"The biggest enemy of the drinker is dehydration" said Sven Regener once in his book Mr. Lehmann. The freerider's greatest enemy is probably the avalanche. Soon after (in addition to dehydration) comes hypoglycemia. Who doesn't know the feeling when your strength starts to wane on the ascent or after the umpteenth lap in waist-deep powder. The body lets you know that it has a deficiency. You know that the next few meters of altitude will be very strenuous if you don't get something between your teeth soon.
I can still remember a sentence from a freerider and mountain guide friend of mine on one of my first tours. "Chocolate is really important" he said and offered me a rib of chocolate. At the time, I was a little surprised that apparently fit and professional athletes would eat supposed junk food during sport. Wouldn't power bars or power gels be more appropriate here? Having gained some touring experience, I now know that other snacks have at least the same effect, are cheaper and, surprisingly, often (too) little considered when it comes to food, taste even better. Everyone has to find out for themselves what works best for them in the fight against low blood sugar levels. Whether it's a piece of fruit, a bar of chocolate or, for those who prefer something more hearty, dried meat (warning: I've recently become addicted to the Austrian dried meat from "Wild Spartan"), a small snack has a place in every backpack, no matter how small.
It's also very important when snacking: Always share! Egosimus is out of place here. A popular saying in New Zealand goes: "What goes around, comes around!". So share your snack with your friends. They will thank you for it and if you forget your snack on the next tour, they will be happy to help you out. You should also offer some of your snack to the unknown woman next to you at the summit. In addition to karma points, this can sometimes give you an insider tip for the descent. Local patriotism is also appropriate for a small snack in between. The pink packaging of the Manner wafers on a summit in Iceland, for example, may have led to a lot of questions, but it also helped me make new friends for the next few days' tours.
