing on hard ground. The European solution of choice was short skis plus a normal freeride board.