May 2014 I returned back home from my long trip. Having been away for quite a while, I was looking forward to some continuity. I soon started life as a freelancer and my first contract was a fact. Working on an important project for a year meant I had faced quite a few deadlines and that I had been looking at a computer screen for a while. Therefore, time had come to participate in some outdoor activity. Another trip to the Southern Hemisphere where winter was in full swing, was on the agenda…

For years now I have been dreaming of several lines in the Alps. I call it my bucketlist of skiruns. At some point in my life I want to have skied all of them. After traveling for a while now, I couldn’t think of a better way to finish my trip than to ski at least a couple of the runs on my list…

After all my travels there is one obvious region I haven’t visited; the Middle East. One country in this region stands out in terms of variety it has to offer. The Silk Road and Islamic buildings offer some impressive architecture. Multiple deserts and mountains identify its landscape and make for interesting excursions. And, finally, the Trans Asia Express train ride offers a great alternative for the much more touristy Trans Siberia Express. This country of course is Iran.

In March 2013 I skied in the Atlas mountains for the first time. I summited some peaks around the Toubkal hut and skied perfect corn snow. Apparently there is another, more remote, hut from where one can access a number of beautiful couloirs. In February 2014 I visited Refuge Tazaghart in order to ski the best lines Africa has to offer…

After nearly eight months of traveling in South America, I arrived at my final destination of the continent: Colombia. I was about to visit a country that is known to the outside world for Pablo Escobar, cocaine, the FARC and kidnappings. However, according to many travellers the country has changed enormously over the last decade and safety has improved. Did I survive the dangers of Colombia?

In the Warren Miller movie “Off the grid” skiers talk about how great it is to see the world through skiing and I have to say, for me it really is. When some Austrians, who I had met in Bolivia during a high altitude trekking, recommended me to climb Cotopaxi, I started doing some research. Soon it became clear that skiing one of the highest active vulcanoes in the world is possible and my excuse to visit Ecuador was born.

The main reason to leave everything behind and travel for a year was to complete skiing on all the continents. After skiing in Morocco in the end of March there was only one continent missing on my list: Antarctica. A two day crossing of the Drake passage would bring me to some of the most remote skiing on the planet.

After skiing for nearly two months in Argentina it was time for a change. Early November I’ll have to be in Ushuaia, the most Southern point of Argentina in order to board the cruise to Antarctica. Until then I had about a month to spend in Southern Patagonia. Its wilderness with some impressive glaciers and beautiful trekkings sounded like the perfect “stopover” in between skiing…

After freeriding in Las Leñas, it was time to explore the backcountry of the Andes in the springtime. In the lake district some mountain huts can be found that offer excellent terrain and some of the resorts offer easy accessible backcountry with amazing views. Furthermore the Andes is the place to ski some beautiful volcanoes. All objectives being located in Patagonia, the biggest enemy is the weather. I had time though, so between all the rain, snow and wind there should be some sunny spells…

For a couple of years now the Andes is one of my favourite places to go skiing. This trip I had the opportunity to ski different areas in this impressive mountainrange for about 2 months. Many runs on my bucketlist were located here so hopefully I could at least ski them and hopefully in nice conditions too!