What does the future hold for snowboarding?

I’m seeing a significant increase in the number of children reaching for the snowboard again – and young children especially. For the first time in ten years, I’m seeing snowboarding start to grow again. I have children myself, and I can say: It’s getting cooler among ten- to twelve-year-olds again.

Skiing has gotten considerably more important in recent years. But now I’m seeing that, among the kids who’ve done both, most of them tend towards snowboarding.

If you had just one wish on the subject of snowboarding for the future: What would it look like?

I like our fun parks, I really do. But they’re a bit like training parks for producing professional snowboarders. That’s fine. I think that’s very important. But I don’t believe that every snowboarding park in the world has to be that way. This often seems more like a personal training facility for the Olympics.

What I wish for are fun parks that are flowy, inviting, and creative. And then I also have one much larger wish.

What would that be?

The snowboard and ski industry absolutely need to work closely together to combat climate change. The essential story about the future of skiing and snowboarding is that, very soon, there will be far fewer skiing regions and much less snow. Everything is going to happen in the high mountains.

However: We decide how much is going to change, and how quickly. That’s why I find it surprising that the industry is afraid of talking about it and not daring to do anything.