Snowboard, freestyle, freeride, snowkite
Freestyle, freeride, snowkite… winter sports are evolving! The descent is fun, sporty or acrobatic. It becomes especially extreme!
Skiing makes the figure!
Today, going “skiing” no longer means exclusively “skiing” cross-country or downhill. The trend revealed in recent years is freestyle, a kind of snowboarding or freestyle skiing. More than a sport, it is a state of mind. The look is precise, the outfit adapted. Long jacket, neoprene gloves, helmet, mask, we go extreme, we protect ourselves.
Practiced in snowparks or off-piste, the skier relies on the resort's structures (metal or snow) to perform acrobatics and jumps. We therefore see the appearance of Half-pipe (half-tube cut in the snow), boardercross (a kind of course with small jumps and bends).
Skiing off the slopes
Freeride, as its name suggests, is a ski that was originally practiced in complete freedom. For freeriders, the important thing is to leave the slopes that are too overgrown to blend into the powder. As this practice is extremely dangerous, many resorts offer marked but ungroomed slopes. This leaves skiers with the impression of treading virgin snow. Some practice it off-piste, it is an extreme sport and therefore dangerous, many precautions must be taken before setting off (weather, snow, etc.)
The ski takes off
With speedriding, the skier jumps with a paraglider in the back. This discipline is taught in authorized ski areas. Dropped on the summits by helicopter, the skiers float above the slopes or fly away.
In snowkiting, “snow kitesurfing”, the skier lets himself be towed by the force of the wind with a kind of kite sail. This sport is practiced either by ski or snowboard. What counts in these new kind of sports are the thrills!
