PartnerNews | Arc’teryx Freeride Academy 2024

8.30 am: Meeting point for all clinics next to the Freeride Village. All participants, mountain guides and athletes slowly arrive and the day starts in small groups of 3 to 7 people with a familiarisation session and an avalanche transceiver check. On day 1, I take part in the Advanced Freeride Skiing for Women Clinic and look forward to a day by, with and for women on the mountain! We are a small group of 5 participants and a local mountain guide who will lead us through the terrain of the Arlberg. The aim of the day is to have fun in the terrain, ski variations, improve off-piste skiing technique and of course find good snow.  The weather and snow are very changeable, but as there is only bad clothing and no bad weather, we won't let that spoil the fun! We discover new lines together and a family atmosphere develops very quickly. After a successful day on the mountain, all teams check out together with the mountain guide at the registration box in the Freeride Village: Safety first and it is important for the team in the Village to know that all groups finish the freeride day together, safe and sound. The Freeride Village is freely accessible to all visitors to St. Anton and partners such as Atomic, Jones, Unbound Coffee, Yeti, Oakley and the Ac'teryx Gear Library are on site. For the clinics, there will be the opportunity to test equipment free of charge at the partners' booths and clothing can be repaired at the ReBIRD™ booth. Drinks and food will of course also be provided, so all clinic participants will return to the Village around 3 o'clock in the afternoon to review the day together and connect with new friends. For the more motivated, instead of après-ski, there is an après-climb in the St. Anton climbing hall with athletes to work off their energy. In addition to an Avalanche Safety Talk with Paul Meir and athlete talk with Max Kroneck, the film night starts at 8 o'clock in the Vallugasaal with a competition and Q&A about the films with the actors.

Day 2: The day starts again at 8.30 a.m. and today something very special is on the programme: Freeride Fundamentals with Spencer O'Brien, snowboard athlete from Canada. The group consists of just two participants, a ski guide and Spencer. This means we get 1:1 supervision and the day feels like I'm off-piste skiing with friends and together we push ourselves to a new level. The day focuses not only on freeriding snowboard skills, but also on avalanche safety and snow knowledge. A successful day with great powder runs, sunshine, short hikes, river crossings and lots of fun. As there are clearly more male mountain guides and ski guides, the event was something special as space was deliberately created for female power. The film night on Saturday with Moonlines, Continuum and Aether 5 also takes place under the theme of women's power in the freeride scene. After the film night, the Academy community will come together at the Bird Party at Skiing Buddah in St. Anton. Athletes will provide good music as DJs/DJane and the rest will ensure a good atmosphere and shake a leg. The doors to the Bird Party and the film evenings are open to everyone after free registration.

Day 3: Rise and shine! Safety with Recco is on the programme for day three. You can find the full report on this clinic here.