Valentin Rainer

Amidst the haze of the Freeride World Tour stop in Georgia during the first weekend of March, PowderGuide had the opportunity to sit down with Valentin Rainer, the 2023 men’s tour champion and a competitor in this year’s season. The 26-year-old Austrian rider shares an inside look at his life, both before and during the season, and opens up about his plans for the future. It’s an exciting glimpse into the world of a professional freerider, someone who relentlessly chases goals driven by intrinsic motivation and the pure joy of the sport.

The weather window is open: Friday morning is competition time. Thursday remains for arriving and exploring. The snow conditions? Okay, but better on the face than in the rest of the area - thanks to weeks of closures. This year, it's back to the Ozone Face, right next to the top chairlift and accessible via the so-called Stairway to Heaven. Short, crisp and radical - so get ready for one-hit wonder lines and fast charging!

Val Thorens welcomed the PowderGuide press team on Saturday morning, 24th of January 2025, with bright sunshine and an impressive backdrop at an altitude of 2,300 metres. The largest interconnected ski resort in the world, the "Trois Vallées", beckoned with countless possibilities, but it was already clear when exploring the highest mountain stations: this FWT stop was going to be a challenge! The wind tugged at the peaks, drifting snow piled up in hidden hollows, while bare rocks peaked out of the snow cover. The weather forecast? Uncertain - a first indication that flexibility and patience would be required.

The third stop of the FWT takes place in Georgia for the first time. The country is no longer a freeride insider tip and it's obvious why. It's the day of the cut, which will decide who gets to compete in the finals in Fieberbrunn and Verbier. The north-north-west facing face of Peak Kakhiani awaited the athletes with perfect visibility, bluebird day and powder snow. The spectacle begins with the snowboard category, where the leading Victor De Le Rue (FRA) and Spain's Núria Castán Barón take victory. On skis, Switzerland's Sybille Blanjean and Canada's Marcus Goguen win.

At the second stop of the Freeride World Tour, the best freeriders started the competition on Thursday afternoon. Kicking Horse once again showed its best side, making for some spectacular sporting action. The French team in particular was extremely strong, winning in several categories and taking several podiums. Basically, I had the feeling that the field of athletes was still finding its legs. A few crashes in Verbier and the cancellation of the second stop in the Pyrenees were already putting pressure on some riders. Nevertheless, even participants who had collected only few points so far showed very ambitious and courageous lines.

For perhaps the last VdW episode of the season, we present new and old ski heroes: Valentin Rainer and Max Hitzig have opted for riding and Reine Barkered, one of the most successful contest freeriders ever, says goodbye to the competition stage. Antti, Nikolai, Krister, Gerhard and Fabio are also taking part again. We hope this will motivate you to try your luck again!

The Freeride World Tour has had difficulties this season due to the weather. It started with a changed start date in Kicking-Horse, rain and warm weather delayed the start at Wildseeloder and now the Xtreme Verbier had to be canceled for the second time in its 25-year history. In this winter of all winters with little precipitation, heavy snowfall coupled with strong winds meant that the safety of the athletes on the Bec des Rosses could not be guaranteed.

The dream comes true: Valentin Rainer wins the Freeride World Tour, together with Justine Dufour-Lapointe, Ludovic Guillot-Diat and Katie Anderson! After the crazy March weather had already caused a stir at the first part of the finals in Fieberbrunn, the Verbier Xtreme had to be canceled due to safety concerns. This is a bitter-sweet end to the FWT23. We sorely miss the showdown on the Bec des Rosses, and yet this is a strong sign: safety has top priority.

The Freeride World Tour 2022/23 will once again set new standards in terms of creativity, airtime and freestyle elements this season. The story of the older generation and big mountain riders with their alpinistic approach, such as Sam Anthamatten, Reine Barkered or the de le Rue brothers, seems to have come to an end. Nevertheless, avalanche prevention and safety awareness remain key issues for the contest scene.

The Freeride World Tour 2022/23 starts its final stops in the Alps next weekend. The next stop at the infamous Wildseeloder in Fieberbrunn promises two new events and could become the unofficial finale.

We are celebrating the upcoming cold snap with the films of some of our best friends, first and foremost Max Hitzig and Valentin Rainer. We are also very happy to finally follow Max Kroneck and Jochen Mesle's bike-ski trip through the Balkans - a great adventure. Finally, Krister Kopala emancipates himself and releases his first major film of his own, with exciting steep face snowboarding.

On Friday, the FWT made up for the stop planned as the start of the tour at the infamous Ozone Face in Kicking Horse, Canada. The highest art of freeriding was on offer: Snowboarder Liam Rivera won as a rookie for Mexico, on skis Max Hitzig and Valentin Rainer confirmed their huge potential, and in the women's event rookie Megane Betend won on skis and Michaela Davis-Meehan on snowboard. The riders have been cut and are now heading to the finals in Fieberbrunn and Verbier.