The fourth edition of the soul freeride event Back on Track took place from March 18 to 20. The hike-to-ride format once again attracted 35 motivated freeriders with splitboards, skis and snowshoes to the Silvretta on the Bielerhöhe. The hostel for the three days was once again the Saarbrücker Hütte. Compared to previous years, there was no need to worry about the weather. The forecast was for plenty of sunshine and there really wasn't a cloud in the sky for three days. Matze Kurzthaler was there for PowderGuide.
Friday
The pack met at 7:00 am at the Vermunt cable car to sign in. The reserved gondolas took them to the white expanses of the Bielerhöhe before normal operations. After around two hours' ascent, all participants arrived at the hut. Check into their rooms, have a quick second breakfast and head back out into the surrounding mountains. Almost all participants and organizers enjoyed their first turns in surprisingly fine conditions. Slopes with the right exposure were spared from the foehn of the previous days and the snow that had fallen the previous week was still fresh under the boards.
In the evening, after soup, roast pork, potatoes, rice, salad and apple sauce, the contest slope was introduced. The mountain guides provided useful information about the snow conditions on the slope and pointed out the "grainy bocks" in the lower area of the face.
After all questions had been answered, last year's winners Hanno and Fabio Sperger presented their challenge cup for the ski category. The silver jug was engraved with the winners and podium places of the last 3 years. This gesture shows once again that Back on Track is not a classic freeride contest. After all, to which freeride contest do participants bring prizes?
Short insertion
If you compare the costs of Back and Track with an FWQ participation, where the entry fee comes to ~120€ +~40€ day ticket, +~30€ food, + overnight accommodation +~40€ and the fact that you have to take care of all this yourself, that you have to take care of all this yourself, then 190€ for three days of "Susi carefree freeriding" with mountain guide, mountain rescue, 2x breakfast, packed lunch, 2x dinner, contest with prizes of several 1000€ is actually a gift.
What sets the Hike to Ride format apart from other freeride contests is the togetherness. You help each other, you know each other, or you get to know each other. At Back on Track, the contest is actually just a bonus. Participants who have taken part for the fourth time are already counting down the days until the fifth BoT. As mentioned, they get involved themselves and make the event even more unique. Further proof of this is the consolation prize for the biggest "bombhole" of the day, which was also introduced by the participants: Daniel Jakob always takes a lot of extra bacon with him to the hut. And a huge piece of it goes to the rider with the most bad luck...
Saturday
6:00 am breakfast, 7:00 am departure to the Face. 7:10 a.m. Skinning up and tackling the small but beautiful approach to the Face. After a quick face check, we continued towards the start. By 10:30 a.m., all participants had arrived over the back of the mountain between the two small peaks. Thanks to the fast ascent, they were well on schedule and the competition was able to start.
Thomas Kessler was able to secure victory in the snowboarding category ahead of Simon Last and Mario Greussing thanks to a fast run with a nice drop at the start.
Franz-Josef Meyer shared the podium in the skiing category ahead of Michael Dünser and Max Nonnenmacher. All three skied a similar line. However, Franz-Josef Meyer was able to execute it most fluently and showed the better jumps in the upper part of the slope. Michael dropped a few km/h faster into the bottom chute and thus stood out from Max.
All in all, everyone was able to show what they could do, as the slope allowed everything. You didn't have to jump anything, but you could still show beautiful lines. Hanna Finkel was the best lady in 8th place with a flowing line in the right half of the slope.
The good conditions were also reflected in the results: only three falls for the skiers and minor mistakes for the snowboarders.
After all the skiers had reached the bottom of the slope, the participants sought out further challenges. The area around the Saarbrücker Hütte still had plenty of untracked lines on offer.
Saturday - Evening at the hut
Bruno and his family conjured up some refreshments for the tired freeriders and after the prize-giving ceremony, everyone was fit to party again. Non-cash prizes such as a splitboard, freeride skis, jackets and skins, as well as backpacks and touring bindings for the splitboard rewarded the performances shown. To ensure that no one went away empty-handed, the organizing team around Bernhard Fink, Raphael Öttl and Andreas Portenschlager came up with a special gift for the participants: everyone received an engraved hip flask. From now on, the summit schnapps from the back-on-track hip flasks will taste even better and warm you up with fond memories of a great weekend.
Sunday
Some of the participants left for the valley early in the morning with tired legs and thoughts of the long journey home. Most enjoyed a third day in the mountains and added two more descents and ascents to their weekend.
More photos from the event will be published shortly on the BOT Facebook page!
