The announcement for the Freeride Days at the Livingroom promised a lot... Mass start downhill race, avalanche lecture, practical avalanche transceiver training and a touring workshop... And all this in a living room atmosphere? Quite a lot planned for such a short weekend! Let's see if we can manage it all...
Freeride Days Livingroom Mühlbach am Hochkönig
Equipped with all kinds of snow sports equipment and a lot of anticipation, we arrived at the Hochkeilhaus on Friday evening - we had a tight schedule, lots of plans and wanted to start the race day well-rested and relaxed.
After breakfast, it was straight off to registration for the race. Everyone was given a table tennis ball with a number on it - the start number. Don't forget to tactically put the ball in your jacket pocket so that you can get to the finish line quickly because you have to put the ball in a plastic tube there! Afterwards, a short tour of the course via video presentation. The 50 or so participants from Switzerland, Belgium, Germany and Austria murmur quietly. Well, it seems as if nobody really knows exactly how and where the route runs. This guarantees a certain equality of opportunity. Watch out for the red poles in the terrain, they indicate the direction. We should also look out for each other. Okay, we can manage that. No problem at all!
Setting off - meeting point at the summit of the Hochkeil for the start. About 5 minutes on foot from the lift. Always following the colorful jackets and cheerful people! The atmosphere was great: bright blue sky, bright sunshine, clouds of mist below us in the valley and the unique panorama of the Mandelwand and powder! It could hardly be better so far! Yeah, where are they going? The snowboard men start first, then the ski men and the snowboard, ski and telemark girls together. My start was pretty good, I was able to take advantage of a gap between two female boarders and was quickly ahead. But not for long, as I came to the first crest. First I had to slow down again... A quick orientation and then downhill through the forest following the masses. On the way to the finish I got a girl out of a tree (a pair of pruning shears would have been nice, I'll take them with me next time) only to realize that I'd got lost. Okay, never mind, I wasn't alone. I just ran with the other girls towards the finish. Unfortunately the last ones, but no scramble at the plastic tube. Start, 2nd run: But first I took the lift up to the Hochkeil again, but this time down the other side. A south-facing slope - but unfortunately rather foggy at the moment. Word gets around that the slope is less steep, but that there is a light layer of powder and some pretty hard snow. There are also several holes and small crests with poor ground visibility. So, switch on your brain. This time the girls start first. Right in the first chicane, a few girls tumble, a quick check that nothing has happened and off we go after the others. Every now and then a girl lies somewhere and collects herself and her gear. Fierce battles for the front places, especially at the plastic tube. Unfortunately, I followed the others again and forgot that they didn't know their way around either... Never mind, being there is almost everything. Even the men don't give each other any trouble on the plastic tube. Several meters before the finish, they take sticks in one hand, pull the balls out of their trouser pockets and then quickly disappear into the tube before the person next to them. Spectacular, but not quite like the girls...
The good atmosphere after the race is crowned with a delicious barbecue at the Rappoldsberg restaurant. Thanks to the two runs, there are a few surprises at the award ceremony. I receive a small fairness prize for first aid and am delighted with the winners. There's also a raffle with great prizes and every rider receives a non-cash prize.
Everyone knows a bit about avalanche transceivers, but can everyone use them?
After the sun slowly disappeared, we set off in the direction of the Hochkeilhaus. After all, the avalanche awareness lecture continues at 5 pm. Everyone knows a bit about avalanches. But a refresher from the local mountain rescue expert was definitely useful, as we all realized. You never stop learning here. We all agreed on that. So we were particularly excited about the next day's practice in the search field at the Arturhaus and the ski tour up the Hochkeil afterwards.
In small groups, Peter from the Mühlbach mountain rescue service patiently introduced us to avalanche transceiver practice. The search field was particularly suitable for this. A loud beep sounds when the transmitter (hidden in a tin box under a thick layer of snow) is found with the probe. This allowed small groups to practise searching correctly throughout the day. On the ski tour, beginners in particular were able to get to grips with the subject and receive lots of valuable tips from the professionals. Starting with the correct way to put on the skins through to the hairpin bend, everything was covered. The ski tourers returned to the valley from the Hochkeil with big grins on their faces. Thanks to the excellent organization and the well-thought-out programme, there was no boredom, but no stress either. The whole time we were accompanied by a relaxed and easy-going atmosphere with a warm cordiality. We were very impressed and will be returning to the Livingroom am Hochkönig next year!
Results LIVINGROOM Downhill 2013
Snowboard men:1. Kim Arents (BEL)
2. Thomas Prikoszovits (AUT)
3. Matthias Genseder (GER)
4. Chris Bergmann (GER)
5. Andreas Rejak (AUT)
6. Martin Eisenriegler (AUT)
7. Tom Weber (CH)
8. Toon Daems (BEL)
9. Maik Friese (GER)
10. Florian Wallner (GER)
11. Swen Michalzik (GER)
12. Coen Pronk (BEL)
13. Fenn Lefevre (BEL)
14. Youri Vueghs (BEL)
15. Tom Golla (GER)
16. Matthias Burckhardt (GER)
17. Bart Verdonck (BEL)
18. Jochen Corstjens (BEL)
19. Dirk Nußbaumer (GER) Men's skiing: 1. Clemens Augustin (GER)
2. Stefan Seeger (AUT)
3. Albert Krispler (AUT)
4. Rüdiger Jahnel (AUT)
5. Christoph Schöfegger (AUT)
6. Daniel Hinterholzer (AUT)
7. Christian Holy (AUT)
8. Alexander Schulz (GER)
9. Florian Langmaier (AUT)
10. Hannes Holzmann (AUT)
11. Christian Bernegger (AUT)
12. Hannes Schmiderer (AUT)
13. Markus Kössler (AUT)
14. Michael Förster (GER)
15. Nick Vanonshoven (BEL)
16. Luc Bergsma (NED) Women's snowboard:
1. Mika Hampe (GER)
2. Katrin Eckerstorfer (AUT)
3. Julia Pudschun (CH)
4. Alexandra Denker (GER)
5. Evelien Gerlo (BEL)
6. Lisa Schmitt (GER)
7. Lisa Prechtl (GER)
8. Esther Burckhardt (GER) Women's skiing:
1. Charlotte Verstraeten (BEL)
2. Judith Klug (GER)
3. Christina Wieser (AUT)
4. Flavie Verstraeten (BEL)
5. Susanne Riedisser (GER)
6. Tamara Voskamp (NED)
7. Vreni Fischer (GER) Thanks to the great organization of the Livingroom team around Peter Radacher and the well thought-out program, there was no boredom, but also no stress. The opportunity to test skis, snowboards and splitboards from Goodboards was particularly great for us participants and rounded off the event. Here too, the boss was personally on hand in the mornings and evenings to offer advice and exchange ideas! The whole time we were accompanied by a relaxed and easy-going atmosphere with a warm cordiality. We were very impressed and will be returning to the Livingroom am Hochkönig next year!