The Alps have become one of the most filmed mountain ranges on the planet, and a lot of that footage never reaches a cinema screen — it lands on YouTube. Between Chamonix conditions reports, Dolomites via ferrata shorts, Verbier freeride finals, Austrian bike parks and slow, wordless hikes above a Swiss valley, there is now a whole video ecosystem dedicated to alpine life. We put together this selection to help you find the creators who actually spend their winters and summers in these mountains, rather than passing through once. Channel handles change often, so we name each channel in plain text — search the name on YouTube and you will find it.
Ski, snowboard and freeride
1. Candide Thovex — The channel of the French freeskier from La Clusaz, best known for the "One of those days" series and for edits where he skis surfaces that have nothing to do with snow. Uploads are irregular and often very short, which is part of the appeal.
2. FIS Freeride World Tour by Peak Performance — The official channel of the freeride ski and snowboard circuit, with full contest replays, rider line previews and highlight reels from stops including the Xtreme Verbier on the Bec des Rosses. Also on the web at freerideworldtour.com.
3. WINTERACTIVITY — A French-language freeride crew publishing numbered episodes (WA #219, #220, #221 and so on) that mix off-piste descents, speed riding, injuries, recovery and blunt talk about backcountry risk. One of the largest French-speaking ski channels.
4. The Faction Collective — The channel of the ski brand founded in Verbier in 2006, used mainly as a release platform for full-length films such as "150 Hours from Home" and "Sugar Bowl", plus shorter athlete segments and ski presentations.
5. black crows skis — The video channel of the independent freeski brand born in Chamonix in 2006. Expect short, stylised clips of spring corn, face shots and skiers messing around, rather than long documentaries. Brand site: black-crows.com.
6. Tao Kreibich — Austrian big-mountain skier filming almost entirely in his home ranges: the Arlberg, the Bregenzerwald around Diedamskopf and the mountains above Innsbruck. Episodes follow a season as it actually happens, bad snow years included.
7. Jesper Tjäder — The Swedish freeskier behind some of the most-shared trick setups in the sport, from indoor slopes to purpose-built rail features. Useful counterpoint to the powder-only side of ski YouTube.
8. Salomon TV — The film channel of the French outdoor brand headquartered near Annecy. It covers freeski, ski touring, trail running and ultra racing, usually in a documentary format built around a single athlete or objective.
9. Whitelines Snowboarding — The video arm of the British snowboard magazine founded in 1995, publishing rider profiles and a large volume of gear reviews (boards, outerwear, bindings) filmed each season. Handy before buying kit for a trip to the Alps.
Ski touring, steep skiing and mountain safety
10. Nikolai Schirmer — Norwegian skier and filmmaker who built one of the reference channels for long-form ski expedition storytelling, with a strong focus on snowpack reasoning, exposure and decision-making. His videos are as much about why a line was skipped as about the descent.
11. Vivian Bruchez — Chamonix-born mountain guide and steep-skiing specialist. His channel documents projects such as a ski traverse of the Mont Blanc range and an ongoing search for the finest ski lines in the Alps, filmed in the Dolomites, Slovenia and the Chamonix valley.
12. ChamonixSkiBum — A Chamonix resident posting regular alpine conditions reports for the valley, plus short technique clips (how to hold an ice axe, glacier basics) and gear reviews. One of the few channels giving a season-long, week-by-week picture of one valley.
13. Walter Rossini — IFMGA Mountain Guide — An Italian IFMGA guide filming full ski-touring days: the Chamonix–Zermatt Haute Route and its variations, the Grands Mulets route on Mont Blanc, and long glacier descents such as the Fiescher. Route logic is explained as you go.
14. Henry's Avalanche Talk — A team of off-piste professionals producing avalanche education and regular off-piste snow reports for the northern French Alps, plus explainer videos on airbag packs and touring basics. Also at henrysavalanchetalk.com.
15. ISMF Skimo — The official channel of the International Ski Mountaineering Federation, with World Cup race broadcasts, sprint and vertical race edits and athlete training content. The place to follow skimo as a competitive discipline. Federation site: ismf-ski.com.
16. ENSA Chamonix — The channel of France's national ski and mountaineering school in Chamonix, which trains the country's guides and instructors. French-language, with route re-equipping reports, discipline presentations and institutional films.
17. Alltracks Academy — A ski instructor training organisation running long courses in Val d'Isère and Verbier. The channel mixes short technique cues with behind-the-scenes footage of what a ten-week instructor course actually involves.
Alpinism, climbing and via ferrata
18. EpicTV Climbing Daily — A near-daily climbing news show covering sport, trad, ice, bouldering and mountaineering, with regular reporting from European venues including Chamonix, Melloblocco in Val Masino and the Arc'teryx Alpine Academy.
19. Adam Ondra — The Czech climber's own channel, mixing hard first ascents (including new lines in the Dolomites), competition seasons and a tips-and-tricks series on technique and training.
20. Mont Blanc Guides — A guiding outfit answering the practical questions people actually ask before attempting Mont Blanc: how fit you need to be, how to train, what to wear, and what is myth in the reputation of the Goûter Couloir. See montblancguides.com.
21. Deutscher Alpenverein (DAV) — The official channel of the German Alpine Club, with German-language tutorials on decision-making, thunderstorm risk and route choice, plus documentaries on hut infrastructure and the state of the summer mountains. Club site: alpenverein.de.
22. AlpenAcademy — A German-language mountain sports school channel focused on alpine skills and safety: securing easy climbing terrain, rope work, and frank commentary on why alpine mountaineering conditions are changing.
23. Boulderaner — German-language channel presenting alpine tours in detail, from the Zugspitze and Bavarian classics to routes in South Tyrol such as the Marteller Rotspitze, with recurring reminders about equipment on exposed ground.
24. Seb Montaz Studio — The channel of the Chamonix-based filmmaker and mountain guide behind several well-known alpine films. Recent uploads centre on Mont Blanc, including a film about an ascent by a visually impaired climber.
25. Passion Via Ferrata — A French channel entirely dedicated to via ferrata, with POV runs on routes such as Champagny-en-Vanoise and newly opened lines at Mont Saxonnex, alongside safety videos on lanyards and pre-departure checks.
26. Andraz Egart — A Slovenian adventurer filming solo climbs and multi-day winter journeys in the Julian Alps and surrounding ranges, including bivouacs, blizzard shelters and abandoned mountain infrastructure. Cinematic and deliberately low-key.
Alpine hiking and long trails
27. Alpine Summits — Run by Adrian, a German-language channel built around detailed tour documentation across the Bavarian, Austrian, Swiss and Italian Alps — ridge traverses in the Berchtesgaden and Ammergau ranges, and peaks such as Monviso — designed to be used as planning material.
28. Zen Hiking Switzerland — Near-wordless hiking films shot in remote corners of the Swiss Alps and the Dolomites, including via ferrata attempted out of season. Ambient sound instead of commentary.
29. SwissWalks4K — Long, uncut 4K walking tours through Swiss valleys, waterfalls, alpine meadows and old towns, plus market and village walks. Good for scouting what a place looks and sounds like before you go.
30. Swiss Hiking Clips — German-language reports on Swiss routes graded by the SAC scale, including T4 scrambles in the Churfirsten and Toggenburg, alpine lakes in Ticino and lesser-known valley crossings.
31. The Swiss Hiker — Mountain walks across Switzerland with a focus on Graubünden and Glarus: Fuorcla Suvretta into St. Moritz, the Limmerensee and Muttsee reservoirs, the Flims UNESCO area, with regular wildlife sightings.
32. Cloudwalker — A Dolomites-focused channel built largely on short vertical clips from via ferrata routes — Civetta's Alleghesi, the Sella group, Torre Aglio — filmed with a drone and a taste for exposure.
33. IntoDolomites — Italian-language channel covering trails, rifugi and multi-day routes in Val di Fassa, Alpe di Siusi, Val Pusteria and the wider Trentino–Alto Adige mountains, including the Alta Via di Fassa.
34. Bruno Pisani — Dolomites hiking and bivouac content from an Italian creator, including high-altitude nights out without a tent and practical safety messaging aimed at visitors underestimating the terrain.
Mountain biking and summer sports
35. Fabio Wibmer — The Austrian street trials and mountain bike rider from East Tyrol whose big-production videos, filmed largely in Austrian towns and mountains, are among the most watched in the sport.
36. Gabriel Wibmer — Fabio's brother, also Austrian, posting park laps, manual lines, jump sessions and the occasional crash compilation. Shorter and more day-to-day than his brother's productions.
37. Sam Pilgrim — Former FMB freeride world champion whose channel covers dirt jumps, urban downhill, trail riding and gear experiments, with regular trips to European bike parks.
38. Rémy Métailler — French pro rider producing technique breakdowns (tyre pressure, line choice, bike setup) alongside steep trail riding. One of the most methodical coaching-oriented MTB channels.
39. Loïc Bruni — The French downhill world champion's own channel, with the "Bruni Files" race-season series, injury updates and riding vlogs from World Cup venues.
40. WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series — The official home of elite downhill, cross-country and enduro racing, including full race coverage from alpine venues such as Morillon in the French Alps.
41. Red Bull Bike — High-production edits and event coverage across downhill, slopestyle, trials and freeride, with a steady stream of footage from alpine bike parks and events.
42. Global Mountain Bike Network — A large mountain bike channel producing skills content, maintenance guides, bike tests and a weekly fails compilation. Regular trips to alpine destinations for trail and bike park features.
Ski resorts, alpine living and mountain travel
43. Ski Resorts Video — Full-run POV descents filmed in 4K across the Alps, run by run: Cortina d'Ampezzo's Faloria reds, the Stelvio in Bormio, the Penken slopes in Mayrhofen, Crans-Montana and many more. Useful for judging pitch and length before booking.
44. Ivo Koimecs — Ski resort reviews with an unusually deep Chamonix section, including the Vallée Blanche, the Grands Montets sector and a visit to the Aiguille du Midi, with subtitles on most videos.
45. SnowStash — Resort guides based on first-hand visits, covering ski areas run by run, plus explainer videos comparing lift ticket pricing between North America, Europe and Japan. Includes Austrian resorts such as Mayrhofen.
46. Skipinion — Short-form ski resort reviews built around a "where to ski if..." format: best for intermediates, best for village atmosphere, best for late-season snow. Quick way to shortlist a destination.
47. Alpine Tutorials with George — A qualified ski instructor based in Avoriaz publishing bite-sized technique tips: turning in difficult snow, reading slope steepness, and drills you can do on your next lift-served run.
48. Aplins in the Alps — A family-run Switzerland travel channel with detailed, practical guides to the Jungfrau region, Zermatt and Swiss travel with children, including free and low-cost things to do.
49. Swiss Alps Tales — A chaptered series following a couple renovating a traditional mountain cabin in the Swiss Alps, from water tanks and foundations to the realities of building at altitude without contractors.
50. Martijn Doolaard — The Dutch photographer and filmmaker restoring two century-old stone cabins in the Italian Alps, in Piedmont's Val Pellice. Weekly, near-silent episodes on stone roofs, doors, timber and slow self-built alpine living.
How this TOP 50 is built
We selected channels that publish regularly, film in or about the European Alps, and cover a clear discipline — skiing, ski touring, alpinism, climbing, via ferrata, mountain biking, hiking, resort reviews or alpine living. Every entry was checked on YouTube before publication, and the list is updated as channels evolve, change name or stop posting. If you run or follow a channel that belongs here, tell us via our about page; the order is editorial and thematic, not a quality ranking.
Featured in this TOP 50? You are welcome to mention it with a link back to this page.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to speak French, German or Italian to follow these channels?
No. A large share of the list is in English, and several channels — Candide Thovex, black crows, Cloudwalker, SwissWalks4K — are essentially visual. For the German, French and Italian-language channels, YouTube's automatic subtitles and translation usually cover the practical information, and the route footage speaks for itself.
Which channels are most useful for planning an actual trip?
For choosing a ski area, start with the POV and resort-review channels: Ski Resorts Video, SnowStash, Skipinion and Ivo Koimecs. For summer hiking, Alpine Summits, The Swiss Hiker, Swiss Hiking Clips and IntoDolomites document routes in enough detail to be used as planning material alongside a proper map.
Are these channels a substitute for avalanche or mountaineering training?
No. Channels like Henry's Avalanche Talk, the Deutscher Alpenverein and AlpenAcademy are excellent for understanding concepts and refreshing knowledge, but off-piste skiing, glacier travel and alpinism require in-person training and, in most cases, a qualified guide. Use the videos to prepare and to ask better questions, not to replace instruction.
Planning an alpine trip yourself? Start with our free Alpine City Guides, or read where to stay in the Dolomites.