Park princess or backcountry queen? Whatever your style, we’ve got the lowdown on what to wear, where to go and how to work it.
Compiled & styled by:Poppy Smith
Photography by: Gary Engel
Ice Climber
Arcteryx jacket £290
Arcteryx pants £290
The North Face fleece £50
O’Neill top £26
Black Diamond helmet £39.99
Black Diamond harness £59.99
Icon: Italian climber Anna Torretta, famed for the difficult leg over arm moves, has held her place at the top of the ice climbing world for five years.
Top Spot: Val de Cogne in Italy. Not just a waterfall, it has lots of dry tooling routes and rock sections. Or head to the Canadian Rockies and try out the Ouray ice park.
Where to Learn: On Europe’s tallest indoor ice climbing wall at Xscape in Castleford.
Must Read: ‘Ice & Mixed Climbing: Modern Technique’, by Will Gadd – not just an area guide, it shows you how to ice climb and includes all the training, equipment and preparation needed (mountaineersbooks.org).
Hang Out: Licone Café, in Val de Cogne, not only does good hot chocolates but also has a book for climbers to draw their routes in. The first drawings date back to the 1980s.
On the iPod: Somewhere Across Forever, by Stellastarr will psyche you up.
Park Princess
Volcom jacket and pants
Dragon goggles £79.99
Defkon gloves £39.99
Dalikfodda beanie £20
Icons: Slopestyle queens Cheryl Maas (Holland) and Jenny Jones (GB).
Top Spot: With 24/7 grooming, Mammoth’s Unbound parks are probably the best in the world.
Where to Learn: The Burton all girls camps.
Watch: ‘True Life’ from Forum is a freestyle classic that everyone still looks up to. Starring JP Walker, Devon Walsh and Chis Dufficy, it changed the way people look at snowboard films.
Be Seen At: The Roxy chicken Jam. The all-girls slopestyle and superpipe comp.
On the iPod:Check out rapper/soul enthusiast The Gray Kid, especially the track ‘Lonely Love’ when you need to get pumped for the big kickers.
Snow Bunny
Nike ACG gilet £110
Zimtstern sweater £52
O’Neill pants £163
Electric goggles £75
Eka headband £25
Zimtstern mittens £67
Icon: Heida Birgisdottir, founder of nikita clothing, lives and breathes snowboarding.
Top Spot: Stubai, in the beautiful Tirol region of Austria, is a winter sports haven with 147kms of runs, and ice climbing and skiing on the glacier in summer.
Where to Learn: Our Camp all-girl ride and yoga weeks in Morzine are run by pro snowboarder Gilly Seagrave. Riding and yoga – the perfect combination.
Stay: Brides-les-Bains, in the heart of the Three Valleys in France, has a brand new oriental spa with all sorts of delicious treatments.
Must Read: ‘Top 50 Ski and Snowboard Resorts in Europe’, by Pat Sharples and Vanessa Webb.
On the iPod:Put your snow boots on and get your heart racing to the sound of the Fratellis’ ‘Costello Music’.
Backcountry Skier
Nike ACG jacket £400
Ripcurl pants £150
R.E.D by Burton helmet £60
Oakley goggles £99.99
Oakley snow mitts £49.99
O’Neill H3 series backpack £237
Icon: Chamonix-based Aussie Andrea Binning has podiumed at the best freeskiing contests in the world, including the World Extreme in Valdez, Alaska.
Top Ski Spot: Chamonix is a mecca for freeriding. So are Whistler and Alaska.
Where to Learn: Purefreeride runs backcountry freeride camps in Chamonix and NZ. Expect legendary backcountry and secret stashes.
Stay: Luxury chalet Première Neige, in Sainte Foy, France, where the Roxy girls go for powder and pampering.
Read and Watch: ‘Go Ski’, by Warren Smith, one of Britain’s leading professional freeskiers. This book and 30-minute DVD is the fast-track to great skiing.
Be Seen At: The first ever British Big Mountain Championships in Davos, Switzerland.
On the iPod: Crank up Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Breakaway’, the power pop album to get your adrenaline pumping.
