Stefan Siegel

In mid-October, I packed my bags and moved to Los Angeles. My company had recently opened an office in Hollywood and, motivated by the thought of exploring the Rocky Mountains this season, I brought all my ski equipment with me to the city of palm trees, movie stars and surfers.

After a pretty messed up season, in which the good skiing days could be counted on one hand and the dust was already settling on the skis in January, I was tormented by the thought of storing the equipment in the cellar almost unused in May....

Exactly three years ago, I ended my ski season in Fieberbrunn: a few last turns including the obligatory sunburn. However, the friendly lady at the tourist office drew my attention to the chill-out weekend organized by Risk'n'Fun. The crowning final event of an association which, as part of the Austrian Alpine Association (OEAV), undoubtedly does exceptional work in terms of avalanche awareness and training young freeriders.

Can anyone remember today's avalanche report? Was it hazard pattern 3: rain - below 2,000 meters; or was it hazard pattern 4, cold to warm / warm to cold - on all slopes; plus hazard pattern 1: weak layer close to the ground above 2,300 meters, especially on the northern main ridge of the Alps; in addition, cold, loose fresh snow that had fallen under the influence of strong winds.

An exciting freeride weekend took place on the weekend of March 15-16, 2014 in the Schnalstal Valley. Two contests took place at the same time on the South Tyrolean glacier: The "Boardbreaker" association and the Schnalstal Glacier lifts invited 35 starters from three nations to this year's "Freeride Hero" contest, who made their way to the summit "Im hinteren Eis" in less than ideal weather conditions, but perfect snow conditions. At the same time, a group of freeriders from Switzerland, Austria and Germany had already traveled to "Kick The Vik" the day before to take part in the Eco Freeride Tour, a freeride competition designed to take place in harmony with nature.

Professionally, I am lucky, or unlucky, to travel countless miles by plane every year. And sometimes I get to take my skis with me and go freeriding in exotic places. On my return, however, my mother usually gets in touch and asks critically, "Why do you have to fly so far when we have it so nice at home?" Until now, the answer has always been quite simple: because there's usually not enough snow at home!

Verbier is one of the most famous ski resorts in the Alps and a Christmas meeting place for the chic crowd, adabeis and English Hooray Henrys. That shouldn't stop us from skiing the world-famous lines and couloirs such as Stairway To Heaven and Rock Garden. This is my experience report, which is also a guide to the best way to experience Verbier with a small yellow bag and wide laths.