PowderPeople | Lena Kohler

Hi Lena, it's cool that you're here. As we discussed, we're off to a relaxed start: Take us with you: How did you get into skiing? What fascinated you about it and who inspired you? What were your beginnings?

Clearly: my parents. I started skiing quite young. I think my brother was already running around on plastic skis when he was two and I started skiing when I was three. The classic way, like many others: First in a ski course and then I always went skiing a lot with my parents.

Our parents always let us try out everything - whether it was skiing or other sports. I felt like I tried out every sport at least once: Badminton, climbing, skiing, just about everything. When we were skiing, we also got into racing. I really enjoyed it as a young child and somehow got stuck with it.

Did you grow up in the ski resort or nearby?

No, in Benningen, near Memmingen. That's not super far from the mountains, but not really close either.

The gateway to the Allgäu.

Yes - a bit further. It was usually about an hour's drive to the ski resort.

How did it work with the racing - with the training and the competitions?

Wow, that's something I really respect my parents for. They always drove us everywhere. My dad worked full-time, my mom part-time and they often picked us up after work during the week and then drove us to training. And yet we always went skiing at the weekend, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, anyway. Tuesday or Thursday was often training in the afternoon or evening. We were always picked up directly from school and then driven to training.

At some point, my dad became a coach himself. But we didn't actually become athletes because our dad was a coach, but rather the other way around. He became a coach because we went skiing. He realized that he was really good at it, that he enjoyed it and that's how it turned out.

And what happened next - teenage years, development?

First I skied classically with my parents, then I tried out children's races. I was asked relatively quickly whether I would like to join the Allgäu Ski Association. I looked into it and I really liked it.

I then started skiing in the squad at the age of ten and I actually kept it up until I was 16. Admittedly with a few breaks because I had a few stuggles: coaching problems (although fortunately I can say that I had great coaches for most of the time), dealing with pressure, I didn't really feel comfortable in a team for a short time and so on. A lot of things came together. That's why I took a short break at 16 and then I rode for another two years. And then I slowly made the transition to freeriding.

What fascinated you about it that made you say: I want to pursue this further and perhaps also competitively?

I think that took quite a long time. At the time, I hadn't even decided that I wanted to do it competitively. I did say to a friend once when we were watching the World Tour: "Wow, I want to do that too. I'd really like to do that." But I didn't really manifest it. I rather had the feeling that I needed something new to do with racing. I need a change. Something where I can just do it and clear my head. Without pressure and ambition. Something that feels easy and natural. That's what it gave me. What I did back then and what I do now are in no way comparable. I didn't jump or anything like that. I went on ski tours and did tree runs in the resort. But I felt free and relaxed. And I wanted more of that!

So something new at first and not necessarily competitive? What made you want to do it after all?

No. Back then, after racing, I even swore to myself that I never wanted to take part in ski competitions again.
But then I had a classic Innsbruck effect. I moved here because of the skiing and got to know a lot of people who were really into it. I was constantly out and about with them and they kept pushing me. Both in terms of skill and trying out comps.

I always said: "Nah, nah, I don't want any more competitions." And then I did one once in Alpbachtal and somehow I thought it was pretty nice. Then I stuck with it.

How long ago was that?

That was about three years ago.

If you think back to three years ago: did you have the idea of a "World Tour" as a goal? And how were the two years before that? What went well, what didn't?

Yes - definitely! You don't believe it 100 percent, but the moment I took part in a comp for the first time, I thought: "One day I'll ride in the Tour!" I would never have told anyone that, but it had always been in my head.

An incredible amount has changed and also happened. I took part in the contest in Alpbachtal and then I had a break for the rest of the year, because that was at the end of the season. And the following year I really started riding contests. I went straight to Verbier, where you have the opportunity to take part in the Freeride Week, where you have several comps in one week.

I won the 2-star Only Women contest straight away. But at the time I had no idea what I was doing. A friend from Innsbruck picked out my line for me. I just did what she said. She said to me: "That's a nice cliff." I wanted to reply that it was too big for me. But she said: "Lena, jump that" and then I did exactly what she said.

I really didn't know much about the contests afterwards either. I kept getting lost on the slope. I really think I didn't ski where I wanted to ski 50 percent of the comps in the first year. But that's exactly what helped a lot: learning orientation, assessing my skill level, not going over, rarely crashing, but also not riding completely below my level.
It's just something completely different when you look at the cliff from below and then ride towards the take-off from above. I had to learn that.

Now on the tour we have more time to facecheck and, above all, better materials. You rarely had any photo material at smaller contests. I only had an extremely bad "looker", I felt like I only saw pixels. You estimate more, and then you just have to ride through it, trust yourself and get used to the competition conditions. It was all new, but things went well quickly.

The third season directly on the World Tour was certainly eventful. How do you look back on it? What were the challenges that kept you busy?

It was super exciting and I was super nervous. It was probably the most eventful and best year of my freeriding career. But there were also a lot of ups and downs. I've also learned a lot about myself. And I definitely want to take the things I may have done wrong this year and do better next year.

The fact that it happened so quickly before - one year 2-star and 3-star events straight away, then immediately 4-star, Challenger and directly qualified for the FWT. I was no longer used to relaxing. I took on too much, allowed myself too little rest, did too much. My expectations were very high. Not so much the expectations of others, but my expectations of myself. That's one of my basic character traits: I expect a lot, often too much of myself.

And that was also the case on the tour. Sometimes I have to lower my expectations and myself a bit, because that mentally wore me out even before the tour started.

What were the things that stressed you out before the tour?

In Georgia, for example, my pressure and mental management was completely ******** (anyone can think of a word but we also want to reach young people).

Really, I was in a really bad mental space. And when it's postponed, it doesn't help me at all. You might think that I can prepare better or assume that conditions will get better. But that doesn't apply to me. If anything, it got worse for me. Georgia was the worst point of the season for me mentally.

But that's something I've been carrying around with me since I was a child and teenager. I always put a lot of pressure on myself. I had expectations of myself and often had the feeling that others expected something of me. I always had the feeling that I had to prove myself in many areas - school, university, sport, friends - and that I had to get everything right. I've also been at a point where thoughts have crossed my mind like: I don't feel like skiing at all anymore, I'll give it up completely.

And now I'm at the point: if it gets too much for me, I don't want to do it. I don't want to ruin it for myself. Then I try to concentrate on what I enjoy again. Because if I put pressure on myself, it destroys a lot of the fun and in the end that's what it's all about.

For you, freeriding means fun, community, self-realization and forgetting problems. Were there moments when competitive freeriding was more of a problem?

I think it depends on the individual, but yes - competition in any sport can be mentally draining and ruin the whole thing. For me, it's like this: I've had those moments. And when it comes back - this "Wow, competition thought, I want to perform" - I remind myself: I don't have to perform, I want to. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. It's just a chance to show something. To show what I'm capable of.

I try to remember why I'm doing this: enjoyment and fun! And that's also how I approach comps. Georgia was an example where I simply pushed through, even though I wasn't feeling well.

I've also found a new way to combine the idea of competition and fun. I don't approach the line check by looking at which line gives me more points, but instead I focus on what looks exciting, appealing and cool to me, what I simply feel like doing and then I ride it. Of course there are things that score more points. But if I have to choose between two lines, one of which scores fewer points and is also more difficult, but I'm confident I can do it on the day, then I'll go down there.

That's my approach. And I also believe that this is the best way to perform. When you ride what you enjoy the most.

Psychologically speaking: a very strong mindset. Looking at the season, do you think Georgia will make you more consistent next year?

Yes. If you struggle or crash, you can learn from it all. I crashed in Spain, but I had a solid mindset then. It wasn't mental. I simply didn't assess the conditions correctly, but I was true to my line: "So it fits!".

A lot of things came together in Georgia that didn't fit. And I know how I can approach things differently next year. I noticed it too late there, but if I were in a situation like that again, I would recognize it earlier and take countermeasures.

What are you looking forward to in the coming season?

Alaska is such a goal for all of us. It would be amazing if I could qualify for it.

And I'm looking forward to the season because I made mistakes last year, like having too full a calendar, which meant I wasn't able to enjoy skiing as much at the end. I want to do better this year than last year. I don't set myself goals based on results, but on processes. At the moment, I feel an extreme desire to develop further and push my skiing. To expand my skill level, try out new things, just for myself personally.

In February, a world championship started for the first time, comparable to the alpine area. Here you qualified through a complex qualification system based on your recent performances. What is the difference to the tour?

It's cool to have an event that isn't part of a series, but is really a one-off event. It's another chance to push yourself mentally. On the tour, even though I said the opposite earlier, you subconsciously drive more defensively because it's all about consistently delivering. The "World Champs" is an event where everyone can go all-in. I'll also take a very offensive approach, that's it.
There are few tactics compared to the FWT. Conditions always play a part, of course, but everyone can show off and push their limits.

If you were to give your younger freeriding self a piece of advice, what would it be?

I should have been more self-confident. Today I'm mostly confident, but at the beginning I had a few perceived setbacks, simply because of little things that were outside of my control and influenced me. Now I think: just go for it and do what's fun. At the beginning, I got a bit over-involved and didn't feel good when others were watching. And I had a hard time getting rid of those thoughts.

Where did these thoughts come from? What exactly were these thoughts?

I don't know exactly. But when lots of people are watching, maybe you don't want to "fail" in front of people. That was already a trigger for me as a child/teenager. And blocking that out is important, because honestly no one cares, really no one, whether you crash or not. People don't have a different image of you. Personally, I find it rather commendable and courageous when people let themselves out and don't think about what others think. Why should others think negatively about me? But as a child, that was always in my head.

That's a cool skill you learned.

Yes - maybe that's why competition is something I enjoy. You learn a lot about yourself and can optimize it so that it works well. Competitive sport has also helped me, for example in pressure situations. I didn't manage start pressure well at the beginning, but now it's no longer a problem at all.

Do you actively reflect on this or does it happen on the side?

Both. I do reflect, partly because I think a lot and sometimes overthink things. But a lot also happens subconsciously. The off-season is important for me: when I have two months after the winter where I don't think about skiing at all, a lot happens in my head that I wasn't aware of before.