Ordino-Arcalis

Tiemo Rolshoven is 21 years old and has been competing for Germany on the Freeride World Tour since last season. He is known for big tricks, but also shows consistently good skiing in extremely technical terrain. In a brief interview at the first FIS Freeride World Championships in Ordino-Arcalis, he told us how he got into freeriding and how he would characterize himself as a skier.

Freeride history was written in Ordino Arcalís on February 3rd, 2026. 65 riders from 17 nations met for the FIS Freeride World Championship for the first time. According to the locals, the region is currently experiencing its best winter in over ten years - it would be hard to imagine better timing. Although persistent fog initially caused delays, the patient wait was rewarded. As the sky cleared, the snow-covered, playful and rocky "Basser Negre" face opened up and was ready for great moments. The legendary face enjoys cult status in the FWT scene. Iconic runs have been carved into the snow here before and the first Freeride World Championships also added a few new chapters to the story.

The first two stops of the FWT have already been completed and although the snow conditions were difficult, the action was impressive. In Andorra, the race was held on the Pic Des Les Planes, in the same face as the 2022 stop. This terrain offers many options for line choice, starting with a steep and technical section and then offering countless small to medium-sized obstacles, mostly characterized by flat landings.

The VdW strive for your favor with the greatest possible variety: FWT, The Fifty, Scandinavian, high alpine and north alpine vloggers, a new ski boot, a book tip, a podcast and finally the right music! Just see for yourself what you like, there should be something for everyone!

Both winter in the Northern Alps and the FWT have started all over again. Although there are no moving images of the PowderAlert yet, there are all the more of the FWT, as the second stop is already history. We recommend taking a look at freerideworldtour.com, where you can efficiently zap through several hours of replays!

A little insight into the ContestHappening of 2022 will also be provided this year on PowderGuide. The first part of the Freeride World Tour is already over. In a few weeks, you can look forward to an exciting finale including a new format.

The Freeride World Tour kicked off the 2021 season with two contests. In Ordino-Arcalis (Andorra), the two competitions were held a few days apart on the same face. Although the snow conditions and the length of the face did not give rise to any great expectations, the riders delivered an exciting event that was good to watch.

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 Black Forest has turned completely white with snow this winter. And so all the inhabitants took to their hilly homes and completely forgot where they were because of all the powder and pillows, and the pandemic was only half as wild. Great cinema from a small low mountain range!

At a press conference via Zoom yesterday, the planned path of the FWT 2021 for the challenging Covid19 season was presented. There are hopes of being able to hold at least three events - five in the best-case scenario. The countries of Andorra, Switzerland and Austria have agreed to regard the FWT as a professional/elite sport and thus enable it to be held even during a potentially extended lockdown.

Third tour stop of the FWT 2020: Hedvig Wessel (NOR), Michaela Davis-Meehan (AUS) and Léo Slemett (FRA) are the winners of the Freeride World Tour (FWT) 2020 in Ordino Arcalís, Andorra.

This season's fifth ContestHappening is all about the 4* FWQ in Montafon, we also look back at the Youngstars Challenge in Oberstdorf and forward to the 1* FWQ on Hochfelln and the upcoming FWT stop in Andorra.