Neuseeland

Until now, Planks has been known for baggy streetwear with snappy slogans and outerwear with a focus on the park. With the Yeti Hunter Series, the company from Val d'Isere with British roots delivers a technical outerwear combo with the usual casual cut and city style for the first time. We tested how the combo performs away from the park and pub in New Zealand in summer 2015.

Like many freeride boots, the Pinnacle 130 from K2 offers walking function combined with a stiff flex. The top model in the K2 freeride series also has tech inserts built directly into the shell and can be fitted with alpine and touring soles. With different last widths and the high-quality INTUITION liner, it is also possible to adapt the boot to individual foot shapes.

With its Zero series, Austrian ski manufacturer Blizzard promises nothing less than to "initiate a revolution in the touring segment" - in other words: lightness without compromising downhill performance. That sounds exactly like the ski we've always been looking for. For this reason, during a trip to New Zealand, we tested under a wide range of conditions to see whether the Zero G is the ski with which we can enjoy a "hard" descent after an "easy" ascent.

If you come to New Zealand to go freeriding, don't miss out on visiting one of the "mini" ski resorts and club ski fields. With few lifts, but usually great terrain, you can get back to basics. It's not uncommon for these almost family-like resorts to make you think that this is exactly how you could imagine your own small, private ski resort behind the house. Ohau and Temple Basin are two good places to soak up the Kiwi ski spirit and hopefully take a bit of it home with you to the European ski resorts.

In the north-western part of the Southern Lake District on the South Island of New Zealand lies Wanaka on the lake of the same name. The panorama is at least as impressive as in relatively nearby Queenstown, but the atmosphere is a little more relaxed and less touristy. The nearby ski resorts of Cardrona and Treble Cone are two first-class ski resorts offering everything from freeride to world-class freestyle. And the town of Wanaka itself also has plenty to offer, from bars to leisure activities, in addition to the lakeside promenade. It's not for nothing that New Zealand freeski stars such as Jossi Wells, Janina Kuzma and Sam Smoothie live here.

Queenstown is located on the South Island of New Zealand, in the middle of the Southern Lakes District. The backdrop of clear lakes in front of snow-covered mountains is breathtaking and the sporting opportunities are diverse. This is no longer an insider tip and Queenstown and the region are therefore very touristy. This has advantages and disadvantages. In any case, the mountains around Queenstown offer freeriders many options and with the Remarkables, one of New Zealand's best commercial ski resorts is practically on the doorstep.

Even though the journey to New Zealand can take well over 40 hours, the country is quite rightly a popular destination for vacationers and freeriders who want to escape the summer in the northern hemisphere. In contrast to "normal" tourists, the travel-experienced freerider carries a lot more equipment with them and would like to get to less touristy places. In our second part of our "Freeride NZ" series, we give you tips and tricks on traveling in the land of the Kiwis so that you can get from A to B without any problems when hunting for the best runs.

For many freeriders who can hardly wait for the next winter, New Zealand is one of the first places to escape the European summer for snow. But New Zealand is also a popular destination for non-winter sports enthusiasts: the two islands offer breathtaking landscapes, infrastructure on a European level and locals who are helpful and open to visitors. Combine these advantages with your favorite sport and you have the potential for one (or more - beware of addiction!) unforgettable trip. In the following weeks you will find extensive information on resorts, transportation and much more in our "Freeriding in New Zealand" series ...

Difficult snow conditions and an interesting starting field characterized the bigmountain competition of The Northface New Zealand Freeski Open. With Janina Kuzma and Jossy Wells, two Olympians were at the start in both the freestyle and big mountain competitions. Jania managed to win both competitions with two top runs and Jossy impressively showed his skiing skills outside the park and pipe with a fifth place in the big mountain competition. From Europe, Birgit Ertl from Austria showed her qualities with a 2nd place.

When the Whiteroom crew and Fabian Lentsch invite you to a cozy film evening, this invitation is accepted in Innsbruck, no matter how creative or inconvenient the date may seem.

When it comes to merino wool, Icebreaker comes to mind. The New Zealand company is the market leader in the sale of merino wool products for good reason. In order to remain so, they develop innovative, new types of clothing such as the "Realfleece" or the "GT-Base-Layer"series. You can find out what this is all about and what else distinguishes the company here in the partner news. You can also win the exclusive products in the competition and test them yourself.

Part two of the New Zealand summer trip. A Big Mountain event, the earthquake and Export 22 - a colorful mix of summery winter adventures on the other side of the world.