Nikolai Schirmer

Damn youtube: if even Nikolai Schirmer doesn't deliver anything new, then it's time to open up to other streams. Vimeo is always the brilliant alternative, but let's just switch to pure listening pleasure: podcasts! A neglected medium that should finally be given a regular hearing!

If you want to spice up your skiing with difficult to ultimate consequences, head for the steep walls! With a lot of technique and strong brains, the masters of the trade twirl their braids tightly towards the valley. There is a rich history behind it and many legends have immortalized themselves with their descents. For those who want to try out existential battles on skis on the mountain, a place called Chamonix or the steep "Canale" of the Dolomites is generally recommended.

While the winter of 2021/2022 somehow doesn't really want to get going, even at the end of January, the new 160-page Downdays book arrives. This time without a year in the title, but simply titled "Volume 3", it is once again a loose collection of interviews and stories that are roughly divided into three sections.

We roam the familiar channels and are surprised at how well they continue to deliver: Mountain art and agony, how to and charm and dialect.

Come one, come all, there's going to be plenty of presents! We have great entertainment from the most prominent protagonists and TGR to offer. Find your present!

The familiar Scandinavian protagonists, namely one each from Norway, Sweden and Finland, characterize this episode. We get to see the adventures of late spring 2021 here, matured and freshly baked, and the parallels are as obvious as they are interesting. They all had to deal with the same dangerous avalanche conditions, and they all solved them in their own way. We present: a big bubble of Scandinavian happiness!

Start of the season! A warm welcome! Obviously: all the well-known characters and collectives are already busy publishing. Lots of recent footage of last winter's snow is ready and we almost feel late! But don't worry, we won't be tactically holding back here. No, we're burning off the Hollywood fireworks so that we can devote ourselves to fine alternative works in the future! With this in mind, let's celebrate the start of the season! Because...

I had a very pleasant encounter with conditions reporter Nino, a.k.a. schneerudi, at the final PG meeting. What's more, a few days later he surprised me with an email full of treasures I'd never heard of. Here are the collected highlights. Thank you very much! We're not saying goodbye to the summer break just yet. Perhaps there are more surprises in store for us!

Where at best only firn or steep gullies promise joyful activities in the given weather conditions, the VdW also go there on dry, wet or soaked terrain. We show Nikolai Schirmer and Xavier de le Rue, but otherwise I offer a selection of lengthy replays and more entertaining best-ofs from great contests. Unfortunately, in my opinion, they strive for a little too much HYPE/STOKE/SYKE. But let everyone find what they like!

The characters in ski films are as diverse as skiing itself: always the same and yet always different. This may mean that a protagonist can always ski and usually does so on snow, only the how, where and why differ. So in this episode we meet old and new heroes who live and film this eternally beautiful skiing in their own way.

In view of the northern congestion and the associated avalanche situation, we are also watching videos about avalanches here today. We cover a wide spectrum: from scientific-educational to case studies and VLOGs to music and film. The quality of the videos presented starts at educationally valuable, but steadily declines towards the end until it becomes unbearable. But the selection is large and you have been warned. So, despite all the fun in the powder, watch out!

Another year has passed, and in this new one everything will be good and even better! The offerings have burned down, the wax has solidified into symbols and we now know exactly what is really important: video art and skiing!