No Friends On A Powder Day?

If you’ve ever been fortunate enough to find yourself in the mountains when a serious dump of powder is in the forecast, then you’ll know the palpable spreading excitement. In Europe, this is one of the rare times when there is chatter on lifts between total strangers. Information that is readily available from phones in our pockets becomes irrelevant — the forecast takes on a life of its own — exaggerated and mythicised over and over… There’s something wonderful about this old-school phenomenon that fosters a sense of community from peak to peak.

It’s bizarre then that the next step in the cycle seems so contradictory. When powder falls in North America, it’s met with hoots and hollers of encouragement. In Europe, it’s more likely met with the standard “no friends on a powder day!”.

The community that was forged by anticipation for snow is dashed when it finally falls by solitary riders who have yet to see the light. At the FreeRide Republic, we think differently, we “call all friends on a powder day”. We know that riding powder is better when shared with others. 

What’s more, it’s safer to ride with a friend — and you’ll have someone else to capture you nailing that sick line on camera. Solo riders may enjoy telling us about that time when it was just them and the mountain, but we know that it’s the stories of powder days spent riding with friends that get retold for years to come.

What powder day does your crew still talk about?