A pair of raquettes (snowshoes) is all you need to go stomping off through virgin powder and glistening forests.

The spectrum of ski mountaineering spans from ascending a mountain in pursuit of virgin powder to achieving a mountain's summit using skis as a tool, with skiing down secondary.

One of the most cherished is carving through great swathes of virgin powder after being dropped off by a helicopter.

But as sun began to rise over snow-laden fields we finally crossed into Austria and the anticipation of thigh-deep turns through virgin powder was enough to see us through.

The thin forest was reduced to a field of pygmy trees drifted in virgin powder.

Through my windshield, in the weak light from town, I just made out ski tracks running through the virgin powder on the expansive, treeless hill across the highway.

The temptation to plow through virgin powder and do doughnuts was hard to resist.

His goal is virgin powder, which he says is practically impossible to find at ski resorts.

Making up the course of your run on the fly as you ski down virgin powder from a summit that could only be reached by helicopter?

We skied down to meet the others, were taken back up to more virgin powder and repeated the process, if not the conversation.