PowderPeople | Max Kroneck - Part I

Max and Claus met twice on the day of the interview. The first time was by appointment for their interview in a café in Munich's Westend. And a few hours later in the afternoon by chance. Where? At Blacksheepsports.

Max, the idea for your latest film project "Going East" - did that actually come from you?

No, from Loïc Isliker. We were sitting together in the summer and suddenly he had the idea that we should definitely tackle our next project by train. The original idea was to make a circle around the Mediterranean: We wanted to ski in Corsica, Sicily and Greece. And cover the distances in between by train and ferry. The idea was that we could also sleep on the train. And that we would go on a ski tour for two or three days between the trains, come out again on the other side of the valley or island and then get on the next train. So the aim was to overrun, because that works so well with public transport. 

What then diverted you from the Mediterranean to the East?

The snow. Before we set off for the Mediterranean, we realised: Crap, there's no snow there! Laugh. Especially in Corsica, there really wasn't any. We saw ten square metres of snow on some Corsican webcam - but that was just snow cannon snow. It was clear that we had to change our plan. And so we came up with the idea of travelling further and further east by train - and skiing in between. We tried to plan this journey to the east a little in advance, but because of the short time available, a lot of things were pretty random. Laughing. We also had to make compromises. Unfortunately, the planned overruns were hardly possible with our replacement project. You usually had to go back to the starting point because there was no railway station on the other side of the mountain.  But the most important thing remained the same: combining ski tours with travelling by train. 

If you compare the "Balkan Express" (Arc'teryx Presents: Balkan Express), where you travelled from Thessaloniki to Italy by bike and ski together with Jochen Mesle, with the "Going East" train and ski project: which way of travelling to the mountain do you prefer?

Cycling. You are much more limited by train than by bike. It starts with the fact that in the countries we travelled to, the train only takes you to the mountain where there is a ski resort. So you have to start from the ski resort, even if the aim is to go on ski tours away from any ski resort. We almost always had to get to these overcrowded ski resorts first, which we would have preferred to avoid - in order to get to the open, undeveloped terrain from there. By bike, on the other hand, I can simply head for any destination - it takes time and energy and you're exposed to the weather, but I can get almost anywhere by bike - even places I can't even get to by car.

How important is it in a project like this that you know and understand each other well?

You don't necessarily have to have known each other well for years, as is the case with me and Joi, for example. But you definitely need a similar direction. A common commitment to what you want to do. The cool thing about our trip was that we almost became one person in the end - when we arrived somewhere and only had five minutes until the next train, one of us would get food, one drinks, one coffee. And nobody had to ask what the other person wanted - because we already knew. 

Has there ever been a group crisis or conflict anyway?

Everyone was grumpy at some point. But that's normal on such a long journey. And then you have to manage it. But it was never critical in any way.

What would you do differently next time?

Plan more time - if you have the time. And maybe plan the ski trip so that I only have two stops - but spend more time there each time. But that wasn't our idea. Our concept was to get as far east as possible by train. And to go on ski tours in between. Originally, we wanted to go even further east, as far as Georgia. But that wouldn't have worked out with the return journey in the three weeks we had. We didn't fly back, but travelled home again by train.

So you heroes of train travel also travelled home from Turkey by train?

That was clear from the start. And no-one - no matter how exhausted they were - ever questioned it. If we had flown back, it would have destroyed the whole point of the trip;

That would have been fake?

Completely. Then we would have only travelled by train for the camera - and then flown back. 

How long did your train journey home take?

Five days. And after that, we were really through. Incidentally, a photographer was supposed to accompany us. One of the editors wanted to fly him in. But even then we said: no way, if he wants to come by train then he should come too. 

Are you otherwise a train-to-the-mountain rider?

Of course. I travel by train as much as possible. For example, when I'm travelling to my mountain guide jobs in summer. I'm very familiar with travelling by train.

The others - Joi, Silvia and Loïc - do they have similar mobility behaviour to you?

Joi lives in Innsbruck and manages completely without a car - he has an e-bike on which he covers a brutal number of kilometres. Sometimes he rides 300 kilometres a week just in the city. Loïc, who I got to know via the Arcteryx Academy, is a little different. He lives in Amsterdam in summer and in Verbier in winter. He doesn't need a car in Verbier, but otherwise he does. I also think that travelling by train was more unusual for him than for us. And Silvia, she lives in the middle of the Dolomites, but needs the car because her family runs a drinks delivery service;

Where did you like the trains best?

The train line in Turkey on our journey home was really great. Always on time and almost as well organised as in Japan. Otherwise, it was pretty intense at times. Especially on the night train we travelled on from Bulgaria to Istanbul. We had couchettes, but we still hardly slept because you'd be woken up at the border controls - and there were several of them - by someone banging on the doors of your room with a giant stick. You then have to leave the compartment with all your luggage and show your ID. 

The ultimate in rail travel is still Switzerland?

At a distance! It's a blessing there. When you travel by train anywhere other than Switzerland, it's always hard to get used to the fact that it's not as great everywhere as it is there.

So you also use trains when you work as a mountain guide in Switzerland?

Full. That works great. 

And your clients? Are they also convinced by this?

I always try to win them over. It often works because I can tell them: Hey, there's a great connection to Visp in Switzerland, we can get off the bus right outside the accommodation. Let's do it that way! Then they'll do it too. Swiss clients do it automatically anyway - you don't have to convince them, they know how well it works in their country anyway. 

From your point of view, what doesn't work so well when travelling to the mountains by train?

With a lot of equipment, especially with a bike, you have to book very far in advance - especially with Deutsche Bahn, but also in Switzerland. This doesn't make it easy if, like me for example, you want to use time slots very spontaneously and at short notice. I've been stranded a few times in some city or other due to a lack of reservations and have been unable to get any further. I then often sleep at the station, so I don't have the hassle of spending the night and don't have to run somewhere just to rush back to the station the next morning. In any case, the most important thing is to minimise your luggage: ONE backpack and not five bags. Just like on the mountain;

How do you explain the fact that for most skiers the journey is still a motorsport?

It's mainly to do with convenience. Many ski resorts are really easy to reach by train. I grew up in Münsing on Lake Starnberg - as a teenager we always travelled from there by bus and train to go skiing. To Brauneck or to Garmisch. Sometimes our parents drove us to the train station at 6am - if there was no bus. But skis in one hand, ski boots in the other and a backpack on your back - everyone can manage that. I think that most people don't like travelling by train because they're not used to planning their journey in advance. But everyone should just give it a try. You can start small, for example with a day trip. And you don't always have to travel by train. I sometimes travel by car if there's no other option. But the range of public transport options will of course only improve if people use them. 

Part II of the interview with Max Kroneck about "Going East": "That's why I call the skis my toy" is also published on PowderGuide. Max Kroneck talks about snow profiles and defensive behaviour in unknown mountains, his equipment and the happiness of becoming a child again when skiing. And why a tent is superfluous. But a sleeping bag never is. 

On YouTube: Arc'teryx Presents: Going East